The book of negroes
Navarro 1
Mariano Navarro
Mrs. Simon
ENG 30D - 01
Thursday, November 6th, 2014
Loss of Identity Exemplified in The Book of Negroes
One cannot forget the cruelty that African slaves endured, reoccurring abuse in ways that brought them misery until death. Lawrence Hill 's, The Book of Negroes demonstrates the damaging effects of African slaves; physically, mentally and socially. These three elements of destruction can take all the willpower out of a well built character, which is proven through the protagonist, Aminata Diallo. This novel ultimately allows us to understand the life of Aminata, and how the damaging journey as a slave lead to her "loss of identity". Physically speaking Aminata shows her loss of identity through various situations where she could not defend herself and was abused. Secondly Aminata was mentally abused by her poor relationships throughout the novel, which brought down her self esteem and contributed to her loss of identity. From a social perspective Aminata was damaged through the humiliation and the way the Africans were looked down upon compared to the people of white descent(toubabus).
Abuse is part of slavery and Aminata is a firsthand example. Throughout the novel there are many situations where Aminata has no control over what is done to her. The cruelty is provided by different characters but a major factor of Aminata 's abuse is her first plantation master Appleby, who she explained had said "who owns you?"(Hill 161) Appleby at this time is abusing Aminata physically taking control of her body, sexually assaulting her and having her reply with "master". Appleby was not the only master that physically abused Aminata, although Lindo treated her with more respect than the rest of the toubabus. When they encounter each other again Lindo 's anger over the lack of indigo trade led him into reacting in an abusive way. "I tried to yank my wrist free but he held firmly. With his other hand, he slapped me in the face."(Hill 227)
Mariano Navarro
Mrs. Simon
ENG 30D - 01
Thursday, November 6th, 2014
Loss of Identity Exemplified in The Book of Negroes
One cannot forget the cruelty that African slaves endured, reoccurring abuse in ways that brought them misery until death. Lawrence Hill 's, The Book of Negroes demonstrates the damaging effects of African slaves; physically, mentally and socially. These three elements of destruction can take all the willpower out of a well built character, which is proven through the protagonist, Aminata Diallo. This novel ultimately allows us to understand the life of Aminata, and how the damaging journey as a slave lead to her "loss of identity". Physically speaking Aminata shows her loss of identity through various situations where she could not defend herself and was abused. Secondly Aminata was mentally abused by her poor relationships throughout the novel, which brought down her self esteem and contributed to her loss of identity. From a social perspective Aminata was damaged through the humiliation and the way the Africans were looked down upon compared to the people of white descent(toubabus).
Abuse is part of slavery and Aminata is a firsthand example. Throughout the novel there are many situations where Aminata has no control over what is done to her. The cruelty is provided by different characters but a major factor of Aminata 's abuse is her first plantation master Appleby, who she explained had said "who owns you?"(Hill 161) Appleby at this time is abusing Aminata physically taking control of her body, sexually assaulting her and having her reply with "master". Appleby was not the only master that physically abused Aminata, although Lindo treated her with more respect than the rest of the toubabus. When they encounter each other again Lindo 's anger over the lack of indigo trade led him into reacting in an abusive way. "I tried to yank my wrist free but he held firmly. With his other hand, he slapped me in the face."(Hill 227)
Cited: Hill, Lawrence. The Book of Negroes. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2007. Novel.