The first chapter of Roots was interesting. It laid down the setting and started with the birth and ceremonial naming of Kunta Kinte. It showed how deeply "rooted" in ceremony and tradition the Mandinko people were.
             There is a definite line between the roles and duties of men and women. There is also a definite role for the elders. They use lots of stories for lessons. I like the story about the crocodile and the boy that grandma Yaisa told Kunta when he was little.
             I thought it was cool that they were Muslim. Everything was very spiritual in their lives.
             Why do all African men sleep in different huts than the rest of their family? This seemed strange to me and was never explained. I liked how the children respect the elders.
             The first days that Kunta was out herding goats reminded me of my own uncertainty when I started high school.
             I thought it was really cool when the fathers gave all the boys of Kunta's kafo their slingshots. I had a slingshot as a toy. For the boys it was for survival. Their entire childhoods' were geared toward becoming men and taking care of the village.
             I liked the way Kunta sometimes daydreamed. It reminded me of myself. I really liked how the relationship between Kunta and his brother Lamin developed. It really changed both of them. It gave Lamin a father figure and it gave Kunta responsibility, and pride and satisfaction.
             It seemed like in almost every chapter, Binta was pregnant with another child.
             I kinda liked how Kunta's two uncles were these great heros and adventurers but I wish they were in the story more. They were hardly in the story. It showed how Kunta came from a great family. The father/son trip between Kunta and Omoro was really cool and then later the trip between Kunta and his brother was just the same.
             It was surprising how far Kunta's determination to please his father and the elders went. It seemed like it ...