Hidden and Public Transcripts in Evert’s James (2024): A Scottian Analysis of Resistance through Language

Abstract

This study analyzes James (2024) by Everett through Scott’s theory of hidden and public transcripts and  Belsey’s method of textual analysis. It aims to examine how enslaved characters use language to manage surveillance, conceal knowledge, and resist domination. The study asks how James’s shifts between public and hidden speech reveal resistance and how these transcripts change across the novel. The analysis focuses on register shifts, code-switching, Signifying, literacy, surveillance, and the final confrontation with Hopkins. It shows that James develops a public transcript for survival while maintaining a hidden transcript of knowledge, identity, and resistance. The study concludes that the novel presents a gradual movement from concealed speech to open expression. It also shows the political power of language. Future research should apply Scott’s framework to other contemporary neo-slave narratives and examine register shifts through comparative and corpus-based studies.