More and more women had become pregnant in Juffure, yet many newborns were dieing right after birth. The women cried out in agony. Disease was also spreading among the men and women. Kunta himself has now developed a pussy sore on his leg. Grandmother Yaisa tends to it and entertains Kunta with stories of his grandfather Kairaba. Another tragedy strikes, when Binta gives birth to a baby boy, and that boy dies as well.
The rain has now ended, and food is plentiful. Binta and Omoro begin Training Kunta in the home, he is taught manners and speech and how to behave when adults are around. Kunta is awarded with a new Dundiko for his good behavior. He has grown now and is old enough to begin school, and tending to the Goats. The seven day harvest festival is upon them and they begin preparing for it. On the last morning of the festival, a half a dozen men enter each hut, and take the boys who are ready for man training away. That day Kunta kills a wild buffalo and he is honored by a beautiful girl.
Binta is once again pregnant, and gives birth to a young boy who they name Lamin. Kunta is now eight years old, it is the eighth rain. Kunta kills a wild panther that attacked and killed one of his goats, and injured a Wuolo dog. He fears that his father will be angry, but Omoro tells him that he just has a lot to learn.
It is now the tenth rain, and Kunta is graduating school. It is time for him to enter his manhood training. He enters hi hut and his head is covered with a hood, he is lead blindly with a group of boys his age, to begin preparation to become a Mandinka warrior. Kin-tango is his teacher, they are taught the skill of hunting, and the proper defense in fighting. Kunta is always the first to volunteer, he is stronger and braver than the others his age, Kin-Tango notices his Bravery, and knows his strength.
Manhood training has now ended, and Kunta returns to the tribe as a man and a Mandinka warrior. Binta has given birth to another boy, who she names Madi. There is a young girl in the village named Jenka Jallon who has given birth to a child, and is unwed. She was captured and raped by white men, but luckily escaped. This tells the Mandinka that there are white traitors present. They Stay close together, and Watch for these white men, who would capture them and take them into slavery. The young girl goes before the Council of Elders, and a decision is yet to be made on what is to be done with her, since she has given birth as an unmarried woman. Fear strikes the Village, white men are taking the Mandinka into captivity.
One evening, Kunta walks into the grove to chop a tree down for his drum that he is making. He kneels down, and behind him hears the cracking of a twig, a parrot squawks and flies away. Kunta knows that even a grown animal wouldn't break a branch like that. He turns around to find a white man upon him. Kunta tries to run, but he is captured. The white men Surround him, beat him, and put him in chains. Kunta passes out.
Kunta wakes up, his body aching from the beating, he is naked, shackled and chained. He wonders if he had gone crazy, and he has no idea where he is at. It is damp dark and cold, and he is chained to other men. Four days pass, and Kunta is still unaware of where he is at. His bowels ache, he hasn't gone to the bathroom since he was captured, his body demands a release, and he goes to the bathroom on himself. Kunta realizes, that he is aboard a ship, he attempts to run but he is bound together with the other, soon to be slaves. The ship smells putrid, as the others begin to go to the bathroom as well, on shelves along the wall. Kunta refused to eat the food that was brought down by the white men, he would rather starve to death. He is choked and beaten for his defiance. The white men, or the Toubob, as the slaves call them, want them to eat so that they can be strong. More slaves are brought under the deck, all vomiting, and urinating on themselves, from fear. They cry out but no one but the Toubob hear there shouts. Kunta is chained to an older man, who shares his wisdom and advice with Kunta. He convinces Kunta to finally eat, buy telling him that he needs to be strong to get his vengeance on the Toubob. Kunta chokes the food down hi s swollen throat, and concentrates on his revenge. Another slave who is chained to Kuntas' other hand, dies, and is thrown over the ship into the sea. This causes fear to rise in Kuntas' heart, but he stays consistent with the thought that he will soon kill the Toubob.
The ship is infested with lice, and they cover the bodies of the slaves, thriving on the places covered with hair. Kunta has been under the ship for fifteen day now, and they are finally brought to the top of the deck. The sunlight blinds Kunta but the sight of light warms and pleases him. The slaves are made to dance, so that they are excercised and made strong for labor. They shout out, "Toubob Fa," meaning kill white man as they dance. The white men do not understand this language.
