When Aminata was young, she had to learn very quickly how to survive as a slave. While on the boat, she took shelter with the surgeon, although he scared her greatly. This smart decision may have saved her from dying on the ships. She makes many more smart decisions after this that are key to her survival. She listens to everything Georgia tells her which gains her respect. She then makes friends with Mamed who teaches her how to read (177) which is a huge benefit to her later in life. Aminata then makes friends in New York that help her plan her escape from Lindo (284). Yet the only reason she met these friends was because of her ability to read. She was able to make good friends in New York and she ended up helping many of them to freedom in Nova Scotia. Although survival was hard in Nova Scotia Aminata's hard work paid off and she was able to survive, even through the loss of her daughter. Meena eventually was able to lead herself and many other slaves back to Africa; "I would never see May again, and it was time to move on."(416). While there, she had to work very hard to survive. At the end of her life, she headed to England to share her story. She became very sick but that didn't stop her. She found her daughter and wrote her life story and then eventually peacefully died. Aminata's story was nothing short of amazing, and difficult. Her strong will and wits are all that kept her alive. From a feminist perspective she is a very strong female character. One thing with Aminata is that she is incredibly strong and she is still very easy to relate to and real. I think the way that she cried at night for her lost children, and the way she longed for her husband made her seem like a much more real person. These real qualities make it easier for other females to connect to her and her struggles. Aminata is just one of the many strong female characters demonstrated in this novel. There is Aminata's mother who shows extreme bravery when they are attacked, with the way she, "faced the men and called out like a warrior,"(30). Then there is Georgia who is independent and intelligent and is a huge role model in Aminatas life. These are just some of the many strong female characters. With such an abundance of strong female characters you would assume that females have more power in this novel. However that is not the case. There are many cases throughout this novel where all of these strong women are mistreated and discriminated against. For example when Aminata is raped by Mr. Appleby, this amazing women is put into a state of fear and shame because of this mans actions. After this occurs Aminata says "Still I couldn't move, trapped by my own pain and shame."(184) she almost seemed to be reduced to nothing. Another case in this novel where women are not treated fairly is in New York where many women were used purely for sex by the soldiers then were tossed aside once they became pregnant.
I feel like the treatment of women in this novel compared with the characteristics of these women provides the contrast needed to view the true inequality of men and women during this time period. It is clear the women were viewed as objects not people. Using a feminist criticism it makes it easy see how unfair women were treated during this time, it also makes it very clear that Lawrence Hill has a great respect for women and that he wanted them portrayed in a positive way.
Work Cited
Hill, Lawrence. "The Book of Negroes." (2011): n. pag. Abstract. (n.d.): n. pag. Print.
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