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"The Life of Olaudah Equiano” is a captivating story in which Equiano, the author, reflects on his life from becoming a slave to a freeman during the 19th century. Through his experiences and writing, Equiano paints a vivid picture of the atrocities and cruelties of European slavery. Ultimately through his narrative, Equiano intends to persuade his audience, the British government, to abolish the Atlantic slave trade as well as alert them of the harsh treatment of slaves. He successfully accomplishes his goal by subtly making arguments through the use of character, action, and setting. The creation of character is an instrumental part of Equiano’s strategy in convincing his intended audience. One of the characters that plays a crucial role in this strategy is himself. Through the creation of his own character, he is able to establish credibility, relate to his audience, and extinguish general stereotypes about Africans. One way Equiano successfully does this is by exhibiting qualities that present him as being morally justice and loyal. For example in Chapter 7, Equiano purchases his freedom and is purposeful to include the information that he got his freedom by legal means. He says “The captain then said he knew I got the money very honestly, and with much industry, and that I was particularly careful” (page131). By including this in the chapter, Equiano is limiting questions that his audience might have about how he got the money, and displaying the goodwill of his overall character. He continues within this chapter by showcasing his good character in not immediately leaving his slave master (Mr. King) after being given his freedom, but remaining with him out of appreciation and gratitude. Additionally, he is then even able ... ... middle of paper ... ...ke swine, so that we were at last obliged to lift them into the boat, and carry them on shore by force” (144). He uses the argument that the white people would have done nothing but sit there and drown if it wasn’t for them. In a way, all the credit for them being saved is because of the black slaves on the ship. Though whites are supposed to be superior in intelligence according to European culture, they sat around stupidly not assisting in saving their own lives. By creating this action, he is showing how perceived notions can be equal no matter what the race. Equiano uses character, setting, and action to further his points of persuasion. He skillfully paints his argument to the British government in terms and events that they will understand and appreciate. Each part of the narrative is designed to elicit a specific reaction and make an overall persuasive point.
The Olaundah Equiano narrative is a view of servitude from a former captive himself. He begins his story in Africa from the land of Esska, his native homeland. He describes his tribe and all the many traditions they practiced as a way of living. Equiano was not originally born into servitude but a free male, son of a chief. Equiano’s life in Africa was common among the many members of his tribe. He was strongly attached to his mother and clenched to her as much as possible. His father obtained many slaves himself, but treated them like an equal part of the family. Equiano lived a common life in African society, until one day his destiny took an unexpected turn for the worst and life would never be the same.
Document One The Journey to Slavery is about the life of Olaudah Equiano. Equiano was born in what is now Nigeria in 1745. At the age of 11 Equiano and his younger sister were taken from their home, drug though the woods, sold, and was then separated from one another. Equiano’s experience was considered very rare. Throughout his life as a slave he had three different owners. Equiano went from one master to the other till he ended up in a pleasant country in the hands of a leader with children and two wives. He describes how his owners treated him like he was part of the family. They spoke he same
Olaudah Equiano was a freed slave living in London who made it his life person to abolish the British slave trade. His knowledge and training of the English language allowed him to grow into one of the key figures in the movement to abolish the slave trade in England. Although many scholars acknowledge his incredible talent, there has been evidence in the recent years that may question his reliability as a first-hand account. There is evidence to support that Equiano may have been born in South Carolina. This evidence does not make him a valid source of information about the slave trade and leads his audience to question his statements.
Looking at Rigg’s painting the Slave ship gives a visual of what Slaves went through on their journey to the Americas. It shows African slaves crammed under the deck of a ship,while their are more slaves above deck. The slaves above deck are being wiped, and some are being forced fed; And some
In comparison to other slaves that are discussed over time, Olaudah Equiano truly does lead an ‘interesting’ life. While his time as a slave was very poor, there are certainly other slaves that he mentions that received far more damaging treatment than he did. In turn, this inspires him to fight for the abolishment of slavery. By pointing out both negative and positive events that occurred, the treatment he received from all of his masters, the impact that religion had on his life and how abolishing slavery could benefit the future of everyone as a whole, Equiano develops a compelling argument that does help aid the battle against slavery. For Olaudah Equiano’s life journey, he expressed an array of cruelties that came with living the life of an African slave; which demonstrates all of the suffering that he endured, then proving how much it can change one’s point of view in life.
In addition, Equiano is an excellent example of the absurdity of drapetomania; he purchased his own freedom from his master and went on to be an extremely successful and flourishing person. Lastly, Equiano himself wrote a large, impressive autobiography that has become a cornerstone of African American literature. Life simultaneously pulled misconceptions to pieces and contributed to the culture that Africans were creating in the New World and Europe.
