And my story waits like a restful beast

In class today, we discussed the chapter 'And my story waits like a restful beast', which is the first chapter of book two. This chapter takes place in London in 1803. In this chapter, Aminata is an old woman discussing her story with the abolitionists. It portrays the abolitionists in quite a negative light. She comments on how they act as if she is deaf and they listen very little to her. One prominent quote of this can be found on page 115, "The abolitionists may well call me their equal, but their lips do not yet say my name and their ears do not yet hear my story". This shows the irony of how the abolitionists are fighting for equality, yet they treat her as if she is a tool; to them, she's is simply a black woman with a useful story. This contrasts with the abolitionist John Clarkson (the actual name of the founder of the abolitionists) who seems to appreciate Aminata for who she is. "Don't laugh, John Clarkson says a little too sharply, I bet she has read more books than you" (p. 117) This chapter was also useful for characterization; it introduces the character of John Clarkson as more understanding and wiser than the rest of the abolitionists.
This chapter of the novel also contained quite a bit of foreshadowing, "In the absence of an audience, I will write down my story so that it waits like a restful beast with lungs breathing and heart beating." (p. 116) In this quote, Aminata uses a simile to compare her story to a beast, which indicates that there are even worse and more powerful things to come. I really enjoy this sentence, it is a really nice visual. Perhaps that is the reason the author chose use part of this particular sentence in the title of the chapter.