SOURCE: Marsh, Carol P. “The Plastic Arts Motif in Roots.” CLA Journal 26, no. 3 (March 1983): 325-33.

In the following essay, Marsh traces the significance of three major crafts—carving, weaving, and blacksmithing—in the multi-generational saga of the African family traced in Roots.

In Alex Haley's Roots, one of the prevailing motifs is that of the plastic arts. As the reader examines the novel, he finds that the motif forms a part of the spiral structure, which, in turn, creates the work's theme of returning.¹ Thus, we find that Roots abounds with direct references to the plastic arts, and the motif seems to develop with Kunta Kinte and his line in Africa and America.

The plastic arts motif found in Roots has archetypes in Greek and Hebrew literature in which we can find reference to three major crafts mentioned in the novel: carving, weaving, and blacksmithing. In the traditions...