Equiano revealed just how miserable and horrid the ‘middle passage’ was. Frequently, he witnessed fellow slaves dying one after another due to the awful conditions within the boat(such as suffocation due to poor air quality) or purposefully killing themselves. He also talks about how serious it was for both parties, with both the slaves and whites facing death if they were to make mistakes. Equiano explains, “I had never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruelty; and this not only shown towards us blacks, but also to some whites themselves. One white man in particular I saw… flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast, that he died in consequence of it; and they tossed him over the side as they would have done a brute.”(Equiano 75)
Even though Equiano might not have said it directly in his book, being able to write this book shows the most powerful indictment of slavery. From the start, the purpose of the book is to inspire others to stop the system of slavery. He states, “If then the following narrative does not appear sufficiently interesting to engage general attention, let my motive to some excuse for its publication” (Equiano, 2). Because Equiano was able to write the book, it gave him the opportunity to talk about the system of slavery. He took full advantage to inspire people he knew and the public to tell them the system of slavery is wrong. He also felt that it is
“ Is it Not Enough that We Are Torn From Our Country and Friends?”, is a story that reveals the struggles that a slave had to go through while they were forced onto ships to a place where everything that they had was stripped from them in a blink of an eye. Of course there were many similarities between the voyage of a an indentured servant and a slave, but a slave was taken from its home and sent to a place that they did not want to go and where they were going to have no freedom and would not be able to have a say in what they wanted. “ I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native country” is a line that really made an impact on my reading because you can read the distresses Olaudah Equiano is trying to depict. A slaves journey was so hard that many of them wanted to die instead of continuing on this journey of
During the late seventeen hundreds former slave, Olaudah Equiano, began his autobiography. In the introduction he clarifies his reason for writing the account; informing his audience that he does not seek fame and fortune and is merely a humble man who wishes to persuade the audience to promote the abolition of slavery and to articulate the horrors of enslavement. Equiano provides a voice for those who were not allowed to advocate for themselves and their rights. He aims to eradicate the idea that slaves are second class versions of a human beings that are treated as objects, diminishing their worth and personal value. Equiano pursues this goal by blending his belief of religion, slavery, and personal adventure with a complexity that appeals
In the excerpt from “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" by Olaudah Equiano, Equiano discusses his life as a African slave and his journey to another land. He is very successful is making readers aware of how unjust slavery is, by giving many examples of how cruel and inhumane the slaves were treated. One example is ,”One white man in particular I saw, when we were permitted on deck, flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast, that he died in consequence of it; and they tossed him over the side as they would done a brute”(Equiano 27). This quote shows how the passengers on the boat to the new land were treated so poorly and punishments were very severe for those who disobeyed. This quote also shows how
Equiano concluded the white man’s vile actions are due to their undying yearn and cupidity for wealth. He emphasized the dehumanizing and barbaric treatment of blacks such as starvation, unsanitary conditions along with the equal treatment to some whites as well. This negatively impacted him emotionally and mentally, for he “had never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruelty; and this not only shown towards us blacks, but also to some of the whites themselves.” Notably, by any means necessary, the Europeans greediness was so vast that they do harm to their own people. At the end of the account, Equiano used the auctioning of bonds people to symbolizing how greed is the driving force of the Slave Trade by stating “on a signal given (as the beat of a drum), the buyers rush at once into the yard where the slaves are confined and make choice of that parcel they like best. The noise and clamor with which this is attended, and the eagerness visible in the countenances of the buyers, serve not a little to increase the apprehension of terrified Africans.” In other words, the Europeans portrayed bonds people has property and were full of zeal to purchase them and as their excitement increased so did trepidation of petrified Africans. However, that was not the business nor concerns of the
Religion, more specifically, Christianity can be seen throughout The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Religion plays a major role in Equiano’s remarkable journey; that of which can be seen through his personal experiences. Religion plays a significant role in his Narrative and his life overall as he undergoes a spiritual rebirth. This narrative shapes Equiano’s physical move from slavery to freedom and also his journey from sin to salvation.
The narrative of Olaudah Equiano is truly a magnificent one. Not only does the reader get to see the world through Equiano's own personal experiences, we get to read a major autobiography that combined the form of a slave narrative with that of a spiritual conversion autobiography. Religion may be viewed as at the heart of the matter in Equiano's long, remarkable journey. Through Equiano's own experiences, the reader uncovers just how massive a role religion played in the part of his Narrative and in that of his own life. More specifically, we learn of how his religious conversion meant a type of freedom as momentous as his own independence from slavery. As one reads his tale, one learns just how dedicated he his to that of his Christian faith; from his constant narration of the scriptures to the way that Equiano feels a growing sense of empowerment from the biblical texts for the oppressed community. However, at the same time, one may question Equiano's own Christian piety. Did Equiano really seek to tell the tale of his soul's spiritual journey, did he really believe God would set him free or was he simply using religion as a ways of manipulating British and American readers to accept him as a credible narrator. Regardless of which of these facts is true, religion is quite possibly the defining feature of his life story.
Frederick Douglass’ landmark narrative describes the dehumanization of African-American slaves, while simultaneously humanizing them through his moving prose. Douglass shows the dehumanization of slaves through depictions of violence, deindividuation, and the broken justice system. However, Douglass’ pursuit of an education, moving rhetoric, and critique of his own masters demonstrates to the reader that African-Americans are just as intelligent as white people, thus proving their humanity.