The Sea is Forgiving

 Sade’ Vance

Ms. Harris

Eng 2016-44378

16 November 2022

The Sea is Forgiving

Throughout the course this semester, we examined various texts and learned of many themes each text contained. Forgiveness was an underlying theme that emerged in each of the texts read. Forgiveness stood out the most in Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi; each character had their own experiences with forgiveness, whether it was achieved by them or their bloodline. Some characters face the aftermath of not forgiving those who have hurt them, while others forgive them or even themselves.

Willie’s chapter in Homegoing is the prime example of a character achieving that forgiveness. Willie’s character marries Robert, a passer, and things between them get rocky because of this. Eventually, Robert is forced to sexually assault Willie by his colleagues. After this, Willie takes Carson and leaves. She is alone and has no one except her son. When she would go to auditions every so often, “she would get on stage, feeling confident. Her mouth would open, but no sound would come from it…begging the person in front of her for forgiveness” (Homegoing, 197). Willie had not forgiven Robert; in a way it seemed as if she blamed him for her failures. She resented Carson, he started looking more and more like Robert, and she hated it. Since she had not forgiven Robert, her world seemed to fall apart. But, it was not until Willie saw Robert on the street and their eyes locked, “…Willie smiled at Robert, and it wasn’t until that smile that she realized she forgave him”(Homegoing, 201). She finally achieved her forgiveness. 

Yaw is the only surviving child of Akua, who killed herself and her two daughters after setting their hut on fire. Yaw has physical and mental scars from what his mother had done. According to an analysis on Lit charts, “Yaw resents his mother and will not reconcile with her to avoid family curse” (litcharts.com). Because Yaw would not take the time to forgive his mother, he had a hard time coping.  Esther does eventually help Yaw achieve forgiveness for his mother. But just as he had not forgiven his mother, Yaw and maybe even others had problems with the Government. Hana Makhlouf from baous.pub published a blog focusing on Homegoing's quote: "Forgiveness, they shouted, all the while committing their wrongs. When he was younger, Yaw wondered why they did not preach that the people should avoid wrongdoing altogether. But the older he got, the better he understood; forgiveness was an act done after the fact — a piece of the bad deeds future — and if you point the people’s eyes to the future they might not see what is being done to hurt them in the present.”(Homegoing). Yaw was more frustrated with colonization wanting them to forgive them and to move on as if there is nothing to be discussed. “To give the illusion of hope in the future while stripping it from people who deserve it from the people who deserve it in the present” (Makhlouf). The bigger picture in Yaw’s chapter is how the government’s past transgressions and its effects on the people who live in Ghana. 

Sonny is the son of Willie and Robert; he holds a lot of animosity toward Willie for never allowing him to know who his father was. “Sonny couldn’t conjure up a picture of his father, and he still hadn’t forgiven his mother for that” (Homegoing, 223). As he was walking out of jail another time with his mother, he is still yet again frustrated with his mother because he hadn’t forgiven her, another representation of the after-effects of not forgiving someone. Dana Huff from huffenglish.com compares Sonny’s interaction with his family and reaching forgiveness to the Parable of the Prodigal Son. On nationalshrine.org, they describe the story of the prodigal son as a son who desired his father’s inheritance and does not do right by it. He returns home, and his father, to the son’s surprise, welcomes him with joy (nationalshrine.org). The father does not have hate toward his son, but forgives him and loves him despite his behavior before returning home Much like the son, Sonny wants this love from his father; he longs for that love. But he does not realize that Willie is that person for him. While she had done wrong and had not shown him love because of the resentment she once held toward Robert. She found that forgiveness, and it was time for Sonny to do the same and show his mother grace and forgiveness. 

Forgiveness and the lack of forgiveness the characters in Homegoing faced contributed to their mentality and the atmosphere of the story. Yaa Gyasi helped to shed light on the importance of forgiveness and what happens when one does not take the time to forgive those around them.

3 Memorable Quotes from ‘Homegoing’ by Yaa Gyasi. https://baos.pub/3-memorable-quotes-from-homegoing-by-yaa-gyasi-93fe28e36a4e. 

Basilica, The. “The Parable of the Prodigal Son.” National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 7 Oct. 2021, https://www.nationalshrine.org/blog/the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son/#:~:text=In%20the%20gospel%20of%20Luke,hand%20for%20a%20pig%20farmer.

Gyasi, Yaa. “Homegoing.” Home -, https://www.oasisacademysouthbank.org/.

“Homegoing: Part 2: Yaw Summary & Analysis.” LitCharts, https://www.litcharts.com/lit/homegoing/part-2-yaw. 

Huff, Dana. “Teaching Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing: The Final Four Chapters.” Huffenglish.com, 20 Jan. 2022, https://www.huffenglish.com/teaching-yaa-gyasis-homegoing-the-final-four-chapters/.