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Yaw is not accepted by society because of his scar and all it means. His scar is the only thing that you would know about if you had only saw him, but if you know his family's story, people are even more cautious and less welcoming. When he left his village, he had no family, absolutely no one, and was ignore or shunned everywhere, until he met Edward and his family. They take him in, but he never really feels like a part of their family, as shown when he refers to himself as a stray dog. He sees himself as not belonging in the only place that accepts him.

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As a young adult while the United States is about to head into the Civil Rights Movement, Sonny can feel the unfairness in his own country, just like Yaw does. However, Sonny has been arrested countless times, showing the vast differences in their circumstances. Sonny spends both his free time and his career fighting for equality, though even with his passion, he finds it an impossible task. Their story shows how even for those who are driven, society will find a way to imprison the Black population one way or another

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belonging is a significant theme in homegoing that is explored through Sonny's character. Sonny struggles to find a sense of belonging in both Ghana and the US due to his mixed heritage and cultural identity

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Yaw goes through generational trauma throughout his life because of his scar and how it reminds him of his family and what they went through during slavery and all they had to overcome. The fire his mother put him through reminds him that he will have to carry the trauma that his family has. It gets passed on for every generation.

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Throughout Sonny's life, generational trauma is shown and is what leads to many larger problems. His father abandoned him, and as a result with his children he justifies and says that since his father did, why can't Sonny. The many years that passed that Sonny did not have a father, is what caused the problems he had, and why he fell into doing drugs. Towards the end, Sonny listens to Wille, and decides to stay for his children to break the cycle of what happened to him and be there for his children.

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Sonny is repeating the same actions of leaving his kids to never know who their father is that his own father did to him. Unfortunately, he hasn't known anything different which is perhaps why he is going through this cycle and referring to drugs as a way to escape. Another example I believe that Sonny's generational trauma relates to is when he went to jail just like his grandfather "H". H wasn't doing anything but because of the convict leasing system he punished for an action that shouldn't even be considered a crime. Sonny went to jail for protesting for the rights he wishes his generations before him had, including "H" so maybe he wouldn't have had to work in the coal mines all of those years with no pay. Sonny felt connected to this burden which is why he decides he needed to act against it.

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Yaw has both mental and physical cages, both stemming from his scar. The actual physical scar causes him to be looked past and almost locked away from the rest of society, a clear example of this being the girl who did not want to be with him because of the scar. All of this causes him to have a mental cage as well. The constant feeling of never belonging because of the scar, Yaw has developed a self depricating personality and does not know how to build connections with new people. The truama from his childhood and the scar has carried through his entire adult life.

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Sonny fits into the essential question of what is loyalty because Sonny never felt loyalty is his life due to the fact that he never got to meet his father due to racial passing. Due to the lack of loyalty he had as a kid it resulted in him being unloyal to his own children. This is because he never had a father figure so he believed that you don't need a father to be okay but in reality he disproves his own point. This disproves his point because he has become a drug addict due to the fact that he never had a father figure which led to his anger. His lack of loyalty has led to him not showing his own kids loyalty which will just be repeating the cycle all over again. This connects to today because people who lack a parent figure can get into trouble with drugs which can lead to them making bad decisions which can lead to them doing the same to their own children.

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The theme of loyalty is presented in Yaw's chapter, with his encounter with his first crush. He spent weeks assembling pieces of English literature onto leaves and carefully planting them so that the girl he liked would find them, and come to him for a translation. Later he finds out that she had gone to his good friend instead. His friend was loyal by rightfully speaking to the girl that it was not him planting the leaves but Yaw. He also told the girl that Yaw did this because he had feelings for her. From an outside perspective it may be a little confusing as to why someone would purposefully lay leaves etching on them but he explained in a kind way. Loyalty was also present in Esther, because she stayed by his side and defended him when other people disrespected him. She only showed him kindness even when he was rude.

