The Postcolonial Female "Bildung" in Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes. (July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Oduwobi, Oluyomi; Sewlall, Harry; Abodunrin, Femi
• Is Part Of: Journal of black studies. Volume 47:Number 5(2016)
• Page Start: 383
• Page End: 401
• Publication Date: 2016-07
• Subjects: postcolonial -- female -- bildungsroman -- trans-Atlantic slave trade -- African identity; African Americans -- Periodicals; Black people -- Periodicals; 305.896073
• DOI: 10.1177/0021934716632987
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-9347

Abstract

This article positions itself in the literary representations of the convergence of slavery, migration, race, gender, growth, and the African identity in a neo-slave narrative. It concerns itself with the examination of Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes as a female bildungsroman written from a postcolonial perspective. The novel centers on the growth and experiences of the female protagonist, Aminata Diallo, an African slave who eventually becomes a notable personality involved in the registration of the Black Loyalists on their passage to Nova Scotia (Canada) in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). In addition, she assists in the resettlement of the Loyalists in Sierra Leone and testifies in London on behalf of the abolitionists against the trans-Atlantic slave trade. As a result, this study highlights the intersection of history and literature in addition to the experiences of Africans in the diaspora who struggle with character development and identity in different societies.