Obstacles

From reading The Book of Negroes thus far, it is clear that Aminata faced many challenges and obstacles during her fight for freedom. In every person’s lifetime he/she will experience some from of obstacle. One particular obstacle that I have had to overcome stands out in my mind. It happened about three years ago when my number one passion was swimming. For me swimming was not just a sport but also a way of life. I trained nine times a week and worked very hard at every practice. However, there came a time in my swimming career when I no longer improved my times. I worked as hard as an ox but my results did not show for it. All my teammates were gradually getting faster than me. A year passed and my times were still not improving. I did not know why. After every swim meet I would feel disappointed and ashamed of myself. I wanted to give up. However, I knew that at some point in everyone’s lives we all fail at something. Therefore, I persevered and continued to give my best effort. My perseveration worked in my favor as eventually I began to improve my times. I went on to qualify for my country’s national swim team. This obstacle in my life taught me that no matter how difficult circumstances get to never give up. You never know what is around the corner. This is a lesson that I have keep with me in everything I do. 

The Zimbardo Prison Experiment

This experiment was conducted at Stanford University in the summer of 1971. The experiment’s aim was to investigate how readily people would conform to the roles of guard and prisoner in a role-playing exercise that stimulated prison life. It was carried out by a team of researchers and led by Phillip Zimbardo, a psychology professor. The experiment was an investigation into the causes of conflict between military guards and prisoners. Zimbardo created an imitation prison and selected students to play the roles of prisoners and guards for two weeks. Twenty-one male students were selected out of a group of seventy-five. The students adapted to their roles beyond Zimbardo’s expectations. The guards went so far as to subject some of the prisoners to psychological abuse. Many of the prisoners accepted the abuse, and those who attempted to prevent it were harassed by the guards. Even Zimbardo allowed the abuse to happen. As a result the experiment was stopped after only six days. The events that occurred during the Zimbardo Prison Experiment are similar to those seen in the Book of Negroes. The toubabu/slave owners treated the Africans as if they were their prisoners. They subjected the Africans to very harsh treatment. They caused physical, mental, emotional and spiritual pain. After a while, the African’s gave up and came to accept the harsh treatment and those who did not were either beaten or killed. For example, “No shackles bound their wrists or ankles, but not one of them fought or tried to run away” (Hill 125). This shows that the Africans accepted their harsh lives. They became accustomed to their way of life and therefore none of them tried to run away. 

And my story waits like a restful beast

In class today we discussed the chapter “And my story waits like a restful beast” in book two of the Book of Negroes. A question that we looked at was “How does the title of the chapter have relevance to the story of Aminata?” The title of this chapter is a smilie that compares Aminata's story to a beast. The title has relevance to her story because her story is so powerful that it can be compared to a beast. It talks about a dark time in history that has had a major effect on the world today. A beast can be described as an awful, frightening thing much like Aminata’s story. The title says that her story is waiting. This means that she knows how much it is going to impact society. She knows that the story will open people’s eyes to the horror that was the slave trade. She knows that all those who read it would never be the same again. She sees the story much like a sleeping beast who is just waiting to pounce on their prey, much like described in the title of the chapter. The title of this chapter is appropriate because it has complete relevance to the story of Aminata. 

The Book of Negroes Title

Firstly, before everything, I believe that the Book of Negroes is going to be a very interesting book to read. I am looking forward to reading this award-winning novel as I want to learn about the life of Aminata, a West African woman. From our discussion in English class it is clear that there is a controversy over the title of the book. In my opinion, the title of the book is suitable. The book is named this because it is derived from a historical document kept by British naval officers at the end of the American Revolutionary War. The name of the document is the Book of Negroes. Therefore, it is clearly evident that the title of the book is designed to recall a major historical event. It is my belief that the author was not trying to cause a problem but was merely trying to bring attention to this time in history. According to Jo Knowles, “We only hate what we don’t understand.” The censoring and book burning of the Book of Negroes is a hateful act and denies the author the freedom to write. A Dutch group found the title of Hill’s book offensive and therefore only burned the cover but not the content. I do understand why the title of the book can be seen as an offensive one. However, I think that if people just took a moment to see that there is historical meaning behind the title of the book then they will learn to accept it. From what I know about the novel, a couple other names that I find fitting are, “Aminata’s Journey” and “Aminata’s Haunting Tale”.

Favorite Essay

My favorite essay out of the three was the “51 Percent Minority” essay. This is my favorite essay because I can relate to it, as I am female. In it the writer is stating her point: that discriminatory practices are being inflicted on women in Canada. I like that this essay addressed the issue of discrimination against women. It is an issue that not only occurs in Canada but all over the world. This is also my favorite essay because it effectively compares and contrasts other minorities with women. Stating that in Canada these other minorities are not the ones being discriminated against, it is the women who are. By doing this, the writer appeals to a broader audience, consisting of not only women but men as well. I also enjoy this essay because it allows the reader to see the attitudes towards women in the past, as the essay first appeared in 1980. This allows the reader to see how the attitudes changed from the past to present day future.