The Book of Negroes-Fifth Analysis

After reading the fifth portion of the novel, I decided to analyze it using a feminist literary criticism. Aminata, being both African American and a woman seemed to have the odds stacked against her in a time of so much prejudice and discrimination. Yet, throughout the book, it becomes obvious that the narrator is not trying to demonstrate the vast injustices against women, nor is the book outwardly trying to condemn this. Instead, in a roundabout way, it focuses on the strengths of the oppressed, and that shows the immense differences between equality and injustice much more eloquently.

In the latest portion of the novel, Aminata arrives in Sierra Leone, (Lion's Head), in Africa. She stays there for a little while, with her friends before realizing her heart is still in Bayo. To get back to her home, she deals with a trader to take her into the heartland of Africa. However, the trader, Alassane, barely even accepts her offer, saying: "'I don't trade with women'...'[But] you negotiate like a man,'" (Hill 439). Aminata's swift thinking in bartering was the only reason why she was able to make a deal with Alassane. Women were very limited in what others thought they were capable of, and, for many, what they felt they were capable of. Alassane nearly turned down a business opportunity simply because the partner would be a woman, which brings me to my next point of what I believe was a double standard for women.

In order to become more of an equal with friends she made with Europeans, Aminata always spoke proper English, instead of Gullah, (the dialect African Americans often spoke in), learned arithmetic, and became able to read and write proficiently. All of this effort, when during this time it was considered an accomplishment to just be able to read, (for all cultures) is very remarkable. This illustrates how hard women had to work to gain any respect. The discrepancies are obvious: "It seemed incomprehensible. Women selling in the market, Negroes drinking with white men, and yet here I was-a slave" (Hill 192). There was a double standard; women had to work twice as hard to get recognition for any of their own accomplishments as the men.

After  looking through the novel using feminist literary criticism, I realized that it made me view the characters differently. I had been trying to make comparisons between my life and what I understood to the book, but I realized that I couldn't really compare anything that I have heard of or experienced to the encounters Aminata had. I gained a new respect for all the women in the book, who suffered and managed to still make it through.

Overall, when I look through the novel, one phrase seems to stand out among the rest: "When it comes to understanding others...we rarely tax our imaginations" (Hill 425). This statement is so true, even among today's society. When it comes to those who are oppressed, challenged, or just different, we rarely think to extend a helping hand. Although today's society is leaps and bounds ahead of the world described within The Book Of Negroes, this quote rings true for most of humanity. In the case of this novel though, it is especially correct for women.