Topic > A review of the book "Homegoing" by Yaa Gyasi

Imagine being moved away from home, forced to do something you didn't want to do, not being able to chart your own path in life. This was the case of Esi and Effia, two half-sisters both originally from Ghana but who have never met. One captured into slavery while the other married to an Englishman. Within the book Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, numerous examples of racism, slavery and systematic oppression are shown. A book like this will give you a world of emotions due to the events that happen: anger, fear, sadness. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay In one of the events that happened, Esi had been sexually assaulted. “When he was done, he looked horrified, disgusted with her. As if he were the one who had something taken away from him. One act of injustice that was shown was when Esi was raped by a soldier in a women's prison, the systematic oppression they faced shows how the soldier did not look at Esi or the other women in the women's prison as human and treated them rather like animals. She was objectified but still had to remain strong: “Weakness is treating someone like they belong to you. Strength is knowing that everyone is their own,” refers to slavery and how whites saw African Americans as if they were less and not worthy of respect. They would use it as an excuse to continue to dehumanize African Americans, this just goes to show how racism was used to justify brutal acts of violence. Also, slavery and race played a huge role in this book “If no one tells you, I will tell you. The war may be over, but it isn't over." Even after the end of the war of slavery, racism is a continuous war that African Americans have had to deal with every day. "The prisoners who worked in the mines were almost all like him, Black, once a slave once free, now a slave again. Hy had to work in a coal mine where he and other African Americans would always have to worry about death or brutal beatings. It also shows how corrupt prison was. the people H worked with were former slaves, this shows how racially based this system was, after all most of the time it was black men who were sold into it. Due to systematic oppression, even after being free, many still lived in fear. “Free man. Half of Baltimore's former slaves had that name. Tell a lie long enough and it will become the truth. (Gyasi 112), many like Kojo moved north after escaping and were now "free slaves" and many put their surname as free men, but if they live a life in fear, do they feel free? For fear of being enslaved again or of their children being captured, people would try to migrate as far north as possible. The acts of racism and segregation were clear: "he was called 'boy' by every other white kid with snot showing." (Gyasi 244) in some cases and lack of opportunity and education have led people like Sonny's father (Willie) to believe that they cannot do more for themselves, and for Willie to lead a life of dependency. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, you can see the many effects of racism, slavery, and systematic oppression. I think the effects of this theme were very clear throughout the book, passing from generation to generation. It showed a broken system that was not created for African Americans in the first place..