Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Analysis Essay Example

Abstract

Through this summer reading course, historical knowledge conveyed by a multifaceted story has expanded upon what I believed the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was. This reflection will cover the new views and information I’ve been exposed to during the completion of this cornerstone. This experience has widened my eyes to the countless stories similar to those of the characters described within the text. Heritage lost to slavery and lives driven to aimless work like cattle. Homegoing introduced new ideas that adjusted my views on the hopeless life as an African slave.

Traversing a Plethora of Stories from Slavery

Homegoing introduced new ideas that adjusted my views on the hopeless life as an African slave. Moving forward with these ideas, I look to research and expand further on the topic of slavery and its effects on the African people, even to this day.

Exploration

Adapting can be simply described as becoming adjusted to a new environment. Adjusting to not only acclimate with your surroundings, but to also intake knowledge that widens your view. For this particular Cornerstone, the key focus was set on Yaa Gyasi’s novel, Homegoing. The novel was read as part of a summer course lead by Professor McCoy-Deh. As a collective, the thoughts and emotions on the chapters were shared amongst peers which worked to further the connection between the novel and peers. This specific course was chosen due to my desire to greatly expand my knowledge upon African American history and its heritage. The notion of reading these incredible heartbreaking stories deepened my desire to connect more with these characters. Each of them living their own grim lives though with a connection formed among them.

The entirety of the summer session spanned between May 16th to June 24th, 2022. As a collective, we’ve discussed the authors ideas and themes throughout the novel and even watched an interview from Yaa Gyasi herself. Moving through the pages within the novel, I chose to further my research and connect the ideas shown within and compare with true stories told by African American slaves. With each chapter, the lives brought deep emotion and resilience; displaying to me the lengths that the African people would go to just to gain little to nothing for betraying their fellow brothers and sisters. This topic truly interests me as an architecture student as I seek to indulge myself with a variety of cultures to truly design, not for aesthetic but to create a symbol representing who we are as people. To design with purpose, envisioning each distinct culture and its heritage with each structure.

Experience 

Breaking down the variety of themes that Yaa Gyasi implemented within her stories, I’ve discovered three main themes. Legacy, Slavery, and Heritage all are prevalent within each chapter. Each leading to another, each character’s story plays a role in showing how vital each is within the plot.

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade set all of these stories into motion as African village heads traded off their own to receive European goods. The nature of the slave trade in Africa suggests that it created opportunities for multiple parties to participate and gain political power. In Africa the opportunities and profits from the slave trade were open to everybody. Although slaves were obtained during raids and major conflicts, slaves were also obtained internally. Since the trade was open to most, villagers could exchange slaves through trickery, local kidnappings, or other forms of small-scale violence (Obikili, 2016). Significant figures within the African communities would converse and establish agreements with foreign powers, which proved to be a major corruption that plagued African villages. Villagers, local chiefs, and warlords who participated heavily in the slave trades and profited from it had more incentives to break away from larger states. This led to the collapse of pre‐existing forms of government, with larger states replaced by smaller groups usually controlled by an established chief or warlord (Obikili, 2016). When they arrived in the North American colonies, masters were quick to realize that their slaves were as valuable for these skills as for their labor (Weber, 2006).

The introduction of African American Slaves into the American economy created an increased demand. The free labor of a slave created spikes in profit for these American plantations which furthered the desire for more slaves. With the prices of certain crops increasing, plantation owners witnessed their businesses booming. Cotton production continued to rise and by 1860 it represented 57 percent of all U.S. exports (Carson and Bonk, 1999). The demand for labor grew to such a degree that slave traders went deep into the African interior to meet the needs of the planters (Weber, 2006).  

With the historical details in mind, I was able to grasp at a better understanding of the characters like Effia who had to hide her newfound menstrual cycle due to her being a primary choice for slave traders to marry or sell off into slavery. There are countless moments where the atrocities of the slave trading system are unfolded such as Esi being raped by a guard and being faced with a look of disgust after the guard finished violating her. Each downfall within the book brought out countless true experiences that are represented by these characters. I admire the precision and dedication that Gyasi put into each character due to the fact that it accurately displays what the life of a slave was like.

Completion

The overall learning experience enriched the method by which I analyze textual history and view the heritage that thrived before it was taken away by slave owners. Gyasi’s novel displayed a linear story that outlined the conventions by which slaves were housed in during the years prior to their enslavement. Showing the African people’s betrayal to themselves by being swayed by goods into trading their own. The underlying principle of greed and corruption is what drove these deals between the Europeans and the high-ranking African officials. 

Moving into slave labor, the kind of work and conditions these human beings were put through are impressively displayed by the novels characters. The novel gives life to historical knowledge; guiding the audience through an experience that grasps at emotions, hanging all prior beliefs on a thread. Adjusting my mind through this labyrinth of a journey was quite obstacle as each character possessed their own complex lives and emotions. It provided me with the feeling that I am there with them, witnessing these atrocities. With these complexities in mind, I possess a diverse historical view of the world. 

Using the lost remnants of stolen heritage, I look forward to applying this into my discipline. Exploring the design world with new ideas and keeping the historical themes of the novel in mind. Moving forward with these ideas, I look to research and expand further on the topic of slavery and its effects on the African people, even to this day.