- Post
In 500 words please response to TWO or more of the following questions:
What does the novel say about women's relationships with one another?
The novel critiques slavery as universally wrong -- how does it explore the ways it causes harm
within Fante and Asante cultures?
What is the role of religion and spirituality in the novel?
How do the actions of "Big Men" among the Fante/Asante impact characters' lives?
Did you like this book? Do you think it is a valuable way to learn about the black experience?
- Comment
Reply to at least two people’s initial posts. No word count but something reasonable
Please comment on the following to posts:
Number 1:
I thoroughly enjoyed Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi and think its an honest portrayal of what life was like for the Asante and Fante cultures. I thought it was presented in an especially clever way, with each story or “chapter” being different than the last, yet somehow tied to the one previously before it. It shows not only the growth within each of the cultures, but also takes the reader on a journey of the progression that reflects the society being described at that time. This is also why I think it’s a valuable way to learn about the black experience, because although the black people that suffered through some of the most brutal and inhumane acts of torture saw it as just another day, it is clearly apparent that the fact that those scenarios were normalized is utterly repulsive. One such example can be seen in the case of Ness, who tried desperately to flee from the enslavement of Tom Allen with her son Kojo. Although Kojo was able to escape with Aku, Ness and Sam had not been so lucky. Ultimately their attempt to escape caused Sam to be beheaded, an act of the ultimate dominance of the white people over the black people. Sadly, that was just one of the many ways in which black people suffered at the hands of the white people. Although disheartening, this is an enlightening novel that offers a real and raw version of our society's history.
The actions of “Big Men” impacted the characters lives because essentially what they say is what goes. In the case of the women associated with the societies of the Big Men, they were there for the sole purpose of raising a child. Despite the fact that the “Big Man” undoubtedly had a presence invoking desire in most of the women of the society, the moment a woman was capable of conceiving, also known as womanhood, she automatically had to be offered up to him. Although beneficial to the man, the lack of choice for the women is unsettling. Such was the case of Effia, who had lied of her womanhood in order to keep from giving herself to the Big Man. Although she was certainly prompted to do this by Baaba, the fact that she had to lie in the first place speaks volumes to the type of culture present at that time. The power and dominance of the Big Man was almost god-like. This comparison is noted again in the people of the cultures themselves, not just the women but the inhabitants of the societies under the Big Man’s rule. If there was ever a concern of war or battle, everyone immediately looked to the Big Man for guidance. Again, the Big Man is ultimately the god, or rather the ruler, and serves as the main source of action for people to mimic. If the Big Man claims that war needs to be sought after, then the people of the society ready themselves for war. If he claims that slaves need to be traded in order to maintain good relations with the Englishman, then slaves would be traded. In this way, the Big Man was essentially the King.
Number 2:
Spirituality and religion play an important role in almost every chapter of the book. When the characters are stripped of their basic human rights and freedom, or when they are separated from their families, or in every other difficult life situation, spirituality and religion is what helps them get through it and survive. I would not say that it was always religion and that they would focus their thoughts and prayers towards God, but rather it was spirituality represented by the invisible inner force that stopped them from giving up. Situations described in Homegoing such as being raped, being kept captive under terrible conditions and then being transferred due to slave trade, being separated from one’s family, or working in coal mines for many years almost requires a person to focus on something else than reality. In these situations, reality is so horrifying that religion or spirituality (or love) are the only things that can keep a person away from becoming insane.
I truly enjoyed reading Homegoing. Before this class I had very little knowledge about the history of African diaspora and the Black experience itself. This book did a great job in illustrating topics discussed in class lectures, putting definitions and historical fact into stories which I believe are much easier to understand and remember. I also liked the structure of the book – short stories linked to each other ordered chronologically. This allowed me to follow how things changed based on the time periods that people lived in. Homegoing does a great job in showing how important (in a bad way) slavery was during the history of African people. Communities that would be otherwise prosperous and fully functioning were destroyed because of European colonialism and the idea that white people are superior. It shows that these people of color had a great strength to survive all that have been done to them and that they always managed to find a way how to live, start their own families, and not to give up. I wish more people would read this book which would give them a better understanding of what happened throughout history and we, as a society, would be able to create a world, where the color of your skin does not make a difference in how you are treated by others.
The book portrays two different types of relationships. Warm and loving mother daughter relationship such as Anna Foster had with her children, or more complicated mother daughter relationship where mother almost “rejected” their daughter such as Effia and her mother. In the first type – the warm and loving, mothers represented support system for their daughters, always wanting the best for them even if that means that they would have to sacrifice something themselves. In the second type of relationship – the complicated, mothers would be very harsh towards their daughters and their husbands (for example Cobbe) would have to make sure that they at least try to love their daughters. It was interesting to find out that women whose mothers treated them terribly managed to “outgrow” their mothers and become better mothers themselves.