book of negroes essay

Mrs. Piercy
ENG 4U
15 May 2014 Alive on the Surface but Dead Inside In a person’s life, there will be times when one loses them self in the large and unpredictable world. An individual will be worse off, no matter what kind of losses an individual has to suffer. This is shown in The Book of Negroes. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill is a fictionalized, historical account that explores the story of the protagonist, Aminata, who is separated from her home, family, culture and faith. This book demonstrates the effectiveness of Hill's ability to portray imagery. Hill uses effective imagery to emphasize the fact that often loss is worse than death itself. This is shown through the book when Aminata loses her parents, her child and her home. These losses are worse than death itself. Aminata losing her own parents shows how losing them is worse than dying herself. Watching her own ba die tears her world apart. She is still alive in this scene, but a little part of her died inside, along with the death of her mother. She might not be physically hurt but mentally, she is dying. Aminata thinks,
“But another man intercepted her, raised high a big, thick club and brought it swinging down against the back of her head. Mama dropped. I saw her blood in the moonlight,

angry and dark and spilling fast… I struggled against the leash to look back over my shoulder, and saw that Mama was still on the ground, not moving” (26).
The use of imagery is strong in this scene to emphasize what Aminata endures while her ba is killed. It paints a mental picture in the reader’s head of all the emotions being exposed in this scene; fear, angry, and sadness. This part in the novel is an example of visual imagery, allowing the reader to visualize the event like they are actually there, seeing your own mother’s. In this quote, the use of the words; blood in the moonlight, angry and dark and spilling fast, creates a very vivid picture. These words are striking to the reader and show how much detail there is in this scene, which causes the reader to have empathy for Aminata. Having to watch her own mother die will leave mental scars that will last her whole life. The reader can see that Aminata is not severely hurt, but having to go through the pain of witnessing her mother’s gruesome death is eating her on the inside. Effective imagery shows the loss of parents is worse than death itself. Aminata losing Mamadu hinders the fact that loss is worse than dying herself. Her baby is taken from her without her consent. “And my baby disappeared into darkness as fast as a falling star... Bring back my baby! I shouted. He laughed in my face. Bring him back! Too late. He's sold. Only got me five pounds... I never before wanted to kill a man. But I would have killed Robinson... My heart and my body were screaming for Mamadu. But my baby was gone. Sold, sold, sold. Appleby would not say where... Appleby beat me, but I would not work for him” (184 - 185).
There is a strong sense of anger in this quote and is due to the fact that Aminata wanted to kill Appleby if that is what it took to obtain her baby back. Aminata saying she would have killed
Robinson shows how significant losing a child is since it is not like her to wish death upon someone. Hill creates this overwhelming scene to show what Aminata is going through. This scene causes the reader to feel sympathy for Aminata. At the same time, Aminata has already lost her parents and she does not want her baby to lose his. It is difficult enough for parents to send their child off to university or college, let alone having one's child stolen and sold. Having Appleby laugh in Aminata's face as her baby is taken, illustrates how the pain Aminata when has inside her is as worse than death. As the reader envisions Appleby beating Aminata for not working, this shows how physical abuse is nothing compared to the pain of losing her son. The loss a child leads to pains that are worse than death. The loss of home causes an individual to feel like death would be easier to deal with. Aminata is captured and taken from her home. Not being able to return home is like having a part dying inside Aminata. "I knew in that moment that I would never make it back home... I let go of my greatest desire. I would never go back home” (439 - 442). This is as worse as death because losing a home leads to depression and from the effects of depression can lead to death. Hill uses this situation to cause the reader to visualize how Aminata felt as she left her home, the place she grew up her entire life. At the same time, causes the reader to feel empathetic toward Aminata. It pains Aminata to think of having nowhere to go. If she did try to travel back, she would only be sold back to the slave market. People will say there is no place like home, but for Aminata, there is no place to call home anymore. Losing a place to call home is worse than death itself. In conclusion, personal losses have and always will have a huge impact on an individual's life. Hill's use of imagery throughout the novel keeps the reader occupied with visualizing all the losses that affect Aminata and making their own personal connection with every loss that Aminata experiences throughout the novel. The novel shows how personal losses like parents, one's child and home emphasize the fact these losses could be worse than dying. As a person loses things around or a part of them, they start to lose themselves, and once you lose who you are as a person a large piece of who you are dies as well