I Long to Hold My Own Child in The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

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"The Book of Negroes" by Lawrence Hill is a story set in the 1700s during the Atlantic Slave Trade, where a massive number of Africans were transported to the New World as slaves. The story is told from the perspective of an African woman named Aminata Diallo, who recounts her experiences in slavery from childhood to adulthood. Aminata was taken from Africa and sold into slavery as a child, losing her freedom and human rights upon entering North America. She suffered from slavery for most of her life and witnessed many cruel events during her time as a slave. Aminata is portrayed in the book as an independent and clever woman with a strong sense of family values that developed since her childhood. This characteristic continued to develop in Aminata after she was forced into slavery and lasted until the final moments of her life. Aminata treasures her family, and this value gives her both pain and happiness during her life in slavery. Aminata encounters many people whom she cares for as family in her life, and the interactions with these people provide Aminata with courage and joy. However, the loss of these people also gives Aminata unimaginable pain. The value of family or the bond between parents and children is one of the main themes in the novel "The Book of Negroes." Aminata's love for her family members gives her the strength and courage that contributes to developing her strong characteristics and supports her in slavery and hardship. Aminata's childhood began in Bayo, where she lived with her parents among people who shared the same culture as her....

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...Aminata lost all hope of living with both her son and her husband missing. She stopped working, and her health quickly failed to the point that she was sold by her owner. Mamadu increased Aminata's desire for freedom since losing him allowed her to understand that the lives of slaves are controlled by their owners, and she must be free from slavery to gain the right to keep her own child. Aminata gave birth to her second child more than fifteen years after her first child, Mamadu. This child supported Aminata when Chekura was not by her side.

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