The Coming: Language and Identity Anonymous College

“This was the Coming” is arguably one of the most impactful lines in Daniel Black’s The Coming, mostly because it captures everything that the novel is dedicated to, which is “the memory and celebration of African souls lost in the Atlantic Ocean.” This common theme of the novel is loosely based off a Sonia Sanchez piece, in which Sanchez constantly repeats, “It was The Coming that was bad.” What makes this idea intriguing is how a phrase as open to interpretation as ‘the coming’ can represent a period of history that changed West Africa and the Americas forever. The reader easily becomes aware that Black’s language throughout this novel and the way it is organized is used in a powerful way that is not normally recognized in other historical fiction novels. Specifically, what stands out the most in this work is Black’s unique structure, combined with his immersive usage of imagery and constant repetition; language plays a vital role throughout The Coming and Black manipulates it in a way that makes this novel one of the most powerful narratives centered around African lives throughout the Middle Passage.

The first thing that the reader notices about The Coming is Black’s immediate use of collective pronouns and imagery. The...