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What role do patriotism, heritage, and tradition play in contributing to the injustices, prejudices, and violence depicted in the novel?

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What role do patriotism, heritage, and tradition play in contributing to the injustices, prejudices, and violence depicted in the novel?

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"Don't matter if you was or wasn't. All they gotta do is say you was. That's all they gotta do. You think cuz you all big and muscled up, you safe? Naw, dem white folks can't stand the sight of you. Walkin' round free as can be. Don't nobody want to see a black man look like you walkin' proud as a peacock" (Gyasi 158)

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Prejudice can be defined as a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.Throughout the book, there is a distinct separation between races. African, who have struggled to overcome slavery, regularly experience prejudices because of the color of their skin in America. As explained in this quote by Gyasi, African Americans do not have to do anything wrong, or against whites, their pure existence and presence is enough to boil the blood of white americans. The pure fact that African Americans are allowed to experience the freedom that they deserve infuriates the white people around them. Systems like the convict leasing system give an outlet to this prejudice. White officials would charge African-Americans with meaningless crimes such as jaywalking, in order to get them off the streets and into convict labor, usually in mines. These prejudices are deeply rooted in culture and hate and for some still continue in today's world. Nobody can force someone to change their beliefs even with something as putrid as this, but by continuing equality and acceptance throughout the country our world can try to move on from these ideals.

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Voa. “Almost 46 Million People Live in 'Modern Slavery'.” VOA, VOA, 2 June 2016, learningenglish.voanews.com/a/almost-46-million-people-live-in-modern-slavery/3357487.html.

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"So it was worse than what they had all been fearing, worse than another war, worse than a few hundred more dead. They were a warrior people, and war was what they knew. But if a white man took the golden Stool, the spirit of the Asante would surely die, and that they could not bear" (Gyasi 182)

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Throughout the novel, Gyasi creates a theme of war and violence between individuals that has a direct connection to nationalism. Early African villages were essential built on a warrior like culture, the boys were prepared their entire lives to become strong protectors. For decades, all the villagers had to worry about was the other villages, but ever since the british arrived, there had been a much larger threat. The pure existence of the villagers was now threatened by the white men taking their people hostage, the only way to survive, do the kidnapping for the white man. Villagers began taking people from other villages and selling them to the british as a insurance policy. After years of these transactions, they decided to retaliate. The villagers began fighting the white men, but this time it wasn't the normal tribal battle, it was an all out war. The African villagers now had to fight for their existence, for the spirit of Asante, which the white man was trying to take. Clearly, Violence has always been forced into their nature, they must turn to violence to survive. Sometimes they were forced to do the things they did, and other times they weren't, but no matter what the reason was, a blood bath followed

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"She said there was something evil about them building up the things that had brought them to America in first place, the very things that had tried to drag them under." (Gyasi, 111)

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Throughout the book there is two distinct sides that deal with race. Whether it is in Africa and British men are invading an Asante village or in America and a free slave cannot find work, there is a distinct line of injustices that deals with both sides. The African side of the book sees many murders of white men who primarily come from Britain. Also many of the parents of the villagers warn their younger children of the white men, and the things that they do. In the American side of the book the struggles that many African- Americans have gone through throughout our history is present. Struggling through the bondages of slavery and fighting from their freedom to live as any other person would. Gyasi shows both sides of these injustices to show the struggles of injustices in the world, that exist in many places to this day. These injustices are majorly sparked by traditions and heritage that have developed in different homelands. Humans resistant to change develops discrimmination toward people of different races, spawning mistreatment of different people groups

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Lightspeed System - Web Access, proxy.williamsville.wnyric.org/access?ATTORJ3EPULJ07RWQDCL473OHV20M9XS.

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When the British landed in Africa, they saw "weaker" people that should easy to manipulate, what they weren't prepared for was retaliation. The African Villages fought back in any way they could, they resisted the change that was trying to be forced onto them. The British looked at them and questioned their efforts, why didn't they just give up? The Africans were fighting for something much more than land, they were fighting for their traditions and their culture. The Africans were fought for everything they had built over the decades before the British arrived. The British, were also fighting for what they believed in, they wanted to impose that on the Africans. The British were fighting for their own traditions and culture, they believed in their country, just as the Africans believed in theirs. Neither side was being violent just to be violent, the prejudices each side created, and the injustices that were committed were as a result of a resistance to change. Centuries later, African Americans who had been recently released from the shackles of slavery, were fighting for a place in society. Prejudices fell on whites and blacks, and they seemed to be impossible to overcome. The White ideology was that blacks were now able to steal the freedoms and property that they had worked so hard for, and whites resented African Americans for that. Some African Americans assumed that all white people were against them. This social conflict led to violence from both sides. Once again, two different groups of people were fighting for what they believed in, fighting for their traditions, fighting for their culture, and fighting what they saw as injustices against them. Truly however, all either side was doing was resisting change, neither side wanted to change what they believed in, and out of this came violence, injustices, and prejudice.