Today in class we covered the last chapter of book two. This chapter was called "Words came late for a wet nurse". When I first read this title, (before reading the chapter) I assumed that Aminata, the protagonist would not be able to deliver a baby on time. Meaning that a message had possibly come late when a child needed delivering and she didn't have enough time to reach or tend to a woman who would be giving birth.
However, I learnt today that the true meaning of a wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds her child and in some circumstances, a another's child. I found this extremely interesting and I also thought it connected to the theme of unity. I say this because although Aminata expresses that she has lost everything from her parents and, childhood to her own husband and child - she still has the presence of others who are in the same situation as she is in. This evidently makes everyone who were enslaved united as they share the same common misfortune together.
Like wise the title portrays this further as it shows that they even shared what they could, to their children and those of others, who may have lost their own mother(s) due to the atrocious times they lived in.
Tiffany, I find it very interesting that you connected this chapter to the theme of unity. I can definitely see this unity come out in the fact that many of the other slaves in South Carolina had an overload of misfortune thrust upon them as well. They all had a lot to go through, but at least the had the comfort of knowing that they were not the only ones in difficult times.
ReplyDeleteBesides the theme of unity, I found that the theme of hypocrisy was evident in this chapter. The reason this chapter is called, “Words come late from a wet nurse” is because Aminata receives news from Chekura that Solomon Lindo helped with the sale of her son. This shows Lindo’s hypocrisy because he considers himself to be a “reformed” slave owner. We as readers can see that this is definitely not true. For example Aminata says, “Some Hebrew you are. And you say you’re not a white man” (Hill 257).
Loss and love is also a major theme in this chapter. Chekura returns again after thirteen years. Aminata is overjoyed to see him and rekindle their love. However, Chekura brings bad news that their son had died. In addition, in this chapter Aminata finds out that Georgia had died and Fomba had been shot. She is also still mourning the death of Mrs. Lindo. All of this loss takes a toll on Aminata. For example she says, “Now I was thirty years old and had nothing to show for it. No son. No family. No homeland. And even my beauty would soon fade” (Hill 250). However instead of destroying Aminata, these events have only strengthened her character.