Hurston, Zora Neale: 1891-1960

Barracoon, 2018 - Thematic Parallels: Slave Trade

Hurston, Zora Neale: Barracoon, 2018
"Barracoon" stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of the transatlantic slave trade and the importance of preserving oral histories to understand and confront the injustices of the past.
The following books are thematically similar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Cooper, J. California: Family, 1991, ~230pp
  A neo-slave narrative telling the story of multiple generations of African-American slaves with themes of escape, trauma, and oppression.
  - Both texts highlight the power of memory, oral history, and family in shaping identity, connect personal experiences to historical context, and explore resilience in the face of trauma. One does so in a literary/fictional frame (Family), the other through ethnographic oral history (Barracoon), but the thematic overlaps are striking.
- D’Aguiar, Fred: Feeding the Ghosts, 1997, ~130pp
  This novel lays bare the horrors of the slave trade, focusing on the Zong slave ship massacre where over 100 enslaved Africans were thrown overboard to save water. It explores survival, morality, and historical memory centered on slavery narratives.
  - Both works give readers an intimate, human-focused understanding of the Middle Passage, highlighting suffering, resilience, and the enduring effects of slavery, even though one is fictionalized (D'Aguiar) and the other is documentary in nature (Hurston).
- Draper, Sharon: Copper Sun, 2006, ~300pp
  This novel deals with the brutal experience of an African girl taken into slavery and her struggles to survive in the New World.
  - Both portray the Middle Passage not just as a historical event, but as a deeply traumatic, transformative experience for those enslaved. Their texts highlight the resilience of enslaved Africans and their efforts to preserve dignity and identity under oppressive systems. Both aim to preserve the memory of slavery and make the historical experience accessible to readers.
- Morrison, Toni: Beloved, 1987, ~270pp
  A novel exploring the trauma and legacy of slavery through a multi-generational narrative, focusing on psychological and emotional scars as well as reclaiming identity and humanity after slavery.
  - While "Beloved" dramatizes the haunting effects of slavery through fiction and magical realism, and "Barracoon" records lived experience as historical testimony, both works center memory, amplify marginalized voices, and confront the enduring trauma of slavery. Both works show that slavery’s violence is both corporeal and psychological, leaving lasting scars.
List of general discussion questions on Slave Trade (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Slave Trade (pdf)