Being born with a label, you think that’s all you are meant to be and supposed to be throughout your lifetime. Whether it’s what your parents aspire you to be, or the stereotype your given lifestyle has, everyone is labelled something at birth. I believe that in this day and age, you can become what you want to be, despite what label or stereotype you are given at birth. However, many centuries ago, this was not as easy as it is today. Aminata Diallo was born a freeborn Muslim in the town of Bayo in 1745. Growing up with her mother and father, that’s all she thought she was going to be. Her identity quickly changed from a freeborn Muslim to a Negro slave. Throughout her lifetime she was not in any way the freeborn Muslim she wanted to be. After many crossings, slavery, and servant jobs, she pushed herself to be free again. I think that in the right mind set, the label given to you at birth has no impact to what you are going to be. Although there are many things in this world that will push you to want to be “it”, or stay the label you were originally given, or be something else, in the end, what feels comfortable is just being you. Labels shouldn’t matter because we all should try to be ourselves and what we want to be, and nothing else.
Being labelled is inevitable, no matter your race, culture or social standing, but they’re not always bad. Labels can benefit you as well as hurt you. Positive labels can push you to succeed. People have been labelled since the beginnings of time. In early years people were named because of their personality or their accomplishments. Negative labels can push you even harder than positive ones, because it presents a challenge that you need to overcome. In Aminata Diallo’s case it was not only her skin color, but her nationality. Fortunately Aminata was able to overcome most of her personal challenges, but as shown throughout the story she was seldom able to overcome labels that were common to that time. When she was in her homeland she was the baby-catcher, because of her profession. In America she was a slave, or just a simple black woman, because of her skin. In Canada she was an imposter, becasue of her situation and how she had arrived. In Africa, her homeland, she was a Nova Scotian, because she had been away for so long. No matter where we go or what we overcome labels will still be present. Instead of defying and working against them, work around them, ignore them and don’t let them define who you are. When a person labels you on first sight, but changes their mind as soon as you let them see you as you veiw yourself, you’re doing something right.
In the book many characters were born into the slave trade and were labeled so due to their skin colour. Aminata was labeled a slave due to her skin colour. Later because Aminata could speak english, she was labeled a toubab by her own people in africa. This segrigation was difficult to overcome. It seems as though everywhere she went she was labeled. This changed her outlook on life and what she wanted from it. The way we label people can have such a major influence on people’s lives, without us even realizing.
There is no escape from labels, as long as people continue to form judgements and opinions about others. We base our judgements on anything and everything from colour of skin, country of origin, language, social-economic status, sexual orientation and many others. We connect characteristics of a person to previous experiences. We will even stoop as low as to label a baby even while the baby is completely helpless and dependent on the people around it. We predict what a children will grow up to be, based on parents decisions and lifestyle.
Aminata Diallo is born labelled free Muslim in Bayo in Africa. As The Book of Negroes progresses, Aminata gains and looses many more labels some of which will even stick with her until she dies. She is labelled because of her colour, her religion (or lack of), her ability to read and speak multiple languages. She intern labels people herself as good or bad, white or black, weak or strong. What sets Aminata apart and makes her different is her ability to judge people individually, based on merit and not passed experiences. White people were the ones to take her from her home, to brand her, sell her, almost kill her, force her to work for no pay in a strange land, and separate her from her husband and children. After all that, it would be understandable for her to label all white people as bad; because, of her experiences. Instead she chooses to discard those labels and decide to make valuable friendships in people like Mrs. Lindo, Theo McArdle & John Clarkson.
The picture shows how big of an effect labels have on people and how you gain them from a very early age based on where you come from or who your family consists of. Aminata was an ordinary girl living a normal life in the eyes of everyone in her village of Bayo and in my eyes as well, but to the people that captured her she was just another slave and was “worthless”. This strongly proves that labels have a huge effect on a persons life.
