Three Stories in Mojo

"Rosamojo"

1. The title of this selection is "Rosamojo" by Kiini Ibura Salaam. This story is about a girl named Rosamojo who is sexually abused by her father. In order to protect herself, she uses a protection prayer that ends up killing her father. The setting of this story is contemporary. There is no exact location where the story takes place other than Rosamojo's home and the funeral home.

2. The specific point of view of the story is first person single narrator.

3. The protagonist in the story is Rosamojo and she is also the narrator. The antagonist in the story is her father.

4. The main conflict that Rosamojo is struggling with is protecting herself from her father. This type of conflict is person v.s. person. The source of this conflict is Rosamojo's father molesting her.

5. Rosamojo is the conjure woman in this story. Some conjure woman traits that Rosamojo has are that she uses a spell to protect her. She is independent, self-sufficient, and self-sustaining.

7. Two values that are important to Rosamojo are her own safety and her mother's opinion. Valuing her own safety aids Rosamojo's struggle with her father. If she did not value this, she would continue to let her father molest her. Valuing her mother's opinion causes some hardship for Rosamojo because this stops her from speaking out about her conflict. Since her mother's opinion is important,  she conceals the truth about the sexual abuse from her mother.

10. I think the theme of this story would be if one is being harmed by someone or something, they should do something about it to stop it. The genre of this story is conjure/magic tale and it is also a growing up story. From this story, I learned that it is important to stand up for myself. I should not let anyone control me or to take advantage of me. Rosamojo is a strong individual and I see her as a role model for other girls.

"Asuquo"

1. The title of this story is "Asuquo, or The Winds of Harmattan" by Nnedima Okorafor. This story is about a woman named Asuquo who stuggles with being herself in her village because she is not accepted by the people in her village. The setting of this story is in the African Coast during slave trade.

2. The point of view is third person, omniscient.

3. The protagonist in this story is Asuquo. The antogonist of the story is the village.

4. The main conflict that Asuquo is struggling with is being who she really is in her village. The type of conflict this is person v.s. society. The reason for her struggle is that she is a conjure woman and the people in her village do not accept her powers.

5. The root woman in this story is Asuquo. Some conjure woman traits that she has are that she is a female. She does have powers that make her a powerful figure in the community.

7.  Two values that are important to Asuquo are love and her family. From valuing her family, this causes hardship because they contributed to her death. She continuously wants to please them, but in the end they turn on her.

10. The theme of this story is that should not try to conceal who they truly are. The genre of this story is a conjure/magic tale. From this story I learned to not hide who I am as an individual because I will not succeed and accomplish things I want.

"Trial Day"

1. The title of this story is "Trial Day" by Tananarive Due. This story is about a girl named Letitia who struggles with making her father realize that Brother needs help on trial day. The setting of this story is contemporary time in a town called Oak City.

2. The point of view is third person, central character.

3. The protagonist is Letitia. The antagonist is Bernadette.

4. The main conflict that Letitia is struggling with convincing her father to go help her brother on his trial day. This type of conflict is person v.s. person. The source of this conflict is the spell her stepmother put on Daddy, which is stopping him from helping Brother.

5. The root women in the story are Letitia and Letitia's mother. Some traits they both have are that they both perform spells and rituals. Letitia is a conjure woman in training so she is learning from her mother. Letitia ends up sacrificing her cat to help her Brother.

7. Two values that are important to Letitia are her brother and justice. These values aid her conflict because if she did not value her brother, she not want him to help him on trial day. She also values justice because her brother had a higher chance of being killed over the robbery since he is black.

10. I think the theme of this story is not giving on something that is important. This story is a conjure/magic tale and a growing up tale. I learned to not let anything stop me from accomplishing something that is important. Letitia learned to solve the issue on her own and I find this admirable.