Through his novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, Alex Haley shattered the stereotypical images of slavery and slaves as happy, childlike individuals with no sense of their African heritage. In depicting the experiences of seven generations of his family, Haley illuminated the destructive impact of slavery on the lives of African Americans and their struggle to hold onto their identities and transmit their knowledge of the African tradition to the next generation. This paper will offer a concise exploration of this novel by describing its multiple settings and offering a summary of the plot of the novel. More importantly, the underlying moral of the story will be discussed. In addition, Kunta Kinte, the main character of this story will also be analyzed. Finally, the impressive legacy of Roots and its continuous impact on contemporary society will be illuminated by applying the text to current events.
In Roots, the setting of the story shifts in accordance with the movement and sale of the characters. The story first begins in Juffure, a small African village where Kunta was born. When Kunta is captured by the white slavers, or the toubob, the setting of the story shifts to the slave ship set for the United States. With Kunta's arrival in the United States, the narrative moves to the Waller plantation in Virginia where Kunta lives. When Kizzy, Kunta's daughter, is sold by Master Waller after her failed attempt to help her lover, Noah, escape, the story moves to Tom Lea's plantation in North Carolina. When Tom Lea's fortunes decline, he sells Kizzy's daughter-in-law and grandchildren to Master Murray in Alamance County, also in North Carolina. The narrative then moves to Henning, Tennessee, upon the emancipation of the family at the end of the Civil War. By the end of the novel, Alex Haley travels back to Juffure and discovers the origins of the family as the narrative comes full circle (Haley).
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