Kunta discovers that the elder he is chained to is a Wolof, from a different tribe, there are also Foulah on the boat, and Kunta knows that he is not to communicate with them, he knows there can be no companionship between them. The men and women plot to battle the Toubob, and the women manage to steal some knives and other items that can be used as weapons. The men have begun acting hopeless as zombies. More and more men have begun to die under deck, and there bodies are one by one thrown over the ships deck. Kunta puts on a happy act to deceive the Toubob so that he is not beaten with the whip.
One morning while the slaves are dancing on board, a woman jumps over board and there is a fight between the slaves and the Toubob. A few white men are stabbed and a few slaves are killed and thrown overboard. The slaves are made to watch the Toubob, beat the headless bodies of four Wolof into a bloody pulp. The ride on the ship has taken a toll on both the Toubob and the slaves, only twelve of the twenty women remain alive, and many are dieing from the unsanitary feces left among the slaves. The white men lazily scrape up the feces, and are sick themselves, and weak.
The ship finally comes to a halt, they have no idea how long they were actually on the boat. They are now in America. The slaves are kept in mud brick huts, with small sections of bamboo bars; soon after the women are auctioned off. Kuntas friend from his old village, named Fanta, is auctioned off first. It is apparent that Kunta has feelings for Fanta; he swears that he will see her again. Kunta is auctioned off next, and rides away in a wagon on a trip to his new masters home. Once he arrives, he meets a black man named Samson, who minds the Toubob all to well for Kunta to understand. Samson tells Kunta that he will no longer bare his African name, but that his Master has renamed him Toby, an American name. Kunta is furious, he cries his name out, "Kunta Kinte," but he is only scolded and reminded of his new name.
Kunta now has responsibilities, he must slash cornstalks in his masters field, all the time he is defiant and refuses to respond to his new name, Toby. He works slowly and constantly thinks of escaping. He watches everything around him, searching for any kind of weapon to steal and hide. Kunta is filled with pain, but refuses to cry or pity himself. He watches the other slaves, obediently do there work, and his heart is filled with anger, he vows never to become like the Toubob of the other slaves. He is also enraged that the slaves eat the filthy animal, pig, and he refuses to eat it, as it is against his tribes' ways.
Kunta is seventeen years old now; he has been under his masters' control for four months. He is the only slave still working in his chains, because of his defiance, and disobedience. He continues to refuse his new name, Toby. It is very difficult for Kunta to work in these chains as they dig into his skin and restrain him. Kunta listens closely to the people around him, and catches on to the English language, he is now familiar with the words: pig, hog, watermelon, black eyed peas, overseer, Master and especially yes sir master; however Kunta pretends to be ignorant, and acts like he understands nothing. Kunta has now been assigned a new job, which is to gather and clean pumpkins. At night he speaks to his dead grandfather Kairaba, and begs to know his mission and purpose here. He begs Allah for his mercy, but wonders if Allah is even present in such a place as this.
The Toubob often drink and party at night, splitting the slaves into two groups and making them race each other for there entertainment. Kunta realizes that these white men are not as strong as they think; they need the black man, just as the slaves depend on them, and they needed each other all though Kunta despised them.
Kunta now has developed an infected ankle. Although he is in no state to run, Kunta attempts to escape one night, but before he gets very far, Samson catches him and he is beaten with a whip. Kunta returns to his masters' house and decides to behave, until he decides to escape again. Time passes, and Kunta waits for the right time to come for his escape. Snow begins to fall and he knows he must go. Kunta needs some type of weapon before he goes. He sneaks up behind a man and knocks him out stealing his knife. He runs quickly into the woods, and prepares to live there like an animal. Without realizing it Kunta has left a trail of his footprints deep in the snow, a perfect way for the Toubob to track him. He notices the trail and becomes terrified. The next morning, he is found by the white man, they are furious, and he is beat mercilessly, to help his wounds he is wrapped in pig grease. This infuriates Kunta.
