Blood at the Root

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of enslavement, death, and violence.

“Life is your birthright, they hid that in the fine print. Take the pen and rewrite it.”

The novel’s epigraph introduces an important idea in the novel: the ability of a person to change and “rewrite” their life. This idea applies to Malik, who changes the course of his life by going to Louisiana, learning about his ancestry, and accepting his magic as part of himself. It also applies to the novel holistically, as it takes Black history and rewrites it, tying it to magical abilities and thereby encouraging Black pride and empowerment.

“A sudden coldness hit me right in my chest. My reflection from the slanted, broken mirror showcased a seven-year-old’s face exposed to something dark.”

After Malik kills the men in his mother’s room and his mother disappears, Malik sees himself reflected in the broken mirror. This cracked visage symbolizes Malik’s loss of innocence. He has discovered his magic, killed three men, and seen the loss of his mother, all of which will set him on a difficult path of death and darkness.

“The rumors of me having something to do with my mama’s death flooded Liberty Heights like a river of blood.”

This simile—which compares the spreading rumors through Malik’s town to a “river of blood”—emphasizes the impact that his mother’s death had on his childhood. After losing his mother, not only was Malik left without family as a seven-year-old, but he also lost his neighborhood and his friends as they blamed him for his mother’s death.