Roots by Alex Haley. Week #4 of the summer Read-A-Long

Roots by Alex Haley.
Read-A-Long Week #4

Pages Read:  302-401
Chapters Read: 48-63

Note:  I am reading ROOTS in honor of my former student Quincy Blue who was recently found murdered, his body burned beyond recognition, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

A lot of time has passed in this section.  Kunta was 17 when I started reading at page 302 and by page 401, he is 37 years old and thinking about taking a wife.

At 17 Kunta is still quite spirited and very smart and continues to run away.  The last time he is caught, the poor white trash slave catchers cut off part of his foot, crippling him for life.  Kunta no longer runs away.  He is taken in by his massa's brother, who is a doctor and will remain on this plantation.  Kunta actually prefers it here and actually grows to accept his role in life.  When his foot is healed he becomes the master gardener and eventually becomes the massa's carriage driver, driving the doctor all over the county to heal the sick.

The Revolutionary War takes place during this period and the slaves in Virginia share daily gossip and conjecture about what is happening.  Some free blacks fight on both sides of the war.  States up north begin freeing their slaves and banning slavery all together.  The Quakers of Pennsylvania begin helping slaves escape to the north and there is talk of a group of free Africans going back to Africa.  All of this Kunta discusses with his friends, the fiddler, the old gardener and Bell.

On one of Kunta's travels with his master, he hears the African drum playing and runs to meet a man with whom he can speak with in his native tongue.  His friendship and need to speak with this man consumes him and he struggles with identity issues and feels much sadness for his life he left behind.

So far I love this book and am almost half way done.  It is hard for me to stop reading each week as I can't wait to see what becomes of Kunta and his life. 

Kunta is 37 years old.
The year is 1787
Location:  Virginia, USA

These are the bloggers/readers participating in the Read-A-Long.  Please visit them and comment.  Also if you are participating and want to be included on this list, please comment and I will add a link to your blog.
Thanks everyone for participating.

1.  Bre from Booksnob Wannabe
2.  Sherrie from Just Books
3.  Michelle from Truebookaddict
4.  Laurie from Whatsheread