Fred D'Aguiar's novel "The Longest Memory" is filled with much intolerance and narrow-mindedness combined with mockery and paradoxes. Despite this, the novel still presents a clear moral vision that slavery is evil and inhumane. This is achieved through the characterisation of heroes, villains and victims in addition to the blossoming of a beautiful but tragic love story amongst bitterness and hatred. The opening chapter is from the point of view of Whitechapel, an elderly Negro …
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showed last 75 words of 832 total
…and assumptions of society, and therefore the reader interprets the story from the eyes of the victims, who in this case are the slaves. Furthermore, the touching love story of Chapel and Lydia, and their futile attempt to be together, earns the sympathy of the reader. Finally, the tragic but needless death of Chapel highlights cruelty and hardship that all slaves endured. In retrospect, this novel contains the clear moral vision that slavery is wrong.