Roots
The book: Roots, By Alex Haley
Review by our resident It's All Good Now. Boy, this girl can write! Thanks tons for contributing your time for this excellent report!
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This 700+ page book is a masterful work of non-fiction by prolific author Alex Haley. In this book, Haley chronicles his family's journey harking back 7 generations to a tribal village in Africa. Haley's great-great-great-great grandfather lived in an African village, was kidnapped by white men, and was eventually sold to a plantation owner in one of the southern states in America. The next 5 generations lived as slaves until Haley's grandfather bought his freedom.
Haley's colorful narrative really helps the reader envision life in the African villages of the 1800's, and I suspect that those areas of the world haven't changed much. One recurring theme throughout the African portion of the book is the sanctity afforded to the customs and traditions of each tribe. No infraction is deemed minor, and no sin goes unpunished. There is tremendous value placed on each person - be it man, woman, child, or infant, and the pecking order is strictly adhered to. Every person knows their place, the reason for their creation, and their value to the tribe. Each person also knows that they are accountable to the entire tribe, and that they will be taken to task if they fail in their duty. Corruption is non existent and personal, inner happiness is in abundance. Probably in direct proportion to their total lack of laziness and material comforts. The transition from Africa to America takes place when Haley's forefather is captured by white men engaged in the slave trade. Haley describes the torturous journey endured by the captives in a way that leaves the reader no doubt as to the presence of hell on earth (or ocean, as the case may be). This portion of the book is gut wrenching, nauseating, and leaves me pondering the animal instinct displayed by the capturers and their captives; the former for being so sadistic and the latter for being able to survive despite the senseless cruelty inflicted upon them.
Once in America, Haley's forefather is sold into slavery. He endures long years of pain and suffering, both in the physical and psychological sense. On the physical front, he has a hard time adjusting to the life of a slave, he is unaccustomed to American amenities, and his body takes a long time acclimating to American diseases and climate. Psychologically, his wounds are much deeper than even those on his back from the beatings he received after numerous unsuccessful attempts to escape. He must wrap his mind around the fact that he is beholden to another human, for no discernable reason other than the fact that this person purchased him. He must give up his tribal customs and his tribal way of thinking, and that shatters his self image. Eventually he marries, and bears a child. This child defies the master, and is sold to another plantation owner. With slight variations and several more sales to different slave owners, the next few generations of Haley's forefathers live and breed as slaves, until Haley's grandfather purchases his freedom and sets up shop as a free man.
There were 2 interesting concepts in this portion of the book. First, I found this portion of the book to be a fascinating portrayal of psychological havoc. What was the atmosphere and the mindset that gave birth to slavery on such a widespread basis? Who was the first white person to muster up the audacity to lord it over black people to the point of allowing himself to capture them against their will? And how did he think he would get away with it? Also, white folk were entirely dependent on their slaves, and yet they thought nothing of treating their slaves as dispensable commodities. The slaves lived with a fierce desire to escape burning in their bellies, but for the most part, they went along with whatever hand fate dealt them. Unfathomable in modern day America!
Second, Haley's detailed portrayal of so many generations was only made possible because each parent had the self imposed task of recounting the family's history as told to them by their African ancestor. They realized the importance of continuing the family's legacy, and they realized that the only way to preserve and fully appreciate it was by making sure that it was imbued in every family member from the very day they were born.
After all, if you want to know where you come from and where you are going, the best place to look for answers is by going back to your ROOTS!
13 comments:
"One recurring theme throughout the African portion of the book is the sanctity afforded to the customs and traditions of each tribe. No infraction is deemed minor, and no sin goes unpunished. There is tremendous value placed on each person - be it man, woman, child, or infant, and the pecking order is strictly adhered to. Every person knows their place, the reason for their creation, and their value to the tribe. Each person also knows that they are accountable to the entire tribe, and that they will be taken to task if they fail in their duty. Corruption is non existent and personal, inner happiness is in abundance. Probably in direct proportion to their total lack of laziness and material comforts"
well, could be its true, but it sounds to me like a combo of an artscroll book reffering to our life, a kiruv pamphlet & a secular anthropolgist who is amazed by chassidic lifestyle and is romanticising it...lol
" What was the atmosphere and the mindset that gave birth to slavery on such a widespread basis? Who was the first white person to muster up the audacity to lord it over black people to the point of allowing himself to capture them against their will? And how did he think he would get away with it?"
first you should know,that slavery in general wasent confined to blacks, it used to be a ancient geneva convention rule applying to all p.o.w.'s.
but the slavery of blacks in particular,was started by other blacks,the tribes of upper africa deemed the others as slaves and they captured them & used them as slaves. then they started selling them to the whites.who, after awhile didnt diffrentiate between the tribes,and accapted them all as eligible for slavery.
also, slavery of blacks even in the states wasent confined to white masters.free blacks were also slave owners,using their own brethern as slaves if they could.so,the question how white enslavery of blacks established itself is... kishya meikoro leiso....
