Identity and Racism in Alex Haley's novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family

Abstract

African Americans responded and resisted the institution of slavery in the United States in different ways, such as in literature and politics. The African slaves in the US provided their stories in the form of slave narratives. Among these writers is Alexander Haley, whose slave narrative Roots: The Saga of an American Family represents the story of a family that was gathered and separated during a period of unsafe conditions and oppression. This memoir is one of the many slave narratives that demonstrate the real image of slavery. In order to achieve the dissertation's aims, the descriptive approach was employed to explore the numerous methods by which the slaves' community resisted slavery and to investigate the novel's primary themes, literary techniques, and characters. The analytical approach was employed to explore identity and racism in Alex Haley's novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family. In conclusion, this research sheds light on the diverse strategies of resistance employed by African Americans in the context of slavery. It utilizes the powerful narrative of Alex Haley's Roots to emphasize the enduring importance of these historical records in comprehending the intricate interplay of racism, identity, and resilience within the African American community