Is your protagonist a round or flat character?
In The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, Aminata Diallo is the main protagonist and the book is narrated in her eyes as she recalls her life from her early childhood, her eventual capture and her quest to get home. The changes that she goes through tell us that she is a round character. Some of the stages can include:
• Aminata begins to undergo growth in her mind as a young child. Her parents are strong models who play an important part in helping her form her values, mind and physical qualities, which help her get through her abduction. This is the first major change in which we see Aminata go through. o Proof is found in the following quotes: "Beauty comes and goes. Strength, you keep forever."(Hill …show more content…
Describe the setting (time and place). How does the setting support the theme(s) of the text?
There are many instances in The Book of Negroes in which setting has a definitive affect on the plot. Some of those instances can include:
• Bayo Africa o This is where the book is first staged (1745) o This is where Aminata was born. o She grows up learning to catch babies with the help of her mother (this is a skill that will help her get money in the future in the novel) o This is where Aminata and her mother are attacked, shackled and taken into slavery. o Aminata is then forced to walk to Bance Island. o she meets a boy named Chekura who continues to travel with her, along with her friend Fomba. This part is important because Chekura becomes her love interest in the future and he is a key part in her development. o At this point mentally, Aminata is scared, terrified, and alone. o In this setting we see the change of Aminata being free, to becoming a slave. This is the main part of the story in which the theme of the novel is displayed: slavery.
• Charlestown, South …show more content…
They teach her how to read, write and do simple math. These skills will be important for her to help her people in the future to become free.
These are just a few settings that support the themes that are presented in The Book of Negroes and all of these settings affect the character as well as the plot in many ways.
What is a central theme of the story? Express it in a single declarative sentence. Provide some direct quotations and discuss how they help to develop the theme.
I believe that the main theme of The Book of Negroes is the theme of slavery. “That, I decided, was what it meant to be a slave: your past didn't matter, in the present you were invisible and you had no claim on the future.” (Hill 210). This quote, said by Aminata, clearly explains what it was like to be a slave. As you read on, you see how isolated and lonely the African people felt in the novel and in the history of the slave trade and how the theme of slavery is prevalent in the
In The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, Aminata Diallo is the main protagonist and the book is narrated in her eyes as she recalls her life from her early childhood, her eventual capture and her quest to get home. The changes that she goes through tell us that she is a round character. Some of the stages can include:
• Aminata begins to undergo growth in her mind as a young child. Her parents are strong models who play an important part in helping her form her values, mind and physical qualities, which help her get through her abduction. This is the first major change in which we see Aminata go through. o Proof is found in the following quotes: "Beauty comes and goes. Strength, you keep forever."(Hill …show more content…
Describe the setting (time and place). How does the setting support the theme(s) of the text?
There are many instances in The Book of Negroes in which setting has a definitive affect on the plot. Some of those instances can include:
• Bayo Africa o This is where the book is first staged (1745) o This is where Aminata was born. o She grows up learning to catch babies with the help of her mother (this is a skill that will help her get money in the future in the novel) o This is where Aminata and her mother are attacked, shackled and taken into slavery. o Aminata is then forced to walk to Bance Island. o she meets a boy named Chekura who continues to travel with her, along with her friend Fomba. This part is important because Chekura becomes her love interest in the future and he is a key part in her development. o At this point mentally, Aminata is scared, terrified, and alone. o In this setting we see the change of Aminata being free, to becoming a slave. This is the main part of the story in which the theme of the novel is displayed: slavery.
• Charlestown, South …show more content…
They teach her how to read, write and do simple math. These skills will be important for her to help her people in the future to become free.
These are just a few settings that support the themes that are presented in The Book of Negroes and all of these settings affect the character as well as the plot in many ways.
What is a central theme of the story? Express it in a single declarative sentence. Provide some direct quotations and discuss how they help to develop the theme.
I believe that the main theme of The Book of Negroes is the theme of slavery. “That, I decided, was what it meant to be a slave: your past didn't matter, in the present you were invisible and you had no claim on the future.” (Hill 210). This quote, said by Aminata, clearly explains what it was like to be a slave. As you read on, you see how isolated and lonely the African people felt in the novel and in the history of the slave trade and how the theme of slavery is prevalent in the