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To begin with, Aminata was able to survive due to the support around her. Aminata's mother Sira was a baby catcher and Aminata was with her all the time helping, and at the same time learning how to deliver babies. When Aminata was kidnapped by white people, she was treated specially because she knew how to deliver babies: " " (Hill, ). The skill that Aminata gained from her mother saved her life. On the ship that was heading to England, there was not such a person that can deliver babies, so Aminata was very important for the white people.
By utilizing the skill that she learnt from her mother, she was not only able to survive the horrible condition of the ship, but Aminata was an individual that was necessary for the white people. Also, the connections she made with people ultimately led her to survive. In the novel, the author clearly depicts that having a relationship with people can benefit you in some way.
When Aminata went to NewYork with Solomon Lindo, she met a Jamaican negro called Sam and they become good friends.
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When a riot occurs between the American and the British, she was able to escape due to the help of Sam: " "(). The friendship that Aminata had with Sam was like a tie that was tied hard. The authour shows that having connections with people can help you survive in desperate situations. Lastly, Aminata's owner Solomon Lindo showed love against her. When Appleby sued Meena, Lindo proves that he officially owns Aminata by showing the proof that he purchased Aminata.
Ultimately Solomon Lindo wins and he decides to free Meena: "' You came all this way to manumit your slave?' 'It is a matter of making peace with my past'". This shows the love in Lindo's heart, and how an upright man he is. He wants Aminata to be free and wants her to live her own life. Aminata contributed to Solomon by helping him, and now he thinks that it is his turn to return the favour. Therefore, the authors prove that the support of people can help you to survive in any kind of situation which emphasizes the importance of having a relationship with people.
Furthermore, the places that Aminata travelled illustrates that not giving up can contribute to surviving.
Aminata has travelled to many places. When Aminata was on the ship to England, she describes the ship as: " THE SHIP WAS AN ANIMAL IN THE WATER. It rocked from side to side like a donkey trying to shake off a bundle, climbing on the waves like a monkey gone mad". This shows the horrible atmosphere of the ship. The ship is rocking and it seems to be dangerous to board on the ship.
People help each other because of the love in their nature. The slaves help each other through the fishnet. At that time, there's no phone, so people can only transport information through the paper, such as letter and newspaper. The fishnet is the way the Negroes transport information. "'Out words swim the rivers, all the way from Savannah to St. Helena to Charles Town and farther up·· Our words swim farther than a man can walk. When we find someone, up he comes in the fishnet.'" (201, Hill) The slaves are separated, they owned by different owners. They only know people work together with them, and they don't know slaves owned by other owners. But they transport information to other people, even people they don't know.
Finally, it becomes a web, if somebody wants to find a person, all the people in the fishnet helps him, even it is a person they don't know. When Meena is hiding in the woods in Canvas town, she sees a group of Negroes. They are crying and look sad around a dead child and trying to "send" her spirit back to their home------Africa. They are from different places in Africa . Some of them are owned by different people, and some are free Negroes that work in different places. They speak different languages, and they don't even know each other, but they can get together to bury and cry for a little kid, this is love. When Appleby sued Meena, Lindo comes and be the witness. He showed the paper to the justice, says he is the owner, not Lindo.
Also, he explains what happened when he sell Meena's son. He did his best to find a good master for him . When justice tells him that he wins, he decides to free Meena. "' You came all this way to manumit your slave?' 'It is a matter of making peace with my past.'" This shows the love in Lindo's heart, and how an upright man he is. Although he did his best for the baby, but wrong is wrong, he sold the baby, he still feel sorry for Meena. At that time, slaves has no right and no social status, but Lindo can travel a far distance to just help his slave Meena and get her free. This shows he is a real gentleman. Love makes people help each other, and while they help others, they can get the comfort in their heart, and others will help them too.
The love between lovers are special, it's deep, and loyal. When Chekura marries Meena, he gives her a lot of things. "a jar of corn oil, a red and gold headscarf, and a beautiful blue wrapper made of soft smooth cotton··"Chekura and Meena are both slaves, so it's very difficult for Chekura to get these things, especially the headscarf and the wrapper, because slaves are not allowed to wear colored clothes, only white people wear it. Nobody knows how he gets it, and how many trouble he goes throw. This shows how much he loves Meena. Later on, Meena and Chekura are separated for many times, but every time, he can find Meena.
Even it is many years later. "It's not an easy thing to make love to a man you haven't seen in nine years. The last time I'd seen him, I was thirty years old". For what man, can keep searching for his wife for nine years? And for what women, can wait for her husband for nine years? Not nine years, many people even find their new lover in few months. When Chekura miss Meena, he always looks at the crescent moon, so he can feel she is with him . This is a kind of mental support, because he has somebody to think of. When people in trouble, they can be stronger if they think of someone they really care about. Although life is hard, but they can insist on living, because somebody are still waiting for them. This is love.
The love from parents can affect a person's life greatly and deeply. When Meena is still a little child, she lives with her parents. They love her very much that people in the village says she is spoiled. But also they teach her many things, things that change her life. Her father teaches her the skills to survive, how to get along with people and how to survive in the society. "'you must learn respect,' 'But I do not respect her,' 'Then you must learn to hide your disrespect.'"He teaches her the way she needs to act in order to survive. Although it's kind of fake, but it's the way people do. Her mother teaches her to be a virtuous person. One time she told her and Fomba, when they catch rabbits, catch the fastest one, because the last one is always the female one with babies in her belly.
This shows how virtuous her mother is, and she wants her daughter Aminata to be virtuous too. Because virtuous is a good thing, people always like to communicate with virtuous people. If Meena is virtuous, then she can make more friends and get more help from other people. The love and education from Meena's parents build up her characteristic, and makes her be flexible. If she is as stubborn as Fanta, then she will not survive to the end. Later on, she meets Georgia, who's not her mother but just like a mother to her. She teaches Meena Gullah and English, and how to get along with white people. She tells her to act stupid, so white people don't notice her.
Also she's trying to protect Meena as best as she can, from getting rape by Appleby. She's care about Meena just like a mother. When Meena hears Georgia is died of small pox, she's extremely sad. Because Georgia is the one who cares about her, and protect her and the one teaches her about many things that changes her life. If there's no Georgia, then Meena can't survive that long. Parents always teach their children a lot of things, because they love them and want them to have a better life. Love is precious, because it's unpurchaseable; love is loyal, because it's not exchangeable. These loves are different kinds of love, but they are also similar. It can give people hope, and makes people feel better and live better. It's one of the best ethics that human have.
Summary of a Novel The Book of Negroes. (2019, Nov 14). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/summary-of-a-novel-the-book-of-negroes-essay
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