The Book Of Negros Character Analysis

The Book of Negros is an invigorating Canadian miniseries that has portrayed the perilous journey of an African woman, starting with her abduction in modern day Mali, then moving on to her enslavement in North America, and winding-up with her return to Africa as a freed woman. The show concludes with her going to London to promote the Abolition Movement with her personal account of the misfortunes of slavery. This woman, Aminata Diallo, is the protagonist of The Book, directed by Damon D’Oliveira and Clement Virgo, in which they bring Aminata’s story to life, originally written by Lawrence Hill in his novel, The Book of Negros. The greatest downfall of the historical reality of her life pertains to her being a fictional character. Not all …show more content…
Although, abduction was considered “unorthodox,” whereas enslaving prisoners of war was the more “orthodox” method. Furthermore, when considering the job description of a slave, slaves in Africa were usually held the status of servanthood rather than property. Aminata fulfilled this role in America while under the authority of Mr. Lindo, who told her she ought to think of herself more like a servant than a slave. Building on Aminata’s role as a slave, her gender put her at risk of other common cruelties received from masters. Being raped by masters and used for breeding purposes was terribly common in North America. Comparatively, Aminata fell especially victim to being raped by Mr. Appleby due to her attractive characteristics, and the auctioneer advertised her youthfulness to highlight her fertility. Not surprisingly, Aminata’s story paralleled Mattie Jackson’s, a female slave, who feared being recaptured after running away and having her children sold away from her. Aminata had to face this harsh reality like most female slaves who risked having children or felt that even when free, they had to remain …show more content…
One of Aminata’s traits that ought to be called into question was her advanced literacy and ability to connect to people through irregular communicational tactics. Since we know that Aminata is a fictional character, it is safe to say she could not have written the historical document, The Book of Negros, or have put together any autobiography to combat the slavery system in London like she supposedly did. But how likely was it for a female slave to take on these literary feats? Slave owners did not want slaves to be literate because it decreased their level of control. Owning a book, pen, ink, or paper was not allowed for slaves; thus, slaves had to rely heavily on oral traditions to communicate. It would have been extremely unlikely for Aminata to have regular access to writing materials, let alone contact with someone who would have wanted her to become educated as a slave. So then how did slaves communicate over long distances? In The Book, the “fishnet” was a mystical idea that Lawrence Hill used to demonstrate what historian Sterling Stuckey called “the Word,” which was essentially a secret communication network used by slaves. The fishnet seemed to be a literal fishnet used by blacks to pass along messages, news, and information to each other. However, Stuckey clarified this form of communication to be like