I am going to evaluate my ISP novel, The Book of Negroes, using the Reader Response Theory. The author mentions a number of times in the novel  why she is writing the book and how she hopes people who read it will respond to it. Reader response theory looks at how I interact or am impacted by the story because of who I am and how I read it.

I think as a 16 year old boy, I may not understand all of the things that the author wants me to understand. But I think I do have a connection with the main character and her personality. Aminata is a feisty and sassy girl. She says things the way she sees them and she finds it hard to not say everything she is thinking and feeling. This is like me. I laugh whenever she does something sneaky or rebellious because that is what I would want to do if I was her. I think Aminata and I would get into a lot of trouble if we were friends.  She hates to see people hurt other people and she sticks up for the underdog. I am like this too. I really like Aminata’s spunk and determination.

A few years ago I read a book about Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman was born as a slave in the US but escaped and became free. She helped rescue many other slaves through the underground railroad. I think reading the book about Tubman makes me realize what Aminata and the other homelanders are in for when they arrive in the US even before this book talks about it. I know she will be a slave and I know how slaves were treated.

Also, I have some very good friends who are from Africa. Some are from Ghana, some are from Ethiopia and one is from Kenya. It is hard to believe that black people were treated like animals. I know back then that white people didn’t think black people were real people but that is so different from now that it seems strange. I am glad we don’t think this way anymore.

I think all of these things help me experience this book differently than someone else.