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Yaw is shown true loyalty from his friend Edward and his family. Although Yaw has no wife to cook for him and never any company at his house, he is welcomed into the home of Edward and his family nearly every night. Edward had been his childhood friend; the two went to school together when they were younger. Edward knows they differ in personality, and he knows of the struggles yaw goes through, but he still accepts him as his closest friend. Loyalty is again showed later in the passage when Yaw was accepted in to the home of someone who knew him when he was a child. He was fed and given a place to rest, before setting out for his mother's the next day. Although the man hadn't seen him in years, and it was only when he was 6, he still gave him his sympathy and accepted him into his home.

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Loyalty is shown throughout Sonny's life in many places.  At first, Sonny's loyalty is to his drugs which starts from the inner problems he was facing. He would put all of his attention towards his drugs and did not realize that his loyalty belongs to something else. Willie shows loyalty to him when she allows him to come in and stay with her. She feels that it is her duty to be loyal and help him, which she does when she tells him that although he did not choose the life he has been given, he has a responsibility and a loyalty to his children. Sonny then puts all his loyalty to his children, and decides to stay and not take the drugs as he would wanted to do.

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In Yaw's case, almost everyone around him disregards him due to his appearance. Therefore, he describes the love he feels for Edward's family as similar to the love a stray dog feels toward it's owner; he feels grateful to be accepted, even if it is not his real family. In this way, it is revealed that a sense of belonging is obtained when a person is accepted for their personality rather than external factors, such as appearance.

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Sonny has an internal conflict over his own guilty of knowing that he has let down his family. He abandoned his children the same way his own father did to him and distanced himself from his mom and sister due to his drug addiction. Not only is he angry at his mom and dad for never knowing who his father was, but he is angry at himself for being a disappointment. And so he uses the dope as a way to wash away all of his problems. Even at his family dinner he uses dope because it has been his only constant comfort in this uncomfortable situation where he feels out of place and knows that he is wrong. But at the end of his chapter when Willie offers him money to go and run, he decides to stay and break free from his cage that the drugs has put in him so he can start a better life.

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Sonny fits into the essential question of the generational trauma because he never had a father figure do to his fathers racial passing. This is the cause of his anger because Sonny is angry that his mom, Willie, never tried hard enough to keep him. But the reality was that there wasn't much she could do because of the color of her skin, this gave her less opportunities. Robert was lucky because he was light enough to pass as white so he was able to earn himself a better life. As a result of Sonny not having a father figure he continues this cycle by doing the same to his kids. Sonny has three kids with three different women and he is never in any of their lives because he never had a father so he thinks that they don't need a father and they will be just fine. But this is untrue because clearly Sonny is not okay because he is addicted to his drugs and is angry because he never had a father but he is just doing the same to his children.

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Yaw has metaphorical bars through his scar. He always feels out of place and though he doesn't belong because of his mother giving him the scar and therefore Yaw having no more contact with his family. Also, Yaw has trouble meeting new people because they are always intimidated by his scar. In the passage a girl he likes rejects him because of his scar leading him to never truly feel comfortable with his own face.

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Yaw is stuck in a metaphorical cage because he is left with a nasty scar from birth, one that hinders him in all aspects of life every day. Yaw considers this "cage" virtually inescapable, until he realizes that he gives it most of its power and that he can break free.

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When Yaw was almost 15, he revealed that he was unsure if it was impossible for him to pass on his scar. In this way, he reveals that while he won't pass on a physical scar, he is aware that the burden of people's judgement will be passed on; just as he is known as the son of the Crazy Woman, his children would be known for having a scarred father. Therefore, Yaw faces the generational trauma of being judged and outcast.

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Yaw is in a cage where his bars are the scars on his face. His scars prevent him more mentally than physically as is makes him feel like he doesn't belong in society at an equal person because of his family's past. The representation the scar gives of family's involvment in slavery is what he has to overcome.

