Alaina Losito
M. NourbeSe Philip’s book Zong! recounts, through the use of poetry, the horrific massacre that occurred on a slave ship in November 1781. Philip uses the repetition and placement of certain words and phrases in order to highlight the importance of said words or phrases. The placement of the words on the page may also allow for the reader to read the text slowly in order to contemplate the significance of each word in relation to the historical context of the poem. This poem can be relevant to current times as well. The formatting and repetition of specific words speak to issues in today’s society of police brutality which brought rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Luxury of a Breath
The first 20 pages of Zong! are included in the chapter “Os”. In the back of the book there is a glossary of words and phrases overheard on board the Zong! In the glossary the word “os” translates to “bone” in Latin (Philip 184). Bones can be associated with images of skeletons and death. This could signify the deaths of the 150 slaves that died on this ship. One thing that is tactful in reading this poem is to read it aloud. In Zong! #1 there is the breaking up of words and letters. These are scattered throughout the page and may not make sense at first glance but when read aloud can be coherent to the reader. If read aloud, this page could sound like someone drowning, or someone who has been deprived of water for so long that their throat becomes dry and they can barely even speak. This usage of water could show the suffering that these slaves endured. The fact that this is the very first page makes it so that the reader is drawn in. On the bottom of the page it says “Masuz Zuwena Ogunsheye Ziyad Ogwambi Keturah.” These are not listed in the glossary which could suggest that these are names of several of the slaves that were murdered in the massacre. This opening scene can be related to the death of George Floyd. While reading this opening page it seems like the speaker is gasping for air and the struggle for words seems terribly difficult. This can be seen in the breakage and scattering of the words on the page. In the incident of George Flyod, the police officer was kneeling on George Floyd’s neck while George Floyd was suffocating and screaming “I can’t breathe”. The opening page parallels this disturbing murder of George Floyd because both show the painful struggle to survive in a situation where another person has complete control over their lives.
The Law is Never in Favor of the Oppressed.
In this section of the book it also emphasizes the fact that the fate of these slaves was in the hands of the white people on board the ship. These slaves were never in control of their own lives. In Zong! #11 there is an emphasis on the law. On this page there is a significant blank space in between the words “is”, “not”, “does”, “not”, etc. This blank space could be related to the message of the words on the page. There can be so many “what if” questions about history. Questions such as “what if slavery never existed” or “what if racism never existed”. The law is a social construction and so is racism. Both, together, result in the mistreatment and death of so many people in the black community. Zong! #11 could parallel that of the case of Breonna Taylor. She was murdered in her own home by the police when they had no reason to go in her home in the first place. In this instance, Breonna Taylor’s case went to court and lost. All of the evidence needed to prove that the police were guilty was there. Yet, the law is almost always against those of the oppressed instead of the oppressors. This can be similar to that of this page in the book because in this page the speaker says, “suppose the law not / -a crime / suppose the law a loss / suppose the law / suppose” (Philip 20). This is drawing attention to the fact that the law creates who is inferior and who is superior. For example, the law used to state that a white person could own another human being as their own property. This allowed for these slaves to be taken from their own country in the first place. The law also created the insurance on these slaves because they were property. All of these laws based on racism added up to the murder of these 150 slaves. The law was not in these slaves favor just as the law was not in Breonna Taylor’s favor. The law chooses, even before a crime is made, who is innocent and who is guilty.
Discussion Questions:
- Are there any other instances in this section of the reading that remind you of other current events?
- Do you think Philips wants each of us to read each page in the same way? Or do you think that the placement of the words/phrases in this book were meant to allow for each of the readers to create their own understanding of the page in relation to the historical context?
- If you did not know what this poem was about (or the name of the poem), what would you think it was about based on the word choices and phrases that Philips emphasizes/draws the reader’s attention to?
Philip, M. NourbeSe. Zong! Wesleyan University Press, 2008.
