The Book Of Negroes Character Analysis

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Slavery has been a huge part of human history. Millions of Africans had been taken away from their home countries to be sold abroad. Once they reached their destinations, they were forced to serve their owners under cruel conditions. Along their path of reclaiming freedom, they were introduced to various characters. In Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes, the protagonist, Aminata Diallo, encounters a lot of people across her long journey. Some of the people she met were good to her, others bad and some were unpredictable. Nevertheless, they all help her develop and evolve.

Throughout her lifetime, Aminata meets two people who are very good to her: Georgia and Sam Fraunces. After coming out of the slave ship of Bance Island, Aminata is sold …show more content…
As previously mentioned, Aminata is introduced to Appleby in South Carolina. At first, Robinson seems to be grateful of having a slave as hardworking and beautiful as Aminata. They start out by having a good relationship. Nonetheless, their relationship comes to an end, when Robinson notices Aminata’s husband, Checkura, make frequent visits. As a punishment, Appleby violently rapes her as a reminder that he is her owner and no other man should be in her life. Not only did he rape her, he also beat her and shaved her head in front of all of his slaves when he found out Aminata was pregnant. He tells her: ‘’ You don’t own that baby any more than you own the wool on your head…They both belong to me” (179). Moreover, Appleby sells Aminatas newly born baby. The second man who was very cruel to Aminata was Allassane, who is a slave trader. Aminata met him in Bance Island near the end of her life. They negotiated a deal that Allassane and his team of slave traders would show her the way back to her village of Bayo, in exchange for three barrels of rum. By the twenty-first day of their voyage, Aminata overhears Allassane telling his men: “When we get there, I will sell the woman … We must sell her now while she is healthy.” After hearing this, she succesfuly espaces to a nearby village. To sum up, both Appleby and Allasane intended to hurt Aminata for their own …show more content…
Solomon Lindo and Tom both helped her and harmed her all in the same time. Aminata and Tom met at the slave-ship sailing to North Carolina. He was the medicine man of the ship and took care of the employees. After finding out that Aminata can catch babies, Tom let her sleep in his room instead of in the filthy underground quarters of the ship. He also fed her and kept her safe from other white men. Nevertheless, Tom tried to sexually assault Aminata. Plus, since he works for slave traders we can see that he encourages this harsh act. Aminata was first introduced to Solomon Lindo in Applebys plantation farm. She was soon sold to him for a high price. Lindo was one of the nicest slave owners out there. He treats her way better than Appleby and teaches her how to write and calculate and develops her reading. Not to forget, Lindo also freed Aminata after Aplleby claimed to own her in the Fraunces Tavern. However, Aminata soon finds out that Lindo was involved in the sale of her first
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