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Generational Trauma is clearly shown through Yaw because of his scar. He is facing the long lasting effects of Effia and her being part of the slave trade. Not only is he facing the physical effects, but he has mental scars as well because he has no contact with his mother and feels as though he doesn't belong anywhere. He doesn't accept his physical or mental scars so therefore he cannot find peace.

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Sonny doesn't feel like he belongs with his family anymore due to both his sisters treatment of him and his own actions. His sister makes him feel excluded by arguing with him, disrespecting him, and viewing him as a threat to her children furthering his sense of isolation. His own actions don't help him much either, as he knows dope is bad but does it anyway and subsequently feels like an outcast and disappointment to his family, making him feel like he doesn't belong.This shows us that in order to belong one needs to be respected and accepted by their family, while making good choices.

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In order to belong in his community with Amani, Sonny decides to take heroin and become an addict alongside her and those she hangs around. This shows the lengths that someone will go to to feel at home and belong in a community, in this case Sonny doing something he would not normally do in so that he can feel accepted in Amani's community.

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For generations, Yaw's family has dealt with the trauma of the previous generation. Effia was born of fire, and still generations later, the fire still affects her line. Everytime a generation makes a mistake or has an issue, the following generation has to feel the affects. Akua's fire dreams have completely changed the course of Yaw's life. He will forever be affected by the scar given by his mother's issues.

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Sonny fits into the essential question of do all cages have bars because he is trapped in his own cage because he is trapped by his own anger of not getting to choose his life. Sonny hates the injustices in America in inequality but when he does something about it he goes to jail and is trapped by the prison bars physically. In America those in society will find a way to imprison the black population one way or another whether in prison or dependence on drugs. Also Sonny is imprisoned by his drugs because he has become addicted because he wants to find a way out of the anger. His drugs remove his metal bars for a short period of time which is why he is addicted because he can escape the bars even if it is for a short period of time.

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Sonny's culture is defined by his family's history and traditions in Ghana. His family's experiences with slavery and colonialism shape their identity and cultural practices

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When Yaw left for school, he had no family, no one to confide in. Once he went for school, he met Edward. Edward's family became Yaw's "found family". Edwards family took Yaw in as their own, and loved him as their own. They became his family. He finally found a place where he was not turned away from due to the scar on his face.

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The beginning of Sonny’s story has parallels with the beginning of Yaw’s story. They both focus on revolutionary style literature. Yet it is easy to see how their stories differ, prompted by a difference in family history and heritage: Sonny reads his book in jail, while Yaw is writing his own book from the comfort of his personal office

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Yaw suffers from generational trauma through a scar on his face. He gets rejected by a girl because she doesn't also want her children to posses the scar on their face. The scar is a representation of his family's past involvment in the slavery trade. This shows family

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Yaw has a scar which burdens his life because of how people shame him for it. This causes his social life to be pretty much non-existent as the scar scares people. Due to this he can't fit in. The only people that truly accept him are Edward's family.

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Yaw experiences Generational trauma in the form of his scar, and where he got it. Yaw struggles with life on a daily basis. When he was young, his mother lit their hut on fire and everyone dismissed her as crazy. It wasn't until later, when his mother saw a missionary, when they found out that her pain and insanity originates in the evils of her lineage, passed down from generation to generation. Yaw suffers from this is his mother's "craziness" almost gets him killed, and leaves him with a nasty scar covering half his face.

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Culture can be many things; food, clothing, language, etc. However, Sonny has fallen victim to drugs and the culture around drugs. He originally was a normal African-American boy, but after everything that he went through, he fell into the trap of drugs that a high number of poor communities or minorities fall into. He loses his culture along with who is was and is. His culture is now defined by drugs and not being a part of his family.

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Not all cages have bars. Yaw is trapped in a cage by his scar. Yaw's cage prevents anyone from accepting or loving him, and he is trapped by his scar up until his 50s. His scars, although not a physical power, stop him from doing many things, and in this way are the bars to his cage.

