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Sometimes, when telling or hearing an idea or event, we are only exposed to one side of the story. You’ve probably experienced this yourself before, right?. Throughout Tomi Adeyemi’s ‘Children of Blood and Bone,’ characters are forced to see both sides of their stories. Whether they like it or not. From this “cake with asparagus” kind of novel, we are presented with many memorable ideas. These ideas are shown through the characters’ choices, actions, and dialogue. Throughout the story, they range from things like revenge is an endless cycle to duty over self. One idea that was very prevalent to me was the idea that there are always two sides to a story. Whether it be Binta’s, one of the royal maids, relationship to Amari, the credibility of the royal guards, or the overall opinion of Orisha’s ‘Maggots.’
When Amari was still at the palace, Binta was her best friend. Her world. Her everything. But Zelie doesn’t understand the idea that a royal maid could’ve been anything more than a slave to Amari. Zelie must’ve been raised with the idea that anyone related to King Saran has the same ideas and beliefs as him. The man who conducted the very demise of her mother, the Raid. All the while Amari, noble born, doesn’t have said beliefs and grew up befriending her maid. During chapter 13 of the book, Amari is trying to justify her reasoning behind her castle escape. She explains that her father had killed her best friend, Binta. Zelie, in her false wit, retorts with, “Your best friend or your slave?” Zelie knew that Binta was a diviner maid and immediately assumed she wasn’t paid or was indeed a slave. She shows this when she says, “Do your best friends press your clothes and make your food without pay?” in retaliation to Tzain, her brother, warning her she’s gone too far. In Amari’s defence, Binta was truly her best friend, maid or not. In the castle, Amari had no one. Her brother was forced to fight her, implying he’s her foe rather than a friend. Her mother believes she should be perfect and is almost ashamed of her. And her father is an extremist who believes violence is always an answer. During chapter 15, Amari thinks back to her friendship with Binta. She tells Zelie, “I laughed so hard that night I nearly wet myself.” She reminisces in the way Binta mocked her mother. This example alone proves that even though you may believe something is one way, may be different for someone else. Like in real life, back when interracial relationships were looked down upon. People refused to believe that it was okay, or even possible, to like, have feelings for, or befriend someone if they "weren't like you". The relationships between two people were dictated by the colour of your skin. Or in our instance, the colour of your hair. This was kind of gatekeeping from the likes of Zelie, in my opinion, it’s not really her place to say that kind of stuff.
Stereotyping on lone experiences is very apparent throughout this book. Very early on in the book, in the first few chapters, Zelie’s opinion on the royal guards and the methods they used is shaped by their actions towards her. They don’t treat her, a "maggot," the same way as they would treat someone like Inan. Inan’s experiences with the guards are vastly different from Zelie’s. Inan was their leader, their captain, so it’s not surprising to the reader nor Zelie that he saw them with no error. Inan was raised with the memories of his father’s family’s downfall, a downfall at the hands of maji. His upraising causes him to see the guard’s methods as justified and reasonable. Zelie, on the other hand, was mistreated very early on. In the first few chapters, Mama Agba’s training is bombarded by the guards seeking diviner tax. Zelie, being Zelie, attempts to stand up for herself and the other diviners. Despite her best interest, she ends up in an uncomfortable situation with one of the guards. He digs his knee into her back after he threw her to ground by her hair, stating, “I’ll start with this one.” It’s a complete disregard to her humanity, labelling her as nothing but a maggot. It’s not until he grips her thigh with a rough hand that she truly feels defeated. His touch refined her to the little girl who was helpless, stuck watching men drag her mother away. This memory must’ve bubbled in Zelie during chapter 45. We can see this as after Inan tried to convince her to let him gather his guards, she breaks. Through her sobs, she explains that with the guards there everything would still be as hopeless and broken as it was before. No matter how hard Inan tried. When she settles down, she offers a chilling idea, saying “Your people, your guards. They’re nothing more than killers, rapists and thieves.” She states that the only difference between them and criminals is the uniforms they wear. This reminds me of how stereotypes work in real life. The way the colour of someone's skin means they always carry a gun, or that they’re automatically thieves. That when someone believes in something "abnormal," they’re greedy, a terrorist, or a scammer. To me, and a ton of other readers, it’s not fair. Almost as unfair as the generalisation of the maji and diviners.
For around eleven years, maji and diviners have been seen as lowlives, killers, greedy, and “maggots.” Noble children, such as Inan and Amari, have been told of the horrors Maji have committed. Diviners and children of Maji have seen, heard, and have even experienced the opposite. For example, Zelie remembers maji healing others. Her mother using her animations to hold her little Zel down as she combs through her hair. Meanwhile, Inan only knows of the death of his father’s family, destruction at the hands of maji. On the other hand, Amari knows of both stories. A prime example is while being told about the Grounders. Amari is warned, by her father, that the Grounders used “sand and rock as lethal weapons.” At the same time, Binta tells her that, “they are peaceful, and used their magic to make settlements from the sand." Both King Saran and Binta have been told two different sides of a story… See where I’m going here? Further proof is in chapter 59, Inan speaks of his father, “He’s misguided, but his fear is justified. All the monarchy’s ever seen is the destruction maji can bring. They’ve never experienced anything like this.” He then gestures to the surrounding camp and festival. He talks about Saran’s side of the story, about him never seeing Zelie’s and Maji's side. The two sides had never crossed, whether they existed or not. This example can reflect on our real life and history. Think back to when colonists first arrived in countries like New Zealand and America. They were scared of the native people. On the other hand, the native people were almost scared of the colonisers. I mean, who wouldn’t be? Neither of them had even heard of the other and, what it looks like to me is, people are scared of things they don’t know. Each party had seen and heard things out of context. They would spread this toxic idea that the other party is horrible and terrifying. While it seems unfair, it’s human nature to have two sides of a story. Nobody is really to blame.
Throughout Children of Blood And Bone, each story has two, or many, sides. Whether it be that Zelie can’t understand how Binta was indeed Amari’s friend. Or that the maji are more than terrorists. Or even whether or not the royal guards are “good.” There’s always a side of the story someone hasn’t seen. In fact, Amari and Inan are the only few characters who have seen both sides of the story in many cases. This further supports my idea. There is indeed two sides to one story.
