Postcolonial Female "Bildung"

What is it about?

This article positions itself in the literary representations of the convergence of slavery, migration, race, gender, growth, and the African identity in a neo-slave narrative. It concerns itself with the examination of Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes as a female bildungsroman written from a postcolonial perspective. The novel centers on the growth and experiences of the female protagonist, Aminata Diallo, an African slave who eventually becomes a notable personality involved in the registration of the Black Loyalists on their passage to Nova Scotia (Canada) in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). In addition, she assists in the resettlement of the Loyalists in Sierra Leone and testifies in London on behalf of the abolitionists against the trans-Atlantic slave trade. As a result, this study highlights the intersection of history and literature in addition to the experiences of Africans in the diaspora who struggle with character development and identity in different societies.

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