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In Sonny's chapter, a clear cage is the use of heroin and drugs within his community. The addiction strains him financially and much like those around him, becomes a priority in his life rather than his children and family. It even weighs down on his mother, who gives him money to fuel his addiction. Although it is an invisible "cage", his addiction certainly puts up bars in his life and affects him negatively by kicking out more important things like family.

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It is difficult for Yaw to find a true place of belonging. He felt loved and accepted in his friend, Edward's, household. This is because although he knows they love him he recognizes that they aren't his real family. He feels that he belongs at school as a performer but not as his true self. He feels incomplete because he does not know how his scar was caused and the true story of why his mother lit the house on fire. The story of his family lineage and who he really is. It isn't until he goes and visits his mother that we are able to see true character growth in that he recognizes why his mom lit the fire and the other struggles people around him where going through.

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Sonny and subsequently his family suffer from generational trauma. Their generational trauma manifests in the form of Sunny's anger at the world and his behavior. Sonny follows in the footsteps of his father by fathering three children yet doesn't interact with them in any way shape or form, simply justifying it by basically saying that if he didn't get a father why should they, deepening the generational trauma by spreading it to his children. Sonny also is very angry at the world due to being abandoned as a child, and constantly argues and hurts his loved ones as means of coping with his generational trauma.

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Sonny displays the theme of loyalty through his decision to stay with his mother. By not taking the money and leaving, he shows loyalty to his family, prioriting them and their happiness and wellbeing over his own addiction. It also shows his loyalty to his children, as this comes after his mother speaks of how his kids, much like him, have an absent father. His loyalty is also covered in his addiction to dope, being loyal to the substance, and his loyalty to his movement. However, because his loyalty to heroin is harmful, he abandons it in favor of loyalty to his family and children.

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Yaw was accepted unapologetically by Edward's family and was able to feel comfortable with someone and in a place which is what feeling belonged is. He is able to be himself around people who treat and love him like family. Yaw feels like he doesn't belong in many places considering the scar he got when he was younger which he gets reminded of everyday. A girl he liked claims that if they get married their children will be ugly which makes him question where he blongs.

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Yaw's family has been tormented by fire, and they cannot escape it or the hate that has been caused by it. Yaw has scars all over his face which has not let him belong, and has driven away all his love interests. He eventually gets the house girl to love him, but until then the generational trauma, fire, caused him to be loveless.

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When Yaw moves to Oseim he is taken in by a new family, and even though he is not part of the family he feels safe and comforted. However, he never feels as though he truly belongs because he doesn't have contact with his real family. Yaw even compares himself to a stray dog. Stray dogs are lost and don't know their place just a Yaw never truly knows his place because he can't find peace without knowing his mother.

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Yaw's scar is both literal and figurative - the scar was given to him by his mother, but he also has mental scars. Because his mother couldn't cope, and burned the house, he had to leave the village. His separation from his family and his home means that he is timid, fearful, and until this point, unsuccessful in his endeavors. He enjoys teaching not because he can be himself, but because he can hide behind his teaching, the story.

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Sonny feels as if he has never had any loyalty in his life due to the fact that he had never met his father. But then he repeated his father's actions by not getting to know his own kids. As a result, he provided all his loyalty to his drugs, so he could ignore all of his problems, ignore all of his pain. But he wasn't recognizing the loyalty Willie has towards him. Even though he is angry at her for never knowing his dad and she is angry at him for being an absent father himself as well as his drug abuse, she is still here for him. She is still mad, but her love exceeds that and so she offers him money, saying he can go if he really wants to, after providing him dinner. Willie still treats him like a human being that deserves love and loyalty even though he hasn't been loyal at all.

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loyalty happens to be very important theme in Homegoing where it is demonstrated through Sonny's character. Sonny is loyal to his family and community even when it means sacrificing his own happiness and well-being.

