Characters that Symbolize the Dehumanization of Minorities
Effia– forced into a marriage with a slave trader who treats her horribly, criticizing and mocking her culture and customs
Esi- enslaved, kept confined to a dungeon and raped by her oppressors
Ness- husband is murdered by slave-owner
Kojo- life of contentment is ruined when his wife and children are wrenched away and sold back into slavery
H- forced to complete backbreaking labor after ‘looking at a white woman suggestively’
Characters that Symbolize Minorities Battling for Self-Individualism
Quey- struggled with sexual identity and with being the son of an Englishman and an African woman
James- faced ethical dilemma in deciding whether or not to follow in his father’s footsteps in the slave trade
Willie- criticized for her relationship with her husband who has a lighter skin tone, her singing voice symbolizes her fight against racial injustice and bigotry
Yaw- haunted by his traumatic past at the hands of his mother and he struggles to make peace with her
Sonny- had problems with the law and drug use, his mother helped to save him from himself
Marjorie- faced obstacles when she entered into a interracial relationship with a boy at school
Marcus- investigated his family’s turbulent and violent past while also overcoming his fear of water/drowning
Significance of The Family Tree
Symbolizes the effects of the slave trade and its intercontinental reach
Represents the migration of Africans to America and their life stories
Symbolizes the inhumanity of slavery as a whole
Shows the relationship between minorities, in this case an extended family
Shows their struggle to evade prejudice and pain in a world of racism and struggle to discover their own identity
Nicholas Scarpone 2018