Roots
“The steady murmuring that went on in the hold whenever the toubob were gone kept growing in volume and intensity as the men began to communicate better and better with one another.” In this sentence from Roots, by Alex Haley, the author used specific words to produce an effect in the reader. For example, Haley used “murmuring” instead of the more usual “talking”
Haley used “murmuring” rather than the more usual “talking” because Kunta and the other prisoners developed a “deepening sense of intrigue and of brotherhood,” and counseled each other on how to attack the white people. For example, in Roots, the story about the relationship between Africans and white men in the 1800s on Atlantic Ocean in a slavehsip, Chapter 37, “Muttering among themselves for hours, the men developed a deepening sense of intrigue and of brotherhood K K K from different people or places.” and “After some time, he spoke again, K K K the hold soon filled with mutterings of approval.” At that time, Kunta and the other prisoners wanted to keep their voices secret. Because they feared if the white men heard their plan, they would know the prisoners had united. Therefore, they were always murmuring and muttering. On the other hand, the common word “talking” is more casual, louder and clearer. That is why I think Haley used ” murmuring” instead of the more usual “talking.”
Then, Haley used “toubob” instead of the more usual “white men,” because the Africans meant “toubob” as an insult and they thought of the white men as devils. For instance, in Chapter 37, “So great was his fury that Kunta was barely aware of the women singing Toubob fa! And when he had finally been chained back down in his place in the dark hold, his heart throbbed with a lust to murder toubob.” This sentence implied Kunta’s insult, and in Kunta’s mind, the white men were like devils.
Next, Haley used “growing in volume and intensity” instead of “growing louder and louder” because the prisoners feared the white men would know they could communicate with each other. In addition, the prisoners were excited that they knew more than one tongue. They communicated with each other without white men’s language. Therefore, Haley used “growing in volume and intensity” to describe the emotion and excitement of the prisoners’ communication instead of just noise, “growing louder and louder.”
Haley used “communicate” instead of the more usual “speak” because, in the story of Roots, “Words not understood were whispered from mouth to ear along the shelves until someone who knew more than one tongue would send back their meanings. In the process, all of the men along each shelf learned new words in tongue they had not spoken before.” Kunta and the other prisoners, all were from different villages and spoke different languages. They communicated their shared language without toubob’s knowledge. Hence, that is the reason Haley used “communicate” instead of “speak.”
All these words make readers feel the particular situations of the story. I feel the author used specific words to make me realize the story better, with abundant emotion, rather than using usual words. Besides, those words also make the story vigorous and grab the readers’ attention. That makes the story of Roots a successful example of using different words to construct an attractive and readable piece of writing.