James says, “With my pencil, I wrote myself into being.”

He must do this. Telling the truth of his history and therefore his people is visceral and crucial to their existence. He owes it to himself and to all the others like him. In primis he owes it to young George who stole the pencil James used to write these words and who was subsequently killed for the theft.

This is language in all its power. Language in the spoken, written, and gesticulated form. Language as a weapon, protection, discovery, emancipation and rebirth.

James speaks as he is “supposed” to speak in order to confirm and conform to the stereotypical labels applied to him and in so doing becomes dehumanized. James must appear stupid and remain subservient on all levels until his self-worth and personal dignity is no more and he becomes a mere ghost, to the satisfaction of his superiors. Keeping ones head down in a defeatist manner, replying in monosyllables and never speaking unless spoken too, feigning ignorance on all levels, and appearing needy and lost without the intellectual assistance of those in power works wonders as a form of protection.

To remain neutral in expression and body not only provides proof of “supposed” dumbness, slowness and thus inferiority, it also satisfies the egos of the captors and massages their false belief of superiority. When the captor is convinced of their total control they may not turn unwanted attention onto the captive which in turn buys the captive “freedom to think and be” under the protection of conformist behavior and language. It is survival strategy 101.

James teaches this to other enslaved children and in so doing saves them from being erased. He gives them power through the weapon of knowledge and victory through learning which in turn allows for the blossoming of self-worth while providing them with a protective shield. By giving their captors what they want, the captives can salvage something of themselves.

Slavery has existed since ancient times justified by capture during war, debts needing to be paid, abandonment, criminal activity and so on. It has no preference or a uniform method; it’s sameness lies in the assumption of inferiority and superiority of one individual to another.

The novel James turns these false manufactured certitudes on their head and in so doing offers us a glimpse of “what if?” things had been different. If we keep making the same mistakes again and again, supporting the case that we don’t learn from history, then we must turn history on its head and shake things up, so to speak, in order to get the deserved attention and reaction needed to change its brutal perpetuation.

Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo is another bombshell eye-opening example of “what if?”

“Chaos is merely order waiting to be deciphered” according to José Saramago

Now there’s an invitation to start deciphering the language of enslavement today (racism, forced labour, forced marriage, sex trade, domestic violence and not only).

Books like these with language like this may be just the tools we need to better understand, develop tolerance and empathy and initiate actionable responses to enslavement and injustices that are still alive and well in 2025.

https://www.ilo.org/publications/major-publications/global-estimates-modern-slavery-forced-labour-and-forced-marriage