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James

Summary: James

James attends a meeting with his father, Quey, and British soldiers, who deliver the news that James’s mother’s father has been killed. James suspects that the British killed him in retribution for the Asante’s murder of the governor, as they are known to incite conflicts between the Fante and Asante tribes. Quey and his parents make plans to go to the funeral while James’s grandmother, Effia, stays with the younger children. On the way, James’s parents argue, and he wonders if they had ever felt affection for each other. James is set to marry the daughter of Abeeku Badu’s successor, Amma Atta. James has known Amma his entire life, finds her annoying, and knows he will never love her.

While staying with Quey’s friend David, James hears the men discuss the abolition of the slave trade. However, James knows that the profits to be made off slavery have not gone away. When they arrive in Nana Yaa’s village, James stands in line with his family to greet the mourners. One girl, whom James finds beautiful, says she cannot shake hands with a slaver. After the funeral, James finds the girl, Akosua. Akosua tells James that three of her brothers were taken in a war. After walking together for a bit, James expresses his wish to marry Akosua. James says that he will come back for Akosua and together they will find a village where they can start fresh.

A year later, after James and Amma are married, he makes excuses for why they cannot consummate their marriage until she urges him to seek herbs from the apothecary. When James visits Mampanyin, the apothecary, he admits his wish of marrying Akosua and living a simple life as a farmer. Mampanyin tells James he already knows what to do, and he thinks of how joining the war between the Asantes and British would give him an excuse to leave. One night, alone with his grandmother, Effia notices that James is not happy and encourages him to go after what he wants. James then goes to Efutu, where Mampanyin told him the Asante army would be and where he finds work as a Scottish doctor’s assistant. After a month, the Asante army attacks, and James nearly dies. However, he is pulled out of the pile of bodies by an Asante warrior who recognizes him as the Asante king’s grandson. James tells the warrior to tell everyone he has died before traveling to Akosua, who is waiting for him.

Analysis: James

James’s story is set up against the backdrop of what is happening within Africa. The Fantes, of which James is a part, continue working with the British, while the Asantes are at war with them. Though the Fantes and British are supposedly allies, even a young man like James knows the British try to stoke tensions between the Asantes and Fantes. In this way, the British are able to stay in power by making sure each tribe’s resources are focused on fighting the other instead of the British. James recognizes that this is all done out of greed for more enslaved people, money, and land. Although he has grown up knowing he will inherit his father’s position with the British, James already seems weary of the idea.

Similarly, James is tired of listening to his parents bicker, showing that Quey and Nana Yaa’s politically motivated marriage has not been a happy one. Having seen the loveless marriage between his parents firsthand, James is not eager to marry Amma. Like his father, James seeks a different sort of life for himself. However, James finds more direction than his father ever did when he meets Akosua. Akosua’s blunt words to James cause him to see the evil in the business his family does. Putting a face on slavery in the form of Akosua’s brothers helps James acknowledge the human side of it. This way, James is able to see the horrors of colonization and slavery more clearly than his parents or grandparents ever could. By escaping, James is able to break the cycle of generational trauma that began when Effia became complicit in her husband’s dealings in the slave trade. However, James and his descendants will never be fully free from the sins of their ancestors.

When James visits Mampanyin, she helps him not by giving him herbs but by helping him see what he already knows. Effia too gives James this gift. With Effia’s blessing, James finds the strength to break his family’s cycle and start a new life. To do this, James must literally disappear and take on a new identity. This shows that while one’s heritage can often strengthen one’s identity, sometimes connection to heritage must be broken to full embrace the life one wants. However, it is James’s old identity and status that ultimately save him and allow him to start this new life, as a warrior recognizes him as a member of the Asante royal family. This shows it is impossible to truly outrun one’s heritage.

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