ISP Blog Post #6

I think the literary theory that gave me the best insight into my novel was post colonial. When looking at The Book of Negroes from this point of view it all seems to fall into place; why things happened the way they did. It also does not leave a stone turned. The divide between races can be easily seen in any part of the book, but I find most unbiased in this point of view. The complexity of all the people's lives and how the intertwine can be more easily understood from this point of view. I also find that it sort of ties all the views into one; the way women were treated, the cultural myths, and personally associating things we see today. All of these were based off of how the countries in control influenced people. I really enjoyed looking in depth on this point of view.
Thesis: Without examining The Book of Negroes from the post colonial point of view the complexity of world issues would remain hidden. The entire book is taking place around the world all at the same time, people are being taken from their countries, forced across an ocean, forced into slavery, and treated poorly. When reading the last part of this book I have to admit I was reading rather bias. I thought that Clarkson was doing a bad job at trying to end slavery by stopping the slave trade instead of slavery all together, but really it was a smart idea. Knocking out the industry one piece at a time would probably end the slavery faster then trying to abolish it all at once. Because it is such a complex issue its hard to know where to start. I admire Clarkson's character for his idea on where to start the process. It probably kept the slaves safer too. If people were told that they can't have their slaves anymore, they may have taken their anger out on them.
Overall without this point of view on The Book of Negroes the issue of slavery and its complexity would not have been brought to light. It looks at the whole picture and how it is intertwined.

ISP Blog Post #5

Post colonial Literary Theory

In the novel, The Book of Negroes, there are many cultures and religions that are under the control of the British Empire. To start off with most of Africa, Jamaica, and several other islands. The American's were also under the control of the British for some part of the book. I feel that Aminata got the chance to experience all of these. When she was young she practiced Muslim and the Qumran. After she was brought to America she saw that others practiced Christianity and other religions too.

There were many languages spoken throughout the book by various people. Aminata herself was able to speak about four languages. English, french, and several African languages were spoken.

Though people were not stopped from practicing their religion, or speaking their language (except when in the states), people had many misconceptions about the other cultures. For example on page 494 when Aminata is speaking to a young African, the girl believes that the white people eat the African Americans. And on the other hand the white people thought that they were saving the blacks from some barbarck death. Really neither is true, but both truly believed. 

I think that learning all about these other cultures, languages, and religions was a blessing for Aminata in such a rough time of her life. She came to know many languages, she got to observe the different ways women cared for their babies and ow they carried them on their back. She got to see how different everyone dressed and how they interacted with each other.

For the most part I found that the whites were influenced by the British not to associate with other cultures, and in turn made a very tense divide of people. The way Aminata describes her stays in Africa seems much more comforting than the stays in places ruled by the British. The colony's people do not seem to have as much humility as the Africans did. Aminata was often not welcome in many places in the states, but in Africa people went beyond what they had to do to help her out. 

Overall I think that the post colonial view of things really brings tings to light and explain why things were the way they were

 

ISP Blog Post #4

Feminism
In the novel, The Book of Negros, woman are not seen how they are today in our society. A major observation that I made is that when Aminita was looking out the window of a castle and saw newly captured slaves in a yard, separated by gender. The men were all tied together, but the woman were not tied up at all. To me this speaks volumes. The people who kid napped them thought that they were unable or not smart enough to escape because they were women.
Through out the rest of the book men seem control most everything. The men worked and he women were house wives and did what pleased their husbands. The females did not make any choices regarding anything. A few of the white women did do somethings but it seemed that they mostly relied on their husbands.
Women were also used a lot through the book, for sex. Some were raped, like Amintia was, and others assaulted. When Aminitia is in New York she learns of a 13 year old was impregnated by a 21 year old. The young girl thinks that she should abort the baby because thats what he wants her to do and she thinks he loves her. One day she wakes up and he gone. In the end she has her baby and realizes that men aren't all they crack up to be.
Overall I found that the women in this book were treated very poorly. They were used, and did not seem to be of much value unless being used for sex, even then they were sometimes just seen as pieces of meat (being raped or assaulted). I found this rather disappointing to read about, I believe in everybody being an equal. I found that the African women were treated even more poorly then the white women, which ties in the racism.

