homegoing yaa gyasi summary

The language barrier between Effia and James also allows for a convenient excuse not to know what is happening in the dungeon or what is to become of the captured slaves.

LitCharts Teacher Editions. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of twentieth-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral, and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation. The other women grow quiet, as they never speak about the dungeons.

Full Review Marjorie is very close to her grandmother Akua and loves to visit Ghana during the summer; however, she feels that she doesn't fit in fully in either Ghana or in America. More books by Yaa Gyasi Homegoing is set against the backdrop of the Gold Coast slave trade. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our. Homegoing study guide contains a biography of Yaa Gyasi, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Rather than wanting Effia to marry for love or even for money, Cobbe hopes that Effia will marry for power in the village. When the runaway slave laws come into effect, Kojo's wife disappears with their unborn son H. H works as a sharecropper as a young man until he is arrested and made to work for many years in a coal mine because he cannot make bail. Baaba’s harsh scolding also introduces a recurring idea that children should not question their parents.

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The chapters titled "Ness," "Kojo," "H," "Willie," "Sonny," and "Marcus" follow the descendants of Esi.

Kojo and Anna worked in the Mathison's home. Christianity as a form of colonization returns here, as James Collins uses the phrase “not Christian” to mean “not good,” implying that his religion is superior, and Effia’s “voodoo” and “black magic” is evil. Yaw and Esther move to the United States and have a daughter named Marjorie. This interaction demonstrates how heritage can provide both a sense of identity and a sense of belonging. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia's descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. Author Bio, First Published: Marjorie, Yaw and Esthers daughter, is born in Ghana but grows up in Alabama. With this detail in mind, it seems that James is hesitant to have sex with Effia because she is Fante. He gets in a relationship with a jazz singer named Amani and she gets him addicted to heroin.
While the beginnings of the Ashanti (also spelled Ashante) were not very rigid, it was consolidated by the leader Osei Tutu who created a constitution and installed a seat of power in Kumasi. Cobbe’s statement highlights the importance of marriage as a political tool for the Fantes. The anxiety that Effia feels over the “half-caste child” is echoed by several characters later, including her son Quey. He meets Marjorie, his distant relative, in California, and they return to Ghana together where they contemplate the past and face their fears. Willie began dating a boy from her town named Robert when they were young, and they decide to move to New York together. One night, she sets her family's hut on fire while she is asleep, killing her two daughters and burning her own body badly. The next spring, the chief of the village grows ill, and. This exchange is essentially James asking Abeeku if he can marry Effia or not. A few weeks later, the officer returns to pay his respects to.

For full access, When there is an attack on the place he is living, he sees his chance and runs away to Akosua, who has been waiting for him. Soon after, Dutch officers visit the Castle. Eccoah also says that her husband comes up from the dungeons smelling like feces. Thus, she spends most of her time reading and writing, and dates a white boy named Graham before his father puts an end to their relationship. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Baaba begins to plot against Effia’s marriage to Abeeku so that she will no longer have to deal with her. Baaba also shows herself to be just as resourceful as the men in plotting, as she almost single-handedly arranges Effia’s marriage to a British soldier even against her husband’s wishes. This cycle of beating also demonstrates how women experience violence at the hands of both women and men. Her husband, who lost a leg in a war, was only able to save their baby son Yaw, who is badly scarred.

There, James meets a girl named Akosua and falls in love with her.

Here and throughout the book, fire represents destruction and the pain of slavery that Effia and her descendants ultimately support at the expense of Effia’s half-sister, Esi. In making the women use English names, the British are inherently robbing them of their cultural heritage and a sense of self. The rituals of courtship play into gender stereotypes: the men are meant to hunt and provide food, while the women try to make themselves more attractive to the men. She says there are women down there who are just like them. Fiifi’s enthusiasm here and the results of his participation will leave a stain on Effia’s branch of the family for many generations to come. This revelation finally explains some of Baaba’s cruelty towards Effia, as blood relations are vital in this society.

Cobbe and Fiifi return from the meeting. The black stone symbolizes one’s connection to their heritage. Not affiliated with Harvard College. Homegoing study guide contains a biography of Yaa Gyasi, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Cobbe had lost seven yams, and he felt each loss as a blow to his own family.

...This marvelous debut succeeds in creating an impressive sweep by the sheer dint of powerful writing and narrative scope.

Akua repeatedly dreams about a firewoman, which leaves her dangerously tired during the day and often panicked at night.

Overview. A Brief History of Ghana and the Gold Coast, Characterization in 'Homegoing': Effects of Being a Black Women in a Racist and Patriarchal Society. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle's dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast's booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery.
Once again, the women are told to be silent—and that they should not speak particularly in the presence of men that Abeeku is trying to impress. Evaluate the title of the book. Struggling with distance learning? Although it appears that James is attempting to learn about Effia’s culture because he values it and wants to preserve it, later interactions (like when he sends their son to school in England) imply that James believes his own culture is superior. Just $12 for 3 months or Names are an important recurring motif, relating to a sense of identity. The unrest that Cobbe passes on to Effia is then passed on from generation to generation, as a form of inheritance of the pain that Cobbe had caused Maame, and that Effia and Quey cause Esi and her descendants. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”, LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Homegoing is the debut historical fiction novel by Yaa Gyasi, published in 2016.

This revelation illuminates how the British continue to believe their culture is superior. Author

Here, Gyasi demonstrates how much Effia’s fate is controlled by the men around her. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!”, “This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Aku takes Kojo to Maryland, where he grows up, gets a job on a boat, marries a woman named Anna, and has eight children. She is taken from her mother at a young age, and as a young woman she is married to another slave from Africa named Sam, with whom she cannot communicate. Reviews | The story that the village tells even implies that these biracial children are evil, which adds to the discomfort that characters feel over being biracial, and the discomfort that Effia feels in being married to a British man. Instant downloads of all 1360 LitChart PDFs After a few years of spending all his money on dope, Sonny moves back in with his mother and gets clean.

However, as the novel will later show, colonization ultimately destroyed the village’s culture and their autonomy. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Do these beliefs seem to have a mostly positive or negative impact on the believer and those around them? Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free.

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Article Paperback: © BookBrowse LLC 1997-2020. The Ashanti Nation was a loose group of fiefdoms, an ethnic subgroup that was formed in 17th century Ghana as a trading coalition with the Europeans. Gyasi again relays how easy it is for the women to ignore the people in the dungeons, because they are essentially powerless to stop it. Baaba’s scowl suggests that she disagrees with this plan, foreshadowing her later involvement in Effia’s marriage.