Anyone can influence change. If someone wants to enact change they have to get up and do it. One can dream about all of the changes to be made; however enacting them is the hard part. The novels The Book of Negroes and The Color Purple both prove for one to be an instrument of change they must have: the opportunity to learn, the confidence to stand up for what they believe in and the ability to unite with both like minded and unlike minded peers To begin we have Aminata Diallo a character who we learn many life lessons from, the most important being to always preserver. Amanitas desire to learn is the first aspect that allows her to influence change. Aminata is extremely young when she is taken; this gives Aminata an advantage on the older…show more content… Certain characters throughout take it upon themselves to teach Aminata all types of skills. Starting with the Medicine Man who teaches Amanita to communicate in Toubabu; he begins by getting Amanita to repeat words such as “bed” and “Tom” (Hill 71) and then shows her what these words associate with. Amanita continues to learn Toubabu and eventually she is speaking it fluently. This aids her throughout the rest of the novel, communication wise. As the novel progresses Aminata is sold to an ‘owner’ named Solomon Lindo who single handily changes Aminatas life. Lindo always wanted to purchase Aminata because he “saw the intelligence” in her eyes and he wanted “to lift her up” (Hill 201). Lindo proceeds to teach Aminata about religion, money, reading and writing and most importantly about her homeland. Lindo not only teaches her ‘book smarts’ he also teachers her the proper way people should treat her and how grateful they should be because of what a “wonderful…show more content… Amanita is a character who is not pushed around; she is always standing up for herself and what she believes in. starting at a young age Aminita has the confidence that many others do not. For example when she has a run in with Fanta and she hits her Aminita states that she cannot “beat” [her] like this” and that she is going to “tell [her] father” (Hill 19). Aminita was only a child and she stood up to one of the most respected women in her village. Again when Aminita is on her journey to slavery she tells the men to “leave [her] alone” (Hill 32) fully understanding the repercussions. The reader continues to see Aminita be self-confident; she walks away from her master with her head held high holding in her “sobs” because she knows that it will only “add to [her] shame” (Hill 179). Aminita wants to present herself as a confident female; she does not want the others to think she is weak minded. She also wants others to respect her because she refuses to bow down. Aminita makes it crystal clear that she is “African [not a] Negro Woman” (Hill 299). This shows that she confident enough to call out people of ‘higher power’ but most importantly that Aminta is confident in her own skin. In New York she is confident in her knowledge; this leads Aminita to test her teaching skills. She takes it upon herself to teach other slaves the knowledge that she already possesses. In England she meets the