Young African Woman - Essay Example

CGS The book is a first hand recount of the life and experiences of a young African woman from west Africa. The concept ofperpetual migration in book starts with the abduction of Aminata from her home and being taken into slavery. Her first destination was in America. Her parents were slaughtered and the only way for her to survive was to accept her fate as a slave. Her father was a muslim scholar besides being the village jeweler while her mother was a midwife. The book describes that as she continued struggling with the experiences life presented her, she would learn that for an African, there was no safe place on earth. An African’s survival depended on perpetual migration and adaptation to the conditions one found in the new destination. On the slave ship, she depended on her skills in midwifery that she had learned from her mother to survive. Her destination in America was South Carolina where she was auctioned off to an indigo plantation. In this plantation, she has to adapt herself to her environment by learning the Buckra language (Hill 345). The aspect of migration here is not only physical and geographical but also mental and psychological. Aminata was forced to migrate from the native challenges of Africa to those of new diseases and illnesses. Aminata was forced to migrate from the indigo plantation when her master took away her baby. She abandoned her duty of working on the farm, which was the reason her master’s decision to sell her off to Lindo. Her new master treats her as a servant, which is better than a slave was treated. Under this status, she has to pay rent and take care of her own expenses. She has to relocate to Charles town where her new master resides. The outbreak of the American Revolution brings with it an opportunity for Aminata to escape from Charles town. Her master returns to the Carolinas while Aminata goes back to midwifery for survival. Her knowledge of many languages comes in handy to help her survive in Nova Scotia where she is involved in the writing of the book of Negroes. The book contains the names of blacks who have agreed to fight for the British army. The British were beaten during the American Revolution and they had to retreat out of the 13 colonies they had in America. They carried with them the black slaves who had fought alongside them in the war. These were the names contained in the book of Negroes. This serves as a reminder of the history of the black community in the USA and a unification factor. Her ability to adapt to different situations is one of the most important factors that helped her survive. During the voyage to Nova Scotia, Aminata is separated from her husband and is put to trial for desertion. This was after her first master Appleby claims her in an attempt to prevent her from progressing in life. Her second master Lindo sets her free and she eventually reaches Shelburne (Hill 262). After this migration, she relies on her skills as a midwife and a teacher to help her survive. She makes another attempt at reuniting with her husband taking a voyage on the Annapolis Royal. This attempt however fails and things get worse when her friends the Witherspoons kidnap her three year old child. She was deeply depressed and this worsens when she hears of her husband’s death. Her reaction was to make her way back to her homeland in Africa. She crosses the Indian Ocean to the newly formed Sierra Leone colony. The colony’s proximity to her original homeland of Bance island complicate the process of maintaining the colony under the strict rule of the company. This is however the reason why she decides to go back to the island to her native village. However, the ongoing slave trade on Bance strains the relations between the colony and the island (Hill 412). She finds out a plot to sell her back into slavery. She runs away and seeks sanctuary in some village. After it dawns on her that there is no hope for her returning to her homeland, Aminata migrates to Europe, further illustrating the essence of perpetual migration to the survival of Africans in the novel. She moves to London and joins other abolitionists to clamor for the end of slavery and slave trade. Her memories of the life she has lived are documented and presented to parliament. The media spotlight on her leads to her reunion with her long-lost daughter. This was eighteen years after she had been abducted. Throughout the novel, Aminata has to go through a lot of pain and suffering. Her masters inflict a lot of physical and emotional pain on her. This starts with her having to witness as her parents are slaughtered and she is taken captive and sold into slavery. When she lost her first baby, she had to endure a lot of emotional pain for the loss. In addition to the emotional strife, her master also publicly whipped her naked. She still keeps hoping she will be reunited with her child in future. These are the thoughts that give her the courage to go on with the struggles. Through all the struggle, she did not lose her identity. Though she had to migrate several times, she always knew deep inside her who she really was. Her discipline and morals were always upheld which was important to keep her from being swallowed up by the events going on around her. When Appleby steals her son Mamadu, she had to migrate because her pride and sense of self-worth could not let her continue working for him. The movement from place to place gives Aminata an idea of the misery and sadness that slavery brought to the people it affected. This was essential in her decision to join the abolitionists and campaign for an end to slavery and slave trade. Her knowledge was one of the greatest weapons she had for fighting the effects of slavery. She could understand the conversations her masters held with other people. Her ability to communicate clearly and concisely in these languages made her a suitable witness for the abolitionists as they sought to abolish slave trade. Besides her oral testimony as they petitioned for the end of slave trade, her ability to write in the languages made it possible to give a detailed recount of her life. The migration from Africa to Indigo’s plantation gave her the opportunity to be introduced to reading and writing. At this plantation, she meets Georgia who teaches her how to read and write. This was her first essential lesson that played an important part in her development and survival. The skills she developed here had a lasting impact on her survival for the rest of the book. Her second major migration was being sold to Lindo. Here, she got the opportunity to expand her literary skills. Besides language, she also gained important skills in bookkeeping and basic arithmetic. These skills enabled her survive and enjoy better living conditions. Rather than being a mere slave, she became like the personal assistant to her master. Under her new position, she had to organize her master’s schedule and business life. She kept his accounts and ensured that he did not incur unnecessary money losses. The knowledge and skill she gained working for Lindo placed her in an advantageous position during the American Revolution. Some of the major roles she played in the revolution included announcement of news and organizing her fellow Africans for various causes. She also spread her knowledge of reading and writing to the rest of the Africans. Therefore, the survival of Africans in the novel is greatly enhanced by Aminata’s perpetual migration. Later on, Lindo would be instrumental in setting Aminata free from trial so that she could join the abolitionists in Europe. Migration enables people to meet others of similar interests or who share the same experiences as they do. Companionship and fellowship are some of the factors that enable people deal with common problems. Meeting Georgia was important to her survival because besides introducing her to the foreign languages, he also showed her how to ward odd diseases like pox. Many of the slaves who made it across the ocean to America succumbed to the disease and this would have been Aminata’s fate had she not met him. The friends that she made were important in helping her survive the troubles that she had to go through. These included people like the tavern’s boss and the navy officer who helped her on her journey to join the abolitionists. Migration helps people make new friends and these are important for survival. Reading the story, a reader gets the feeling that despite the difficulties she may face, Aminata will find a way to conquer. She is fearless and very brave. This was evident since her capture when she tells Chekura that she would be willing to walk for days on end to escape capture. She promises she will return to her home someday and she does so and is instrumental in alleviating her people’s misery by abolishing slavery. Works cited Hill, Lawrence. The Book of Negroes. Toronto: HarperCollins, 2007. Print. Read More