Home Going By Yaa Gyasi Belonging

659 Words2 Pages

When we think of the word “home”, it is typically thought of as merely a physical location. However, upon deeper exploration, the word extends beyond a physical location and transcends into a sense of comfort and belonging. In the novel “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi, the author illustrates how the home search transcends physical space by connecting the historical experiences of African American slaves during the slave trade with the search for a home, revealing the necessity of community and culture when finding a home. By including stories from different generations of slaves, Gyasi shines a light on how certain aspects imposed on African Americans throughout the slave trade strip away comfort and identity for many encaptured slaves, leaving them feeling empty and …show more content…

When Esi is captured and removed from her family, she is forced to walk long distances and describes her experience: “She didn’t see anyone from her compound”... “She had never felt more hopeless in her life” (43). Esi’s separation from her village strips away her sense of community, leaving her hopeless and out of place. This demonstrates how Esi has lost her sense of belonging due to being separated from her community, therefore proving how important community is to find a home. Similarly, the character Akua is introduced to further reveal the necessities of finding a home. Akua is a black Asante woman of a more recent generation living with white slave traders. Akua describes her relationship with her husband, “Her husband feared her time among the white missionaries had made her weaker, less of an Asante somehow” (163). Akua claims that her people perceive her as uncultured and removed from the Asante due to her living situation. Due to this perception, it can be inferred that Akua lacks a sense of belonging in her community, as others do not recognize her as a part of their

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