At the beginning of The Book of Negroes, Aminata's life goes from happy, in Bayo, Africa, to depressed and unfulfilling when brought to America and cared for as a slave worker. Nora, on the contrary, always thought that her life was perfect and happy; however, after analyzing his life, he stated, "Now, when I look back, it seems as if I had lived here like a beggar, just from hand to mouth." (Ibsen, 109) This metaphor explains that his life situations were painful. However, after losing her two children and her husband, Aminata became so unhappy that she lost all hope and desire to live. He later admitted that he was “in the mood to die” (Hill, 349). For her part, Nora revealed directly to her husband that her life was not as joyful as she expected: “HELMER. Haven't you been happy here? NORA. No, never. I thought so, but I never did"" (Ibsen, 109) Aminata and Nora were experiencing similar life situations as both were not satisfied after experiencing unhappy times