Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Online Reflective Writing
300 words minimum
1. Write a letter to your great-great-great grandparent. What do you want
this person to know about you? What do you wish you knew about them?
Be creative and write more than 300 words if you like.
2. Based on your reading of the chapters Effia and Esi, describe the challenges
that women faced during the slave trade in West Africa. Don’t use
generalizations – use the book. Be specific. What challenges are Effia and
Esi facing? What choices do they have? What agency can they exercise?
3. In what ways do you think we are disconnected from our history? In what
ways do you think we are disconnected from our elders? How can we repair
that disconnectedness? Be specific.
4. In what ways are Quey and Ness free and in what ways are they unfree? In
what ways can they be true to themselves and in what ways are they
restricted in that truth? What do you think the two characters have in
common?
5. Both James and Kojo address the theme of running away / disappearance /
escape. How do you think this theme is relevant in the two stories? How
does this theme shape these two characters’ experience? How is it relevant
in African American history?
6. Discuss the theme of complicity. What are some examples of complicity
found in the novel? Based on your reading of the novel, who is complicit in
the slave trade?
7. Both Abena and H seek liberation in different ways. What does liberation
mean to each character? How is each character connected to their history?
How do they embody their history? Be specific.
8. Please write about how the chapters Akua and Willie address hatred and
helplessness. How are Akua and Willie helpless to the hatred of people
around them? How does it cripple them? How are they strong and
resilient? Be specific.
9. Reflect on the themes that we have discussed this semester, and the themes
that are prevalent throughout Homegoing. Reflect on the use of the Twi
language in the book (not the language itself, but how it keeps appearing
throughout the story). What do you think Homegoing teaches us about our
personal history? What does it teach us about the history of diasporic
peoples?
10. Consider this paragraph at the very end of Homegoing: “’Here,’ Margorie
said. ‘Have it.’ She lifted the stone from her neck, and placed it
around Marcus’s. ‘Welcome home.’” Explain the significance of this
ending. Be sure to consider its significance not only in terms of the story
itself, but the story of diasporic peoples.
11. Leadership can be defined in many ways. Discuss one character from
Homegoing who you believe has leadership qualities. What is it about this
character that helps you to view him or her as a leader? How would you
describe your own leadership style and qualities?
12. Who was your favorite character from Homegoing and why?
