Abina And The Important Men Analysis

The graphic history written by Getz and Clarke invites readers to discover the story of a young African woman named Abina and her trail against her slaver. Using a mixture of comic style illustrations, transcripts from the trial, a section on the historical context, and a reading guide, the reader is engaged in a multitude of ways to understand the story through multiple lenses. Tied together, all of these sections provide a thorough and exciting way for readers to stand in the shoes of a young woman while learning details about a world that once existed. By opening this novel, one can learn what this story entailed, how the trial process worked in Abina’s perspective, the different contexts of history and the book itself, and figure out their personal thought’s on others opinions of the story.

Abina and The Important Men is about the 1876 trial of Abina Mansah, an African woman living on the Coast of Africa who fought for freedom from slavery. Though the British had proscribed slavery, Abina was sold to Quamina Eddoo by the man she was supposed to marry. However, Eddoo mistakenly mentioned that all of Cape Coast was free, including slaves, “They say that in the Cape Coast are free” (7). One night, Abina ran away from Eddo’s home and into the city where she met one of the important man. This man informed her that, if she wanted to stay free, she must get a job. “What is free? You can get a piece of paper saying you are free, and then, you can leave anytime you want. But the British do not want you if you do not have a job and a place to stay. You must find a place to belong” (9). Abina then meets James Davis, a court interpreter, and after seeing the

* The most influential individuals in the group were the juror who was very biased against the 18 year old boy, who’s trailed for murder. That juror discussed his thoughts in regards to a situation where

Eavan Boland’s poem “It’s a Woman’s World” illuminates the fact that history has shaped an unfair role for women in today’s society. Boland criticizes the gender bias with regards to the limitations placed on women and their job choices despite their ability to be just as successful in the workplace as men. Regardless of the fact that the bias against women in the workplace is often overlooked, Boland aims to show the shared reaction of women to the gender bias prevalent in our society by using short sentence fragments, repetition, and a fire motif throughout the poem.

The jurors are transformed by the process of deliberating. Eleven men voted guilty because of their prejudices, fears, laziness and insecurities, but they are eventually persuaded by reason to give up these limiting beliefs, to see the potential in the facts, and to find justice. The critical turning points in the jury votes occur, not when there is passion and anger, but when there is reasoned discussion, as the rational Juror 8 triumphs over the prejudices of his fellow jurors. The facts of the case do not change, but the jurors come to see the facts differently, and change by the process they go through. Despite the hostility and tension created in this process, the twelve men end up reconciled, and justice is done.

As a means of assessing the extent to which the work was successful, I evaluated the books ability to answer the questions the author himself posed to the audience. These questions were discussed in the introduction where Ozment presented two questions before he launched into the narrative in search of their answers. Ozment asked: “What exactly had [Anna] done to cause her father, the Burgermeister, to denounce her as an “evil serpent” and the government of Hall to declare her a renegade?” and “Why did the behaviour of one woman rivet the attention and disrupt the lives of so many important people for so long a time?”. According to Ozment, answers to these questions can be found “in the internal workings of a distant society and in the inner lives of people who were both like and unlike ourselves” (3). Therefore, in considering whether or not this book was successful I looked

Additionally, all pieces of history are art and should be considered art. The literary imagination plays an important part in our perception of the pieces of art because it allows us to create conclusions on historical events. On the other hand, I do feel the literary imagination leads to novels like Blood on The Forge because a picture speaks a thousands words and can be interpreted in several different ways. THe way it is interpreted is based off what the author has gone through. Considering Attaway’s background, this is what occurred with

The principal representation of truth in ‘The Trials of Oz’ is Robertson’s detailed presentation of the initial courtroom battle, including lengthy

to choose whether or not they wanted the evidence to be presented in the courtroom and the

The way in which authors portray a historical event as fictional or historical can change the way in which the reader understands that event. When reading historical fiction, it is important to know which events are truth and which are fictional. When writing the book, The Journal of Biddy Owens, Walter Dean Myers accurately portrayed the events of Biddy Owens’ life and the time period of 1948.

Throughout the book the author used specific ways to go about constructing her arguments and presenting her evidence. One way she went about constructing her arguments was by using historical evidence from the events that took place during the trial. In other words she uses the information recorded during the trial to further extend her evidence as being true. With the events occuring so long ago the author seems to use information that is factual, however, some of the information presented seems to have to be interpreted in your own way at times. It is almost like the author may have been implying that these things happened in a certain way.

The entire book was based on the transcripts of court, how is it possible that the authors of the book knew the dialogue between these two men. The dialogue was not in the court transcript, and definitely not recorded, so that has to mean the authors elaborated it. Although it fits in perfectly with the story, almost too perfect, it makes no sense how the authors had access to

The heart of the American Judicial System is the determination of the innocence or guilt of the accused. At the beginning of the play, the jurors all feel that the man is guilty for murdering his father and they all wanted to convict him without carrying out a detailed discussion. The persistence of juror eight, however, plays a significant role in ensuring that the correct and fair verdict is delivered. The judicial system maintains that the defendant does not have an obligation to prove his innocence. The fact is not clear to everyone as Juror 8 reminds Juror 2 about it. The fact is a key element of the judicial system and assists in the process of coming up with a verdict. The defendant is usually innocent until proven guilty. Another element of the judicial system that comes out in the play is for a verdict to stand it must be unanimous. Unanimity ensures that the

Between this time and November 3rd 1994 the jury of 12 was selected out of a venire of 304 perspective jurors. All 304 perspective juror’s had a seventy five page questionnaire to complete to determine eligibility for the trial. Both the prosecuting and defending teams set out to present their case. The trial lasted 134 days in 1995 and is renowned for the media coverage from inside

In the past the jury used to be made up of people who had witnessed