Being born with a label, you think that’s all you are meant to be and supposed to be throughout your lifetime. Whether it’s what your parents aspire you to be, or the stereotype your given lifestyle has, everyone is labelled something at birth. I believe that in this day and age, you can become what you want to be, despite what label or stereotype you are given at birth. However, many centuries ago, this was not as easy as it is today. Aminata Diallo was born a freeborn Muslim in the town of Bayo in 1745. Growing up with her mother and father, that’s all she thought she was going to be. Her identity quickly changed from a freeborn Muslim to a Negro slave. Throughout her lifetime she was not in any way the freeborn Muslim she wanted to be. After many crossings, slavery, and servant jobs, she pushed herself to be free again. I think that in the right mind set, the label given to you at birth has no impact to what you are going to be. Although there are many things in this world that will push you to want to be “it”, or stay the label you were originally given, or be something else, in the end, what feels comfortable is just being you. Labels shouldn’t matter because we all should try to be ourselves and what we want to be, and nothing else.
I wonder if our “labels” create the person we “think” we want to be?
Being labelled is inevitable, no matter your race, culture or social standing, but they’re not always bad. Labels can benefit you as well as hurt you. Positive labels can push you to succeed. People have been labelled since the beginnings of time. In early years people were named because of their personality or their accomplishments. Negative labels can push you even harder than positive ones, because it presents a challenge that you need to overcome. In Aminata Diallo’s case it was not only her skin color, but her nationality. Fortunately Aminata was able to overcome most of her personal challenges, but as shown throughout the story she was seldom able to overcome labels that were common to that time. When she was in her homeland she was the baby-catcher, because of her profession. In America she was a slave, or just a simple black woman, because of her skin. In Canada she was an imposter, becasue of her situation and how she had arrived. In Africa, her homeland, she was a Nova Scotian, because she had been away for so long. No matter where we go or what we overcome labels will still be present. Instead of defying and working against them, work around them, ignore them and don’t let them define who you are. When a person labels you on first sight, but changes their mind as soon as you let them see you as you veiw yourself, you’re doing something right.
In the book many characters were born into the slave trade and were labeled so due to their skin colour. Aminata was labeled a slave due to her skin colour. Later because Aminata could speak english, she was labeled a toubab by her own people in africa. This segrigation was difficult to overcome. It seems as though everywhere she went she was labeled. This changed her outlook on life and what she wanted from it. The way we label people can have such a major influence on people’s lives, without us even realizing.
the above post was Jessica Chapman, it was logged in under another name before for some reason.
There is no escape from labels, as long as people continue to form judgements and opinions about others. We base our judgements on anything and everything from colour of skin, country of origin, language, social-economic status, sexual orientation and many others. We connect characteristics of a person to previous experiences. We will even stoop as low as to label a baby even while the baby is completely helpless and dependent on the people around it. We predict what a children will grow up to be, based on parents decisions and lifestyle.
Aminata Diallo is born labelled free Muslim in Bayo in Africa. As The Book of Negroes progresses, Aminata gains and looses many more labels some of which will even stick with her until she dies. She is labelled because of her colour, her religion (or lack of), her ability to read and speak multiple languages. She intern labels people herself as good or bad, white or black, weak or strong. What sets Aminata apart and makes her different is her ability to judge people individually, based on merit and not passed experiences. White people were the ones to take her from her home, to brand her, sell her, almost kill her, force her to work for no pay in a strange land, and separate her from her husband and children. After all that, it would be understandable for her to label all white people as bad; because, of her experiences. Instead she chooses to discard those labels and decide to make valuable friendships in people like Mrs. Lindo, Theo McArdle & John Clarkson.
The picture shows how big of an effect labels have on people and how you gain them from a very early age based on where you come from or who your family consists of. Aminata was an ordinary girl living a normal life in the eyes of everyone in her village of Bayo and in my eyes as well, but to the people that captured her she was just another slave and was “worthless”. This strongly proves that labels have a huge effect on a persons life.