Roots: The Saga of an American Family Theme of Contrasting Regions: Africa and America

For Kunta Kinte, being kidnapped and brought from Africa to America isn't just incredibly traumatic—it's incredibly confusing.

In this strange land of the toubob, he is confronted with a culture wholly unlike his own, a culture that seems to show no respect for human life. To make things even stranger, the few of his own people he sees are walking around looking more zombified than extras on The Walking Dead. As we read Roots and see America through Kunta's eyes, we learn a lot more about this deeply conflicted country, as well as the cultural impact wreaked by its institution of slavery.

1. Why does African culture take a different form in America? What are a few examples of cultural rituals and practices that exist there in altered forms?
2. How does Kunta adapt to living in America?
3. Do Kunta's descendants have a true understanding of what life was like in Africa? Explain your answer.
4. How does the natural environment relate to Kunta's respective feelings for Africa and America?

Although white slave traders systematically restricted the practice of African culture, many aspects of African culture remained in existence in altered forms.

Although Kunta learns to adapt to life in America, he never loses hold of his African identity.