What's up with all this heavy stuff, Shpitzle?
How about, like, Gone With the Wind or some Danielle Steele book, or something, huh?
Kidding...keep it up...you're doing great.
(Ok..not TOTALLY kidding...)
I think it was found be a forgery, or that he plagiarized, or something to that effect.
Gevezener - So just because he's not Jewish and his mesorah doesn't trace back to Har Sinai, therefore he can't have the same ideals? And thanks for your clarification re: slavery and its origins.
Chaya - The fault is entirely mine since I had the option of reviewing any book, and I opted for this one.
Deer Goat - Actually, it was just republished in honor of its 30th anniversary. The Readers Digest Foundation helped Haley research the book and they did a report on it in this month's magazine. Doesn't sound like a plagiarized work or forgery to me.
IAGN,
i am soory, but i think you got me all wrong.
i was just trying to point out, that just like we look at such descriptions of ourselves as naivete. the same is possible of us, while reading others describing distant cultures in rosy tones to perceive them as mi yodea vos...
basically i think that, the less one has grown up around a culture and therfore he has neither positive or negative feelings. there are inner feelings of... THE GRASS IS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE...which will prevail over ones judgment, thus making a person romanticise about that culture, thinking of it as, purity, happiness etc.
not that it cant be true..its just that i usually stand up from a book, with such a feeling. and i see that others usually do so as well. and i dont see a real basis for it.
(i think this hypothesis is a major psychological breakthru, i hope to submit it to one of the esteemed psychological journals ha..? what do you think....)
btw hershel is right, it was at its time all over the news -i think i even saw it in the yiddishe papers- the accusations against him of plagiarism & of historical in-correctness. they are documented on wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roots:_The_Saga_of_an_American_Family
Used2B- The funny thing about his narrative is that he doesn't sugar coat anything. And yet, I was left craving the simpler life, physical hardship notwithstanding. The grass might not be greener, but it certainly is purer and fresher.
As for Haley's controversy, they all ended when he settled out of court. I've been in the business long enough to know that settling out of court in no way indicates his guilt. And the Readers Digest is a very reputable institution.
well, if he settled seems there was a reason for paying $650,000...
also, you did not mention that he himself admited, that the book is fiction not fact.
not only didnt you mention you even wrote:
"Haley's detailed portrayal of so many generations was only made possible because each parent had the self imposed task of recounting the family's history as told to them by their African ancestor. They realized the importance of continuing the family's legacy, and they realized that the only way to preserve and fully appreciate it was by making sure that it was imbued in every family member from the very day they were born."
so if he himself sdmitted to portraying fiction as fact,please stop bringing the readers digest,as proof.... i prefer to believe him & not the readers digest.
Used2B- A payout of $650k (if that in fact was the figure)is a small price to pay for peace of mind, especially for a man as wealthy as Haley was when he died. As for the truth or fiction - he admits in his prologue that a lot of the book is conjecture, but it is conjecture based on fact.
Used2B-read my comment to your comment on my blog.
IA GN,
Once again, thanks. Great review. You write so well, it's a shame you don't do it more often around here. I rolled out the red carpet for you, ma'am...
Chaya,
I'm going to review diverse stuff, definetly not just heavy material. I'm reading Empire Falls now - good book. Hey, please make suggestions at my first post call 'sefarim shrank'. I had trouble putting the link in.
Not too long after the book became a runaway best seller (did for Black Americans what Exodus did for US Jews who hardly knew Israel existed), it was discovered that the author had been sold a bunch of rubbish as far as the tribal background on the Gambia was concerned, and that the African government had just made up nearly everything. Back when Hailey wrote, Africans were keen to show the world that their current miserable state was entirely due to colonialism and they had lived in some kind of early Eden before the Europeans. So it's completely fiction until very recent times. Even Hailey's ancestors were manufactured, although he didn't seem to be aware of that at first: he told the authorities what he knew, and they "found" his family--a complete fabrication.
The Blacks in America have their own "Fiddler on the Roof Syndrome". Life in Africa, and in the shtetl, wasn't really nice at all. A fact most African-Americans don't want to face is that the tribes sold each other to the slavers (mostly Arab) who then sold them to the Europeans.
To really appreciate this book, Shpitz, you need to rent the miniseries or take it out from the library. I have the whole vid-set, because I recorded it the last time it was on the History Channel..
For your next post I suggest Anna Karenina
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