Christmas has now arrived, and Kunta decides that he will once again escape, or he shall die. Everyone fears Kunta and no other slave wants to be around him, for they fear he will cause them to be beat.
Kunta has devised another plot for escape. He will ride on the descending tobacco wagon, as it passes through deep in the night. He prepares for the escape, and kills a rabbit to take along with him for nourishment. That very night he runs briskly, leaping aboard the wagon as it rolls away, avoiding being seen by the driver. As the sun begins to rise, Kunta jumps off to avoid being seen, he knows not where he is going, but he can taste freedom. He runs all afternoon, through the dense woods, cutting a path with his knife, he fears the sound of the hounds coming, but he moves forward.
The fourth day arises and Kunta sets out again. He decides to stop and rest, but he falls asleep and wakes up at night fall horrified at this mistake. He begins to run, but to his demise, he hears the hounds upon him. The white men catch up with him, and they cut off the top of his foot so that he cannot run again, Kunta cries out in agony, as he passes out.
Kunta returns to his masters' land, badly beaten and without the top of his foot. He is tended to by a young slave girl named Bell, who cooks in the masters' kitchen. She nurses him back to health and talks to him. Kunta meets another black fellow', who was born into slavery and is also obedient to the White man, his name is Fiddler. Fiddler has been placed in charge of Kunta and is told to train him to be a good, obedient slave. He teaches him more English, and the benefits of behaving well. Kunta has now begun gardening. He wants to keep track of time, so each morning he drops a pebble in a gourd, to keep count of the days. He sees Bell around but she no longer talks to him, this bothers him. However, one day Bell approaches him, and takes him into the masters' kitchen. She shows him the house and he is amazed. Bell begins feeding Kunta, without the master knowing, Kunta grows stronger, and looks better than ever. He feels better than ever, almost as if he is back in Africa, though he is not.
Summer is now over, and the Harvest is here. That means that there is going to be much more work for Kunta. Time passed as it always does, and Bell and Kunta became intimate with each other, being allowed to sleep together at night. Fiddler continued to teach and Educate Kunta, he made Kunta aware that slavery had been outlawed in Virginia, but despite the law, slaves were still being shipped over, and nothing was being done about it. Kunta took notice that Bell had been behaving oddly, then one night, she placed his hand on her tummy and he felt the moving of a child in her womb. He was thrilled and imagined her carrying the young child on her back in the field. He was struck with grief and sadness however, when he realized the possibility that his child could be taken and sold into slavery, as Bell has previously had two other children who were sold into slavery.
Bell has the baby and it is a little girl. Like his father Omoro, Kunta lifts the child into the Sky and recites, "Behold, the only thing greater than yourself, Allah!" The little girl is named Kizzy by Kunta. That is a name that has never been heard in America. He explains to Bell that the name means "you sit down," in Mandinka, which in turn meant that this child would never be sold away like her other two children.
The baby is welcomed by the masters' wife and children, who are very lonely, though Kunta has no mercy for them. He hated the child playing with the white woman, though he had no say over it. He complains to Bell about this relationship between the child and the white women, she tries to convince him that no harm could come from the relationship, however he is not convinced, and decides that she holds no argument against him. Chapter 69 ends with this discussion.
The portion of the book that I read was interesting, and very informative. I have seen many movies and books on slavery and I have always known the cruelty and brutality of it. This Novel has given me even more insight into the real world of slavery. Not only the deprivation, but the beatings and filth that surrounded these captivated slaves. It is a sickening thought what was done to these innocent beautiful people. America should certainly be ashamed of its past. Although today we have rid the U.S of slavery there is still the presence of racism, and hate in the hearts of many people of our country. Young children are taught to hate, and raised to be superior above the other colors of our nation. The truth is, despite individual opinion that is an ignorant belief. We are all created equal in the eyes of GOD, we all bleed the same, and that is something that everyone needs to realize. The color of ones skin does not numb the bleeding of the heart, and the pain of a soul. Feelings flourish through all colors and races of human beings. Life is a beautiful gift of GOD, he is the judge of all, not a human, love needs to take over the hearts of America; the attitude of September 11th didn't last too long.
