Homegoing

by Yaa Gyasi

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Homegoing Questions and Answers

How are women treated throughout the book Homegoing?

In Homegoing, why does Akosua Mensah insist to James, “I will be my own nation”?

What is the significance of the title Homegoing?

What is the importance of language for the characters in Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi? What do we learn about the social identities of the characters from the languages that they use and how do people try to manage different relationships by switching from one language to another?

How does Yaa Gyasi use names to help establish identity or loss of identity in Homegoing? How do characters establish independence or try to connect to their roots?

Why does Akosua Mensah insist to James: "I will be my own nation"? What role do patriotism and tradition play in contributing to the injustices and prejudices depicted in the book? Which other characters seem to share Akosua's point of view?

Who was Akua in Homegoing?

What is the significance of beginning the novel with Effia and ending with a reunion between Marjorie and Marcus? How does this structural decision impact the novel’s organization? What impressions does it leave on the reader?

How does dehumanization affect a person's identity in Homegoing?

Who were Effia and Esi's parents?

What is the significance of the kente cloth in Homegoing?

Compare and contrast Ness's position as an antebellum American slave with H's situation as a former slave living in the American South in the 1870s.

What is the difference between strength and weakness according to James from Homegoing?

What happens to Esi and her descendants in Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi?

What are some of the expectations James's family had for him?

How is the theme of family explored in Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi?

What is the name of Effia's village?

What does Ohene have to do to save the village?

In Homegoing, what does the writer mean when she says that slaves in Ghana were "reduced to yet another commodity"?

How does Adwoa serve as a mentor for Effia in Homegoing?

How does Homegoing engage with the changing landscape of American identity?

How does Ohene save his village in Homegoing?  

What belief did both Big Man and Willie Lynch share regarding the strategies needed to develop good slaves in Homegoing?