Essie thinks about how toubab are like children, and reflects on the sexual violence that has been done to her. Paul, the plantation owner, raped her, though Amos has promised to prevent it from ever happening again. But Essie remains skeptical, and thinks about her baby Solomon, who unsettles her because of what he does to her body and how he looks. However, Isaiah seems to bond with him well.
Essie thinks about her friendship with Isaiah and how it started in The Fucking Place, where Paul forces his male and female slaves to procreate. James watched them, but Isaiah could not perform. Paul lined up nine other men and chose Amos, and Amos shocked Essie with his consideration and care, though the sex was still forced. After Amos also failed to get Essie pregnant, Paul stepped in to do it himself, resulting in Solomon.
Back in the present, Essie has brought a slice of pie for the three of them to share. Essie reminisces more—she thinks of how Isaiah has grown from a boy and how he seems to have found love in the barn. She marvels at his bravery, despite knowing what Paul wants to use his body for (procreating) and is saddened at the loss of her closeness and friendship with Isaiah.
Samuel returns with a clean knife, and the three share the pie. Isaiah feeds Solomon, and he imagines two men raising their own baby—a fantasy. Samuel addresses the topic they have been avoiding: Amos has been growing more hostile towards Samuel and Isaiah, because he believes the punishments have been worsening due to their unwillingness to procreate with the female slaves. And while skeptical, Essie still wants to believe in Amos’s promise, and Isaiah and Samuel haven’t helped her the way Amos has. She refuses to let herself become a “broodmare” again. Essie leaves the barn, leaving Isaiah and Samuel behind.
Amos
Amos is reflecting on his past: a dead slave he has seen hanging from a tree, and the day he arrived to Empty, face caged and holding a boy whose mother he made a promise to. Amos also thinks about Essie: how he failed to change Paul’s mind about breeding her, and how Amos reacted badly to Essie because of his own incompetence. In a bid to prevent it from happening to Essie again, he went to Paul and asked if he might be introduced to Jesus and the Christian God. Amos recalls the conversation between Paul and James about how Samuel and Isaiah, referred to as “bucks,” are failing to reproduce.
Two weeks later, Paul sent for him and Amos entered the Big House for the first time. Amos reflected on how the slaves’ situation—picking cotton and occasionally warming a bed — “could be worse.” Amos believes that Christianity (the toubab’s religion) is the key to preventing Paul from assaulting Essie again. Amos had a religious experience after Essie gave birth to Solomon, and he began giving sermons to the other slaves on the plantation.
In the present, Isaiah and Samuel have come to talk to Amos. Amos tells them that they must “give Massa babies,” and asks why they are not cooperating. Samuel throws a stone at Amos—purposefully missing—and storms off, leaving Isaiah alone with Amos. Amos approaches Isaiah and asks if he remembers the wagon that brought the two of them to Empty. Isaiah is shocked by Amos's admittance that he was there, and asks Amos why he has kept his own identity a secret for so long. Amos says that he has been “waiting til you reach the age of manhood,” and refuses to give Isaiah his birth name until either he or Samuel have done their duty. While he feels some pain, Amos believes he is doing what is necessary.
A few days later, Amos seeks out Samuel and Isaiah at the barn. Outside, Amos pleads with them to capitulate “just one time,” and tells them that he is simply trying to make things easier for all slaves on the plantation. For a moment, it seems that Samuel might kneel, but he simply returns to work. Isaiah pleads with Amos for his birth name once again. Amos refuses, and Samuel and Isaiah walk back into the barn. Later at night, Amos has returned to the barn and watches as Samuel and Isaiah’s shadows intertwine in the dark. Amos is shocked at the revelation of their love for each other, and is highly disturbed by their unfamiliar homosexuality.
Amos asks the others if they have known about the true nature of Samuel and Isaiah’s relationship, and the women seem generally thankful for the reprieve that it grants them. Maggie confirms that it is “something old, from the other time, before the ships and guns came.” Amos does not believe her, and he begins to feel spiteful toward Samuel and Isaiah, as Amos believes that once Paul discovers the truth, he will take it out on the other slaves.