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Yaw does not stay in contact with his mother. He stays with Edward's family and he is taken in as though he were their own. Yaw feels like he belongs cause he is cared for by these people. This answers the question of what does is mean to belong because Yaw feels like he belongs with people who are not his family because he is cared for by them and he stays attached to them.

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Sonny shows the theme of generational trauma through his disconnection to his family and children. When he learns about his father, it is implied that because his father was absent, he learned to also be an absent father to his three children. His mother also speaks of how upset she is that his kids will not get to have a father, just like he didn't have one. Finally, Willie speaks of her march from Alabama to New York in relation to Sonny's participation in civil rights marches, the generational trauma of their struggle living on, both in that they both are suffering under racism, and that they both are marching.

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Yaw has a scar from the fire incident at his birth, and this has led to him being shunned. Although he is accepted by Edward and his family, that is all who he is accepted by. He cannot fit in or belong because of the curse that has been carried in his family, and this leads to him giving up on finding love.

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Sonny shows loyalty by resisting his urges by not taking the money. He chooses loyalty by staying with his family instead of taking the money from his mother and shooting up more dope, showing his commitment and loyalty to his family as opposed to his own pleasures.

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To belong is when one feels happy and loved where they are. In Sonny's case his time in jail was hard for him as he was always alone. He did not look like all of his peers, and as a result he felt out of place. Sonny feels " the practice of segregation meant that he had to feel his separateness as inequality and that was what he could not take."(Gyasi 244). Sonny wants to go back to the place where he is surrounded by people who look like him, so that he may feel more comfortable.

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Loyalty is a concept of how much you care for a person or idea. It is how much you are willing to sacrifice for that concept. Loyalty is how much you care. Sonny has issues with loyalty because he no longer cares for his mother and what his mother has done for him or wants him to be. He has lost the sense of loyalty until the end where he realizes how he is hurting his family. Sonny manages to regain his loyalty.

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Based off of what I read in Yaw, loyalty is how Edward and his family took Yaw in and showed him love and support. Edward even advocated for Yaw when speaking to the girl he liked, explaining to her that you can't inherit a scar.

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Generational trauma is evident in Sonny's chapter. Just like his father, he abandons his kids, continuing the cycle into the next generation. The years that affect ones life the most are their childhood, and the absence of a parental figure not only puts strain upon the family as a whole, but makes it more difficult overall for the children to succeed.

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Both Sonny and his mother Willie display this theme in Sonny's chapter; Willie is accused by Sonny of not fighting, her cowardice trapping her in a state of constant victimization at the hands of others. Willie, in turn, accuses Sonny of being trapped by his anger over not getting to choose what his life would be like, culture defining his entire existence. Finally, Sonny is trapped by his addiction to dope/heroin, and is only able to escape his addiction with the help of his mother.

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The clearest example of Yaw depicting a cage is Yaw's scar. Especially because the cause of the scar was out of Yaw's control, it has put this burden on his life. It has made him different from the rest of the people around him. Many tend to make faces and point at it. It is the first depiction they get of Yaw and because of his difference people tend to create assumptions and conclusions that may not necessarily be true. It has made Yaws life increasingly difficult and brought him towards the realization that he will have to work harder than most to create a welcoming/kind appearance towards others.

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Edward embodies loyalty when he tries to help Yaw with a girl; Yaw writes love poems in a foreign language so that the girl would ask him about them. However, the girl asks Edward instead but he stays loyal to Yaw by telling her that the poems were from Yaw. In this way, Edward put his friend's well-being over his own and demonstrated loyalty.

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Loyalty comes when someone is there and not giving up on a person. Yaw's mother would write letters to him everyday for a while but stopped when she got no response. Yaw spent his leaves with Edward's family who treats him like their own. This is loyalty from Edward and his family because they recognize how he needs somebody and they are there for him.