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The son of Quey and Nana Yaa, James grows disgusted by his family’s participation in the slave trade and resolves to escape the same life. He runs away from the wife who had been promised to him, Amma Atta, and instead goes to live with a poor Asante girl named Akosua, with whom he has a daughter named Abena. Though his crops fail to grow—earning him the nickname “Unlucky”—he is constantly thankful that he no longer has to participate in the slave trade.
James Quotes in Homegoing
The Homegoing quotes below are all either spoken by James or refer to James. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1: James
Quotes
“There's more at stake here than just slavery, my brother. It's a question of who will own the land, the people, the power. You cannot stick a knife in a goat and then say, Now I will remove my knife slowly, so let things be easy and clean, let there be no mess. There will always be blood.”
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“That was my father and grandfather's work. It is not mine.” He didn’t add that because of their work, he didn’t have to work, but instead could live off the family name and power.
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Part 1: Abena
Quotes
An unmarried twenty-five-year-old woman was unheard of, in her village or any other on this continent or the next. But there were only a few men in her village, and none of them wanted to take a chance with Unlucky's daughter.
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James Quotes in Homegoing
The Homegoing quotes below are all either spoken by James or refer to James. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 1: James
Quotes
“There's more at stake here than just slavery, my brother. It's a question of who will own the land, the people, the power. You cannot stick a knife in a goat and then say, Now I will remove my knife slowly, so let things be easy and clean, let there be no mess. There will always be blood.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“That was my father and grandfather's work. It is not mine.” He didn’t add that because of their work, he didn’t have to work, but instead could live off the family name and power.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Part 1: Abena
Quotes
An unmarried twenty-five-year-old woman was unheard of, in her village or any other on this continent or the next. But there were only a few men in her village, and none of them wanted to take a chance with Unlucky's daughter.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