Amos begins preaching to unite the plantation against Samuel and Isaiah, chastising anyone who accepts or condones their relationship. While the initial reception is hesitant, the majority of the slaves are seduced by the prospect of better treatment, and begin to deliberately avoid Samuel and Isaiah. An incident occurs between Big Hosea and Samuel when Hosea accuses Samuel of “looking at him funny,” and attacks him in the river. It is Sunday again, and Amos walks alone to the clearing where he preaches, preparing his sermon. The first guest is Be Auntie with Solomon.
Genesis
The collective ‘we’ returns, and talks about where things began. The voice talks of names that are unpronounceable, and apologizes for the part it played in the addressee’s captivity. It recalls the night sky that “gave birth to you and covers you and names you as her children above all others,” warning against arrogance but encouraging laughter and dancing. A last plea to be patient, and then it urges the reader to “return to memory when you are filled with doubt.” They promise that answers will come soon.
I Kings
In the heart of Kosongo territory in Africa, King Akusa is eating dinner with two of her six wives. Ketwa, her favored second wife, is about to join her for some palm wine when a messenger enters the royal hut with a frantic warning: a nightmare has come to their village. The king arms herself and rushes to the village square, where they are confronted by the sight of “demons” with no skin on their bodies. The villagers are highly disturbed by the sight of these skinless demons, and question the Gussu who has accompanied them. The Gussu claims that they are friends, and one of the three demons comes forward, introducing itself as Brother Gabriel, here to “bring you the good news."
Beulah
Beulah, now known as Auntie Be, tells a rhyming story in the cotton fields to make up for the absence of Essie’s singing. As Essie is pregnant, Auntie Be does half of her share of work to save her from a lashing. She also confronts Amos about initiating sex with Essie while the latter is pregnant, about which Amos does not see a problem. Auntie Be reflects on how men—“ones in heat or ones who had something to prove"—are senseless, and they walk away after sex without a single “thank you” or apology. Despite herself, however, Auntie Be has begun enjoying the rhythm of it, and she has found herself in the role of “men’s rest stop and peace of mind."
To spare Essie, as refusing sex would warrant death for her, Be Auntie has opened her arms to Amos as well. She favors boys over girls, especially mixed babies, and Be Auntie particularly mistreated Puah as an infant, feeding her food too solid for her stomach. Amos comes to her one night after his failed confrontation with Isaiah and Samuel, frustrated at their refusal to submit, and Be Auntie asks Amos what he needs her to do for him. He asks about Puah, who is around fifteen or sixteen, and says that he needs Puah for Samuel and Isaiah. Be Auntie says that she will see what she can do to convince Puah.
Analysis
The novel’s structure begins to take shape. Several of the character-oriented chapters often pick up directly where the previous chapter has ended, though the characters ruminate heavily on the past and how it has shaped their present actions. Essie’s traumatic experiences have heavily influenced her present life, as she raises her half-white son, Solomon. As a female slave, Essie also faces another dimension of violence: sexual and reproductive. She is forced to bear children for Paul, being raped several times by other slaves before Paul comes in and does it himself.
Amos is an important figure on the plantation, as he has been granted special privileges by Paul to preach about Christianity to the other slaves. His involvement with Essie has led Amos to seek ways to protect her from Paul. The solution that he turns to is religion, and Amos believes that by converting to and assimilating with the master’s beliefs, they will be able to earn some sympathy.
The voices of the collective ‘we’ return and speak to the addressee, who are presumably the slaves in captivity. Their chapter serves to highlight a theme that is becoming a frequent one: the importance of memory as a way of shouldering pain and suffering. However, the voices also point out that “memory is not enough,” though still necessary. The ‘seven’ is a reference to the Orishas in the Yoruba religion of West Africa.
In "I Kings," the novel breaks away from the present-day narrative of Samuel and Isaiah, and explores an African village in the past, where King Akusa rules. King Akusa, who is a woman, has six wives, at least one of whom is a man. The flexible gender roles of this African society are untouched by Western homophobia or sexism, as the village is ruled by a female king with female and male wives. The reception the African villagers give to the Christian missionaries is also starkly different from how Christian missionaries are typically depicted from the Western perspective, as the villagers believe the Christians to be skinless demons.
Be Auntie’s chapter delves further into the gendered nuances of oppression and slavery. As a female slave, Be Auntie has been forced to have sex with men countless times. She has a complex and biased attitude towards other girls, and tends to favor the male children, especially the mixed ones. When Amos comes to her while Essie is pregnant and even afterward, she accepts him, though her reasons for doing so are complicated.