ISP Blog Post #3

Issue: racism
I have read several books and seen several movies that show the racism in the southern states back in the olden days. I studied 'To Kill A Mocking Bird' in 10th grade, and this book, plus I have seen 'The Help'. These resources have all given me a better understanding of the majority mind set of people in the south through 1700s through the 1900s. Most of the people in this time did not see Africans as people but more of animals. They lived in poverty and were treated horribly and did a lot of physical labour on plantations.
I think that these issues caused major problems for Africans and non Africans. For the Africans it is more obvious that these issues harmed them. For the white people that had this attitude, they missed out on a lot of great people and cultural traditions they could have learned. Even today there are people that are still highly racist and I think that affects them because they are not living their lives to the fullest potential. I could not imagine looking down on someone because of the color of their skin.
I think the racist attitude continues to cause harm to people throughout modern day society and change is needed.
An example of modern day racism is that one of the black teens that was recently shot and killed in the southern states, was shot by an officer from a known racist police station. There were e-mails found being sent back and fourth with racial slurres and photos. Some were even about Obama and his wife.

ISP Blog Post #2

I feel that so far in the book that the author has used foreshadowing, gender equality, race equality, and timing very well.
All of these 'themes' fit together quiet well. Because Aminta is female and not white and the time that the book takes place in is long ago, you know that not many good things are really going for her. She is constantly surrounded by loss of friends by seperation and by death. I think that the fact that she lost everything then gained back her husband might tell us that she will get some dreams in her life coming true. I think the dream will be that she will make it back to Africa and possibly back to her village.
I found that as I read the book that I became very attached to Amintia. Her character is very comforting, almost motherly like, which I find very comforting.
Overall I am really enjoying the book and the way the author has wrote it. I find it predictable but not too revealing. I found that I knew when the bad things were going to happen but not what they were going to be.

ISP blog post #1

For my ISP I'm reading The Book of Negros by Lawrence Hill. Before reading this book I predicted that it would have to do with slavery and people being oppressed and controlled. I didn't expect the book to take place in two different countries, I assumed that the setting would be in the southern USA. When reading through the part where Aminata is being captured, there is a glimpse of hope that she might escape. Of course this is not what happens but who really wanted her to kidnapped and taken to work as a slave? For most of the reading so far I ave been wondering what will life be like for Aminata? Will she escape slavery? Will she ever return to Africa? Will she be able to be with her husband? Will her child be taken away? Will karma come for the plantation owners? Is she going to live out her days on the plantation? All these questions run through my mind every time I pick up this book.
One connection I have made in the book is that Aminata is always saying that she crossed 'the big river' and 'is on an island'. Eventually, when she learns english, she learns that she actually crossed an ocean, and is not exactly on an island but a big piece of land.
I got really bad vibes from Appleby. He seemed like a real creep, which he proved when he raped Aminata. He seems to have a lot of control issues or self esteem issues because he doesn't like Aminata being with another man. This is also proved by the fact that he even kept slaves as his own; he wanted something or someone to control in his life.
My impression of the author is that they're a very kind hearted person, but they have seen a lot of bad things. For example, Aminata has not really changed her personality or what she wants in life dispiate being through a lot of horrible things happening to her. This gives me the impression that the author is probably just as strong a person and doesn't let bad things ruin their day.
This novel is based in a time when racism was alright with most people, and a lot of people kept slaves. This speaks to us today because it teaches us about our history and what mistakes should not be repeated. It also shows why people are the way they are today; we don't agree with racism or keep slaves and are very careful with the language we use.
As a reader I am really good at choosing which times are good for me to read and which are not. If I am overly tired I know I can still read but I won't retain any of the information so I usually read in parts of the day when I'm more awake. The boring parts of books for me are usually when the action slows down or there are no dramatic events. To get through these parts of novels I usually have to lie to myself and say that this book is really good and shouldn't stop. Sometimes I tell myself that I can't afford to stop because I nee to get the book done.
Over all I'm really enjoying this book so far. I really hope Aminata, her son, her husband, and the other salves will be freed by the end.

My essay writing ability is fairly good. Since the beginning of high school it has improved very much. I find that I'm able to create a thesis quite easily. I'm really good at making myself organized for the writing process. I always have a organizer for each section, then write each section, then rewrite several times until I'm happy with what I have.  I tend to struggle more with the revising part of essay writing. I don't enjoy it as much as the writing part so I tend not to work as hard on it. I tend to rely on technology a lot as well (spell check), so I don't necessarily go through my final copy (I know I should be). I also struggle with the diction of my essays and often have to stop and reword them. I have the worst time with constructing conclusions as well. I usually say all I need to in the essay so besides putting in the thesis in the conclusion, I don't know what else to put in it.

Welcome to my Blog

Welcome. I am currently a full time student. I have one class at Westminster and 2 online courses.
After high school I have no idea what to do with my life so I am going to take a year or two off and just work. In my spare time I enjoy being with my dog and riding horses. Other than that I like to hangout with friends and go on long car rides.

This is my dog, his name is Buddy. he likes treats and his breath smells like a public washroom.