Equiano and Slavery
Equiano's main purpose in writing this Narrative was to inspire Parliament to abolish the African slave trade, which he stated at the beginning when he presented it in 1789. Part of his strategy was to describe himself as a humble "unlettered African" grateful to the West for obtaining knowledge of Christianity, liberalism, and humanitarian principles who is petitioning on behalf of his "suffering countryman" (p. 2). For the benefit of the gentlemen in Parliament at least, he describes himself as a very loyal English subject who has fought in its wars against France from a young age -- the Seven Years War in this case. His Calvinist-evangelical Protestantism was evidently very heartfelt and sincere, and in that respect his views were quite different from the deism, skepticism or even atheism more commonly associated with the Enlightenment. Equiano reacted quite sharply against such ideas when he hears them, however, and evidently derived great comfort from religion. Equiano regarded the professions of Christianity and humanitarianism in the Western world as mostly nominal rather than sincere, although personally he was committed to the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. For most of his life, though, he was dependent on the patronage and goodwill of powerful white men, and came to identify with their culture. Even as a freed slave, his condition was very far from true freedom and equality with whites, although far better than that of plantation slaves.
According to his autobiography, Equiano was only eleven years old when he was kidnapped and sold into slavery with his sister, so this was certainly a factor in how he remembered his own culture, and in facilitating his adjustment to a new one. Had he been a mature adult, such an adjustment would probably have been far more difficult, perhaps impossible. He was very young and frightened when he was taken to Barbados and then Virginia and England, and had never even...
..really believe[d] the people could not have been saved" (Carretta, p. 129). In conclusion, this is a fascinating man who was put into slavery and later became an educated, respected writer in his own time. And yet, even after publishing his book, the Interesting Narrative, critics in London doubted that he could have written it himself. A black man with such narrative skill was obviously a rarity. In the Monthly Review,
5). Although the author was far from being fortunate to have been sold and bought and sold again, his ability to survive the sea passage that killed so many of his brethren testifies as much to his luck as to his mental and physical strength. Moreover, Equiano was young enough when he was first sold to the British to have still retained the fear of a child that might
(Olaudah Equiano: A Critical Biography) In the final analysis while there may be some controversy about various details and dates, the narrative in the book is generally accepted to be authentic and reveals a man's search for meaning and freedom. 3. Conclusion The autobiography of Olaudah Equiano is a testament to the search for human freedom and a firm indictment of the practice of slavery. Whatever the debate it about its
He takes advantage of each new situation and has his fellow mariners and owners teach him new skills. He says that he often used his free time to "improve himself" (70). When visiting a new island he speaks of his being able to go "about different parts of the island [ . . . ] gratifying [himself]" (75). He expresses a great amount of autonomy in these actions. He is
Oluaduh Equiano The Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African Written by Himself is a two-volume memoir of the author's being bought and sold like cargo during the heyday of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Divided into twelve chapters, The Life of Olauduh Equiano begins with the author's description of his own people and culture in West Africa. From the outset, Equiano uses a tone of humility and warns the
Equiano Slave narratives like those of Frederick Douglass and Oladuh Equiano are essential to understanding the institution and the effect oppression has on the human body, mind, and spirit. Each slave narrative also offers something unique, because no two stories will be the same. Different slaves have different experiences, as well as different reactions to those experiences. Slaves like Frederick Douglass and Oladuh Equiano have formative experiences developed during their childhood,
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