A white friend of mine jokingly asked the following
question: Why are Afro-American’s so
consumed with family reunions? Are you
still even related after so many generations?
In the book “12 Years a Slave” by Solomon Northup, Northup
establishes an empathetic connection with his readers right away by sharing
tender recollections of his family, his father, his education, his marriage,
and his children. His memories evoke warm, relatable mental images that anyone
can identify with and that make him “real” for readers. For example, he
describes his children by saying, “Their young voices were music in our
ears…Their presence was my delight.”
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/t/twelve-years-a-slave/summary-and-analysis/chapter-1
Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt
