"Englishmen do love to bury one thing so completely in another that it can only be separated by force: peanuts in candy, indigo in glass, Africans in irons." page 117.
We gain a sort of admiration for the British from Aminata, because as she grows older, she constantly paints them on a high pedestal. So long as the British hold New York, they are safe. The British will keep their promise and bring the black loyalists to Nova Scotia, where they will receive land. The British will bring them back to Africa. They will protect them.
However, this quotations from older Aminata truly goes to show how deeply the British are involved in the slave trade. They live for their sugar. they bury all sorts of things in it, put it in their tea, even the abolitionists, yet the sugar is a product of slavery. They use indigo, while Aminata herself has worked hours in horrendous conditions to make it. And Africans in irons - the term is thrown loosely next to candy and glass, because it hardly holds any more importance to the British than other small luxuries. The Africans are hardly people themselves. This quotations holds imagery, and is vital in showing us that the British are just as guilty of slavery as the Americans.
"But watch out , girl. You know too much, someone will kill you."
"I ain't killable." I said. page 163.
This quotation is extremely important, because having read the entire book I know that knowledge is power to Aminata, and is extremely valuable in keeping her alive. But as the chapter title says, 'Words swim faster than a man can walk', and that itself is Aminata's doom and her savior. Everywhere she goes, she makes a name for herself. This knowledge of her existence and her deeds travels long distances, most prominently with the Negroes, but in Charles Town too. Georgia is saying that if plantation owners know she reads and speaks multiple languages, she holds power to sway others and would kill her immediately. This specific moment in foreshadowing for Aminata, because when she boards the Joseph, she is taken away by and Robinson Appleby makes an attempt to enslave her again - He knew she was in New York, and took the opportunity to inflict more pain on her. However, these actions, and her freedom at the hands of Solomon Lindo is her saving grace, because not only does she reclaim her freedom through him, but the Joseph gets caught in violent storms and never makes it to Nova Scotia. Had Aminata been on that ship, she would have died.
"Now I was thirty years old and had nothing to show for it. No son. No family. No homeland. And even my beauty would soon fade." page 250.
This quote is one of many playing on the same theme of virtue, of survival, of family, belonging, honor. If Aminata ever returns to Bayo, their first questions would be of her husband, of her sons, of what she managed to save from her life with the Americans. And not only would she lose the approval of others, Aminata always uses the status of her family when evaluate her own self-worth. She feels shame for having lost her husband, son and daughter. And at this time, she was beautiful, but that itself had been a curse for her. She is losing and has lost so much already, her beauty is just another name on the list.
"I felt that I was giving something special to the Negroes seeking assylum in Nova Scotia, and that they were giving something special to me." page 326.
This quotations is from when Aminata is helping the British and writing in the Book of Negroes. She sees and learns of the stories of all theses people seeking freedom, just like her. Their stories are sometime more amazing than her own. They give her words to write and to tell, and she gives them a sliver of hope for the future that awaits them in Nova Scotia, land of the free.
"I would sooner swallow poison than live another twenty years as the property of another man - African or Toubab. Bayo, I could live without. But for freedom, I would die." page 495.
This quotation alone is a testament of Aminata's strength. She is fighting to overcome the weakness and sickness that are about to kill her, so she may return to Sierra Leone, go to London, and write her journey. Before this quote she speaks of the shame she feels for helping an African, because she payed for her passage with three bottles of unwatered rum, a payment that could buy hundreds of slaves for the African trader who nearly sold her. This quote is also incredibly important, as Aminata is letting go ofher lifelong dream of returning to Bayo. She may be alone, but Aminata Diallo would never live without her freedom.
No comments:
Post a Comment