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Transcript

Water In Homegoing, water represents being uprooted from one's home. With water comes boats, which are the vessels in which white men steal men, women, and children from their villages and take them as slaves. In some cases, people on the boats will dive into the water to take their own lives rather than submit to becoming slaves. Water also plays a huge part in the theme of seperation and divide, seeing as it is what keeps people from their homes.

FireFire is a crucial element in the novel. It represents both comfort and destruction. In the very beginning of the novel, Maame burns down her village in order to escape. Later in the novel, Yaw is present in a fire, giving him a connection back to his ancestors.

BloodBlood has many different meanings and references in the novel, the most noteable being violence and womanhood. At the very beginning of the novel, Effia's mom tells her to hide her blood as a way to control Effia's future. If no one knows that Effia is able to mensturate, they will not know that she has become a woman. This means that the man that Effia wanted to be with would end up with someone else. As for violence, H is threatened, which leads to his neck being sliced by a white man.

Stone PendantThe stone pendant is possibly the most important symbol in Homegoing. It represents connection, family, and heritage. Maame leaves behind two matching stone pendants for her daughters Esi and Effia. These pendants are passed down from generation to generation. The are symbols of the lives that came before each character and the connections they have to one another.

ScarsMany characters in Homegoing are left with scars. Some are left with physical ones, though all of them are left with emotional scars. The scars are a reminder of the trauma each character faced in their lives. Ness's scar keeps her from working inside the house of her enslaver. H's scar leaves him an outcast to the people around him. Yaw ends up with scares from a house fire, which connects him to his ancestors, more specifically Maame.

The Cape Coast Castle and DungeonsThe Cape Coast Castle (along with the dungeons inside it) was what initially separated Esi and Effia. The castle and dungeons represnt disconnect as well as the contrast of freedom and captivity. When Effia is brought to live in the castle with James, she inquires about the dungeons below. She is somewhat free in the castle while others, including her sister, are in captivity in dungeons.