Book Review on Amos Fortune Free Man | Teen Ink

Book Review on Amos Fortune Free Man

January 7, 2019
By monga10 BRONZE, Portland, Oregon
monga10 BRONZE, Portland, Oregon
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
Your setback is your get back(.) -50 Cent


You and I have always thought the life of a slave is one of cruelty and shame, being stripped of everything you know and getting brought to a new country. In the book Amos Fortune Free Man, it talks about his struggles and resilience. As Amos Fortune becomes a slave, he is in denial of what is actually happening. He continues to think highly of himself as a prince who is just bound by chain. In Amos Fortune Free Man, Amos doesn’t allow his slave status to hurt him, it strengthens him. Amos is able to defy his own masters and his wives, buy his freedom, and create his own family.

Amos was sold to a man named Caleb Copeland, and even though he wasn't treated harshly, he expressed his ambitions to leaving to his master. Mr. Copeland arranged an agreement with  Amos, but when he died, that all went to dust. Amos, once again being sold was given to Ichabod Richardson. And, Rasheed, I believe you’ll find fondness in this book because its ways it portray the characters and situation with great skillfulness in the author’s writing.It helps add to the plot because of his descriptions. In which I believe that you would undoubtedly enjoy. Moreover,  Amos was then made to work for a grueling hard four years to buy his freedom at the age of 60. His grit, and will to defy his masters continues to play out. All while he was dealing with internal conflict himself because he didn’t feel he should be in that position. Additionally, after buying his freedom, he bought the freedom of his wife, in which died a year later, and this process was repeated for his second wife. Devastated Amos hadn't let up and eventually married a younger woman named Violet. In Amos Fortune Free Man, his continuance disregard of status, helped him defy his masters.

In comparison, a big part of the book is also about Amos buying his freedom. Instead of discussing about how he did it, I believe it would be of more importance of why, and what he was feeling inside himself. Amos, was the son of a king in the Atmunshi Tribe in Africa. Before he was enslaved, he was well-known around his part of Africa. Yet, when Americans came to his village, they raided it all, and took captives/slaves. This part of his past still haunts him from there on in the story. And he couldn’t believe how a mighty, healthy prince like him could be a captive. This certainly helped me keep reading this book because it kept me guessing and wanting to find out what he thought next. As Amos, was dealing with this, he had to voyage to America with a ship called White Falcon. Yet, on that trip he thought a lot and began to come to terms with what was happening and his identity. Believing he was still a prince wasn’t necessary to forget to him, he just had to understand his circumstances. When the author added this type of style into the writing you could definitely discern this helped him buy his freedom, because he received a sense of reality.

Lastly, Amos’ last need, or want in the story is starting his own family with Violet. So he moves to Jaffrey, New Hampshire to do so. He chooses to begin by creating a tanning business to support himself and his family. Amos was at unease for most of his life and it didn’t help that his wife began to steal money from his business. He requested an answer from God after the repeated incidents and he didn’t stop til’ he knew. He found found out she was helping a woman not lose her kids. In contrast, Amos, continued to help her while also developing his tanning business. Amos is able to then get enough money to even buy his own land. His story of resilience and fight is one of the amazingly true slave stories. Showing that he not only was able to create his own family but also was able to find himself.

In conclusion, Rasheed, I believe you would love this book. It not only shows us the pain that comes with being a slave, but also the internal battles that a slave can have. It dives deeply into Amos’ life and tells you about him thoroughly. And because you love reading about books about the past’s wrongdoing such as Twelve Years A Slave, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, etc. You should indeed read Amos Fortune Free Man because of the great story it tells.



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