Roots "The steady murmuring that went on in the hold whenever the toubob were gone kept growing in volume and intensity as the men began to communicate better and better with one another." In this sentence from Roots, by Alex Haley, the author used specific words to produce an effect in the reader. For example, Haley used "murmuring" instead of the more usual "talking" Haley used "murmuring" rather than the more usual "talking" because Kunta and the other prisoners developed a "deepening sense of intrigue and of brotherhood," and counseled each other on how to attack the white people. For example, in Roots, the story about the relationship between Africans and white men in the 180