The Book Of Negroes By Lawrence Hill Essay

The novel, The Book of Negroes, written by Lawrence Hill in 2007 is an illustration of a work of literature that mirrors the history of the Black Loyalists. The fundamental character, Aminata Diallo, finds herself surrounded by the atrocities of slave trade at only “the age of eleven” (Hill 5). She adapts to the horrors around her by imagining herself as a djeli, or storyteller that must remember all of the details to be able to retell the story. Aminata takes her place as a gatekeeper of history and memory of lost individuals. “It was less painful to forget, but I would look and I would remember” (Hill 190). Lawrence Hill uses the plot and point of view to accurately depict Aminata as a storyteller or Djeli in the slave narrative novel, The Book of Negroes. The importance of storytelling is emphasized due to the fact that novel reveals insight on African-Canadian endeavors unlike most slave narrative novels that would shed light on African-American struggles. Hill utilizes the plot as a method of showing how storytelling plays a significant role in the life of the protagonist, Aminata Diallo. He creates a storyline that revolves around Aminata retelling her story to the parliament in London. The plot takes the reader a full circle by beginning the first chapter and ending the last chapter in the same geographical location. This symmetry enables the reader to envision Aminata as a djeli retelling her story to the parliament in London. The djeli is a figure of great value…