Roots (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Alex Haley
- First Published: 1976
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Historical realism
- Time of Work: 1750 to 1967
- Setting: The Gambia, West Africa; and the Southern United States
- Principal Characters: Kunta Kinte, Kizzy, Chicken George, Tom Murray, Cynthia Murray Palmer, Georgia Anderson, Alex Haley
- Genres: Long fiction, Nonfiction, Historical fiction
- Subjects: Culture, Family or family life, Africa or Africans, Genealogy, South or Southerners, Twentieth century, Nineteenth century, Slavery or slaves, Manners or customs, Eighteenth century, Amputation, amputees, or prosthetics, Lifestyles, Oral history
- Locales: Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Gambia, Africa
The Novel
Roots is, in Alex Haley’s words, a “novelized amalgam” of documented historical and fictionalized events. Haley’s artistic intent, that his family’s narrative should serve as a symbolic saga for all Americans of African descent, pervades the novel on all levels. With the exception of the last three chapters, the novel is told from an omniscient, third-person perspective.
In the spring of 1750 in Juffure, The Gambia, a son is born to Omoro Kinte and his second wife, Binta. The child is named Kunta. As a member of the old and highly esteemed...
[The entire page is 2947 words long]
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