42 pages • 1 hour read
Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History
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Part 4, Chapters 17-19Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 4: “Reading Guide”
Part 4, Chapter 17 Summary: “Whose Story Is This?”
Historians are not only tasked with synthesizing historical information from primary and secondary sources, but interpreting these sources to form a coherent picture of the past. No two historians will interpret history the exact same way, but all historians have a duty to responsibly relay history and acknowledge how their interpretations (which can never be truly objective) influence the way they tell stories. To deconstruct these ideas, the authors start by examining the story behind Abina and the Important Men.
This examination begins at Level 1, the simplest level of a metaphorical staircase. Abina is at the core of the story (or the bottom of the stairs), but there are many people (or steps) between the authors’ rendition of Abina’s story and Abina’s truth—these steps including various authors, illustrators, and the clerk who recorded the transcript. The authors of the novel describe their process of adding words not directly from the court transcript and artistically rendering the story to represent themes they deemed appropriate based on the historical record (but may not be completely accurate). The court transcript was recorded by an official clerk. During Abina’s case, the clerk was switched to another clerk who kept far more detailed notes than the original, and historians think one of them was Judge Melton himself. Regardless of whether or not Judge Melton acted as a clerk, he still had significant influence on the case because he viewed slavery as economic and patriarchal structures (such as child labor and discipline) as acceptable within the scope of the traditional family. Despite the many layers on top of the core story, Abina’s story still rings true because she speaks her mind with clarity and cuts past the legal jargon that tries to silence her.
Level 2: “Silences” is intended for more advanced audiences and complicates the picture painted by Level 1’s staircase because it addresses ideas being redacted from history. This silencing happens through numerous processes, including ensuring the poor and illiterate don’t have opportunities to record or share their stories, and interfering with existing records. While restoring Abina’s voice is important, it’s equally important to know the limitations of history and the various media that upkeep it.
Level 3: “Representation and Translation” describes how the novel is a representation of real events, rather than an exact recreation. This representation also serves to restore Abina herself through storytelling and art. The novel’s contextual translation comprises changes made to diction to make the story digestible for modern audiences. This kind of translation requires a careful balance between altering and preserving Abina’s own words.
Part 4, Chapter 18 Summary: “Is This a ‘True’ Story?”
Level 1: “Reconstructing Abina’s Story” explains information found in archives, like the Library of Congress and the field. One of the issues that often comes with writing a historical graphic novel is a lack of written accounts to explain what people wore and what settings looked like, among other concerns. It’s not possible to tell the absolute truth, especially with few resources. Using available resources and doing field research enable historians to visualize what life looked like in the past.
Level 2: “Deconstructing the Courtroom Transcript” discusses how historians have a duty to not only construct the past but deconstruct it, to break down what it means and “read against the grain” (147). In other words, it’s important to look beyond intentional messages to excavate unintentional meanings influenced by bias and assumptions. Understanding an author’s background is a good first step to deconstructing a text because each author brings their own experiences to a work. Language, especially assumptions within figurative language, can also carry unintended meanings. One way the court transcript carries unintended meanings is through the British-informed, liberal, capitalist middle-class sentiments that informed the participants and writer in their ideas of free will and slavery. In deconstructing these sentiments, another meaning becomes clear: Abina’s decision to take Quamina Eddoo to court signifies her desire to be heard.
Level 3: “Reconstructing Abina’s ‘Truths’ or Constructing Our Own?” raises the question of whether meaning clarified through deconstruction is truly the truth, or the way an author chooses to see it. While the argument can certainly be made that the author and illustrator’s construction of the novel informs readers of their views on specific sociopolitical issues, this idea of authorial voice minimizes those who speak for themselves—like Abina, who demands to be heard.
Part 4, Chapter 19 Summary: “Is This ‘Authentic’ History?”
Level 1: “Local Forms of History-Telling” details oral storytelling that doesn’t always align with text-based storytelling because it’s based on a variety of factors and typically prefers narrative over chronology—meaning stories are told in ways that play with timelines to convey important points. Local histories also reflect local beliefs and morals to educate the younger people of a given society.
Level 2: “The Personal and the Collective Authentic” details sociocultural histories. These histories shape the framework of societies and their respective historical figures, and by studying them, historians can gain a broader sense of identity. Cultural historians examine individuals within specific societies and document their experiences to form a picture of their cultural history—but this sometimes means a proposed cultural history isn’t representative of society as a whole. Those who researched Abina’s story worked to convey authenticity by incorporating sociocultural elements, but it could be argued that the novel leans toward cultural history due to its focus on Abina Mansah as an individual.
Level 3: “History as a Forum or a Temple” discusses the limitations of searching for authenticity in history, such as the creation of heritage. Rather than opening discussion, heritage celebrates history in “an attempt to build up in-group identification” (155). Whether historians should take critical stances or remain objective is a key question. Museums offer a look into this issue because of the way they catalog history, acting as a temple for history and raising the question of who’s presenting material and for what purpose. The stories captured by museums can cause controversy, like the exhibit on the United States’ nuclear bombing of Japan in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Therefore, it is the job of historians and museums to relay the empirical truth, based on evidence, and provide a forum for conversation. The authors of the novel seek to create a forum through their novel with the hopes of sparking discussion.
Part 4, Chapters 17-19 Analysis
Part 4 offers a scaffolded analysis of key questions that address the major themes of the novel. It acts as a bridge between Part 3’s historical context and scholars’ interactions with the text through analysis. Not only are Part 4’s sections scaffolded, arranged by increasing level of difficulty, but so are the questions themselves. This overarching structure allows for a more complete analysis of the theme, The Authors of History.
The first section deals with the idea of authorship itself and how the many layers of information between author and subject (Abina) may obscure a story. Each voice involved in the telling of Abina’s story adds layers of meaning that may take something away from the original story. This examination once again underscores Trevor R. Getz’s credibility because he acknowledges his role as an author of history communicating his purpose to readers: “What we are doing is making a translation from Abina’s world to our own” (141). This translation requires changes, and because Getz provides a reason for it, he addresses some questions readers may have from earlier sections, like why certain changes were made to the graphic novel.
The second section considers the construction and deconstruction of Abina’s story and history as a whole. Getz defines essential terms to build a common understanding before delving into more academic topics. After laying groundwork, he draws upon historical scholars and language theorists, like Jacques Derrida, to explain that “history…is merely a representation of the world that is meaningful to the writer” (150). This showcases Getz’s wide range of research and conveys the essential theme that The Authors of History are just that—authors. History comprises stories of the past, and its writers shape understanding of what happened and why it mattered through specific lenses.
The third section focuses on whether or not Abina’s story (as told in the novel) is authentic by examining the nature of personal and collective history, and how history is a forum for discussion. This creates a bridge to Part 5 through the intentional scaffolding of questions.
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