Alex Haley's 1976 novel, Roots, depicts the story of a Kunta Kinte family as an epic story of survival. Haley presented the story of a man and his family torn, but not broken, by slavery in America. The experiences that ravaged Kunta Kinte's family life demonstrate the slaves' lack of institutional power. Although Kunta and Bell do not have institutional power, they do possess limited power within their nuclear family unit. Haley's description of an enslaved family contradicts reports on the black family written by sociologists such as E. Franklin Frazier and the Moynihan Report, which supported a matriarchal family structure. Roots portrays Kunta and Bell as equals, in terms of the amount of power given to each individual. Neither the female nor the male has any more power. Both are practically powerless. Haley's novel, Roots, depicts the conflict between lack of institutionalized power and limited familial power. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayRoots was published at a time when the structure and history of the black American family was a highly controversial issue. In 1965, approximately ten years before the novel's publication, the U.S. government released the Moynihan Report. The report blamed the very structure of the black family for the persistence of black inequality.1 “Moynihan's central thesis was that the black family was collapsing and that much of the blame lay with the existing black matriarchy in the community. black. ".2 Much of the information contained in the infamous Moynihan Report was first published by the prominent black sociologist Franklin Frazier, who published one of his studies of black culture in 1939. Frazier wrote that " the black woman as wife or mother was the mistress of her cabin...and her wishes in matters of mating and family were paramount. »3 In a sense, the Moynihan report updated Frazier's early findings and observations. Scholars such as Robert Staples and Angela Davis have stood up to challenge the claims made. by Frazier and Moynihan. Staples stated that "a matriarchy is a society in which some, if not all, legal powers relating to the order and governance of the family - power over property, over inheritance, over marriage, over the house - are hosted. in women rather than men. »4 He argued that a matriarchal family structure was implausible because the black woman was exploited because of both her gender and her race.5 Davis was another sociologist who refuted the matriarchy thesis. She said the matriarchal structure presented by some ignored "the deep traumas the black woman had to endure when she had to surrender her pregnancy to alien and predatory economic instincts."6 In the novel Roots, Alex Haley depicts the struggles of a slave woman. family. Under slavery, Kunta Kinte and Bell's lives are dictated by their status as Master Waller's property. Bell has limited power when it comes to trivial matters such as the appearance of his cabin, but when it comes to important matters such as keeping the family together, Bell (and Kunta) did not possess any institutional power. Evidence that disproves Frazier's idea that the mother had control of her cabin and family life is presented when Kunta and Bell's child, Kizzy, is sold. Neither parent can change the horrible fate of their only child. Bell begs Master Waller, “Don’t separate us!” »7, but in vain. Kunta tries tophysically save his daughter, but he "collapsed to his knees"8 after being hit by the butt of the sheriff's gun which "crashed above his ear."9 The mother and father, the women and men, are rendered powerless. in the situation. This example illustrates Davis's reflection on the lack of institutional power held by enslaved women, in the face of the whims of their "The cultural stereotype of the dominant black woman belies the existence of masses of black women who constituted a defenseless group against assaults of white racism in its most virulent sexual and economic manifestations.”10 The lives of enslaved women could be destroyed. at any time. After Kizzy was taken away, she was sold to a man named Tom Lea2E. The first night Kizzy is Lea's property, he rapes her. “Then came the searing pain as he forced his way into her, and Kizzy’s senses seemed to explode.” had to sit there, burning with humiliation at being powerless to defend their wives, let alone themselves. »12 The women were powerless because they could not stop the continuous rapes perpetrated by the “toubob” and the men were powerless because they could not help the women. Another instance where Kunta feels hopeless because he cannot help a woman in need occurs when, at a slave auction, he hears "a chained Jola woman crying pitifully...the begging for help”13. He feels a rush of “bitterness and flooding.” shame"14 at the idea that he could not or did nothing to help the woman. After an argument over a visit Kizzy was to have with Missy Anne, Bell "lay sleepless in their bed that that night he remained sleepless in the stable under the harness. Both were crying. »15 None of them, as parents, could control whether their child went or not. Master Waller said "he promised Missy Anne that he would drop Kizzy off at Massa John's."16 Although Kunta strongly objected, there was nothing he could do about it. It wasn't in his power "it was scandalous enough to have to sit and watch Kizzy slowly turn into a pet dog, but now they wanted him to hand the animal over to his new guardian."17 Under the slavery, the family structure of the slave was neither matriarchal nor patriarchal. How is this possible? The lives of slaves were completely controlled by their master. Even the naming of fundamental rights was controlled. When Kunta arrived at his first plantation “home,” he was given a new name: “Massa, say your name Toby!” »18. Kunta was “flooded with rage…and he wanted to shout, “I am Kunta Kinte, first son of Omoro, who is the son of the holy man Kairaba Kunta Kinte,”19 but he could not utter a word. Kunta had no power There have been instances within Roots where Kunta and Bell have exercised power to control aspects of their lives, although Bell had limited power on the Waller plantation for many years. as cook of the main house, she had access to information and the master that many field slaves did not have "Bell had more influence on the massa than anyone on the plantation, or probably all of them combined. »20 Bell and her daughter Kizzy had another form of power: they were partially literate. But ultimately, these powers harm Bell and Kizzy's interests. Even though Bell had such a high reputation with Master Waller, she still had no say in the sale of her daughter. Kizzy was sold in part because of her ability to read and write. Kizzy's intellectual powers ultimately rendered her powerless. Kunta also struggled to maintain power in his life and in his., 82.