Chapter 51
- Kunta doesn't see much of anyone for weeks—not even Bell.
- This farm is a lot different than the first. For example, the slave huts are in better condition, and some even have gardens.
- Although Kunta can tell that the black people at this "toubob farm" are in better shape than the others, he still can't understand why they've so easily accepted their lot (51.5).
- One day, he sees a wagon pull into the yard with a strange, brown-skinned man. He has a white cast on one arm and is holding a small box in the other. Kunta watches him enter an empty hut.
- Kunta observes this guy, who he refers to as "the brown one," over the following days. One day, after he notices that the cast has been removed, the man motions for Kunta to join him inside his hut.
- The man starts talking, and even though Kunta can't understand a word, he feels comforted. After a while, a group of other folks show up, including Bell.
- Kunta tries to leave, but the man convinces him to stay for a bit.
- After this, he starts visiting the man every day. He learns that he's a fiddler. That's also his name, too: the fiddler.
- The fiddler starts teaching Kunta English, which is super swell. This proves helpful when the old gardener drops by to explain to Kunta how futile it is to run away.
- As it happens, Kunta is going to be working in the garden as well—his injury limits what work he can do. He receives a pair of modified shoes a few nights later that make it easier to walk.
- He also learns that the toubob who owns him is named Massa William Waller. He had bought Kunta off his brother, Kunta's original owner.
Chapter 52
- Despite settling in, Kunta's keeping tradition alive. He's always sure to pray to Mecca, write in Arabic, and toss pebbles into a gourd to mark his age.
- That's helpful to us at the moment: it tells us that Kunta was seventeen when he was kidnapped from Juffure, and has been in the land of the toubob for roughly two years.
- Kunta spends his days in the garden, working alongside the gardener. Bell drops by to pick vegetables once in a while, but she never says a word to our man.
- One day, the gardener doesn't show up—he must be sick. When Belle arrives that day, she sets her basket on the ground and shoots Kunta a meaningful look, clearly telling him to bring it inside the house for her. He does so begrudgingly.
- The gardener never gets better, so Kunta takes over his duties. Including lugging that basket into the big house for Bell.
- We jump forward in time about three months. After Kunta brings in the basket for Bell, she tells him to do something unheard of—come inside.
- She proceeds to give him a bunch of food, including this wonderful contraption called a "'san-wich'" (52.9). That's a life-changing moment, right there.
- This becomes a part of their daily ritual, with Belle giving Kunta some delicious new food every day. Kunta can't deny how great this is making him feel.
Chapter 53
- Harvest time is here again, which means that it's time for a "'harvest dance'' (53.1). Kunta's softened up enough by now to attend the event, even if he still refuses to participate.
- Still, Kunta can't help tapping his good foot when the dancing commences, courtesy of the fiddler's shredding skills.
- Later that night, the fiddler drops by Kunta's hut stinking drunk. He says that Massa Waller was so impressed with his fiddling that he'll probably hire him out as a travelling entertainer.
- Before long, winter has made its appearance, which Kunta dreads every year. He stays away from the Christmas celebrations, however, as he's still devoutly Muslim.
- In July, there's another big religious celebration, one in which slaves from across the area gather together. Kunta skips out on that too, naturally.
Chapter 54
- Christmas has rolled around again, and Kunta has decided that Allah will cut him a break this one time for observing the festivities.
- The celebrations are intoxicating, but Kunta finds himself wondering again about the bizarre mix of hatred and affection between white and black people.
- A few months later, Kunta tries to discuss this idea with the fiddler, but his friend gets offended and blows up on our stone-faced hero.
- Oddly, this makes Kunta realize that they are now truly friends.
Chapter 55
- After this, Kunta starts learning a lot more from the fiddler. He learns that Massa Waller comes from a long-standing family of British aristocrats, which explain his relatively (emphasis of the relatively, of course—super emphasis) humane treatment of his slaves.
- Kunta helps out too, listening to an old African song the fiddler's mom used to sing and explaining that she must've belonged to the "Serere tribe" (55.9).
- He also starts chatting more with Bell. She tells him that Massa Waller's wife Priscilla died alongside their baby daughter in childbirth.
- Kunta decides to compliment Belle by telling her she looks like "a handsome Mandinka woman" (55.17). She's as confused by this as you might expect.