The two slave narratives Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself provide two different perspectives on the institution of slavery. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl depicts a female perspective of slavery in the 1850s while The Interesting Narrative of the Life... provides a male perspective from almost a hundred years before. Although written at different times from different perspectives, both works illustrate the tragic reality of American slavery. As a key component of American culture, both Equiano and Jacobs are exposed to the Christian faith. However, Harriet Jacobs uses her religion to recognize the hypocrisy of white …show more content…
Written by Himself, Olaudah Equiano has never heard of Christianity until he experiences snow for the first time. After his master tells him that God made the snow, Equiano is confused by the concept of Christianity and attempts to learn more about this 'foreign ' religion. Unintentionally, Olaudah is able to point out the hypocrisy of the white church in his first encounter with it. As he compares the church to African paganism, Equiano points out, "And from what I could understand by him of this God, and in seeing these white people did not sell one another as we did, I was much pleased; and in this I thought they were much happier than we Africans" (136). Already indoctrinated by white supremacy, Equiano sees that white people did not sell each other into slavery, but fails to recognize that they do participate in the selling and purchasing of Africans. Essentially, Equiano is blinded from seeing the unethical nature of the slave trade by his own internalized …show more content…
Harriet sees her white master as anything but holy, while Olaudah describes how he looks up to white people "as men superior to us" (136). Equiano adopts Christianity simply because of his desire to assimilate as much as he can as an African man. When servants tell him that he cannot go to Heaven without being baptized, Olaudah immediately asks his master 's wife if he can be baptized (137). Equiano 's process of becoming a Christian begs the question: Is he a Christian because his beliefs align with the faith, or is he a Christian because his beliefs align with whatever his white counterpart 's beliefs align with? Because of his recognition of the value of Christianity in his white superior 's eyes, the latter seems more plausible. Harriet sees the religious illusion crafted by the white community, while Olaudah falls victim to it. Both Harriet Jacobs and Olaudah Equiano point out the illusions of white Christianity in from their own unique perspective. Jacobs uses her faith to recognize those illusions, while Equiano falls victim to them. However, both illustrate the deceitful reality of white supremacy to their audience and thusly advocate for the abolition of
The novel The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano exists as an extremely important work in the abolitionist movement in England. As an 18th century narrative written by a former black slave the novel provides a glimpse into the lives of the African slaves involved in the slave trade as well as the slave traders themselves. Even with the controversy over the authenticity of Equiano’s claims on his origin in Africa and his subsequent voyage through the Middle Passage, this novel serves as a powerfully instructive piece of literature. Throughout the novel Equiano strives to impress upon the reader a certain set of moral standards or ideals that he desires to instruct the reader about. One such moral ideal that is prevalent throughout the entirety of the novel is Equiano’s construction of the idea of the value and worth of the African slaves, as opposed to the view of the African slaves as simply commodities or objects to be purchased and traded. Equiano argues and presses the reader and his audience to recognize that the African slave and the white slave owner are not as different as his audience may believe. In order to proclaim and showcase this idea of the value and worth of African slaves, Equiano uses the Christian religion to develop and sustain his argument. In many cases during Equiano’s time period, and for a while afterwards, Christianity and the Bible were used in defense of slavery, and this fact makes Equiano’s claim more powerful and groundbreaking. One of the key attributes of the novel is Equiano’s spiritual conversion and religious revelations. I believe that Equiano’s Christianity serves to connect him with his audience, increases his credibility as an author, and ultimately proclaims the disparity ...
This would lead him to a fantasy about what life would have been life back in Africa based on freedom. Equiano longed for freedom and suffered a traumatic experience (being enslaved) at a young age which may lead him to romanticize a different life. He believed that he would find his paradise in Africa. This can lead to a more favorable and positive view of Africa. He paints Africa as a place free of harm making him an unreliable source. By juxtaposing his freedom in Africa with his captivity in the colonies; he creates a biased image of his respective homeland. His reliability is questioned because he has no previous knowledge about life in Africa and only knows how it is described to him. His romanticized version of Africa gives a dynamic in his writing that negative towards the
He was trade to another master by the name of Mr. Robert King, a Quaker. Just when Equiano lost hope and prefer being dead than to be a slave due to his mistreatment by masters and the hypocrisy he encounter, he gains faith again when he saw that Mr. King was very different than other masters, Mr. King was kind, patient and did not mistreat his slaves. As Equiano travels with Mr. King he came across masters that brutally mistreat slaves, some were cut into pieces and some were burned with wax. Nevertheless Equiano came across many places where slaves were treated nicely for instance in West Indies where slave treated lenity and proper care. Equiano saw that in these lands Negroes were cheerful and healthy due to the treatment they receive. However, in Barbados it was not a very nice place for African slaves. Equiano meet other Negroes that share their stories and experiences in Barbados, they face many injustice and mistreatment from white people specially females slaves that were raped including children. Besides of these actions slaves did not have control of their property or possession, there were no rights towards slaves. They explain that they felt worthless, when they encounter a situation where they felt like they were being taken advantage by other whites, they turn to their master to fight for their right in which turn out to be not so great, the poor negro turn to god every time he was mistreated to find
Slavery in the middle of the 19th century was well known by every American in the country, but despite the acknowledgment of slavery the average citizen did not realize the severity of the lifestyle of the slave before slave narratives began to arise. In Incidents in the life of a slave girl, Harriet Jacobs uses an explicit tone to argue the general life of slave compared to a free person, as well as the hardships one endured on one’s path to freedom. Jacobs fought hard in order to expand the abolitionist movement with her narrative. She was able to draw in the readers by elements of slave culture that helped the slaves endure the hardships like religion and leisure and the middle class ideals of the women being “submissive, past, domestic,
...h Equaino, and he asked Equaino why the white men on board swear, lie, and get drunk when they know what Equaino knows, but Equaino is the only one to not participate in those activities. Equaino responds with, “the reason was that they did not fear God, and that if anyone of them died so, they could not go to, or be happy with God” (128-129). Equiano truly believed in leading a life that he preached so that he could one day be united with God.
During 1766, Olaudah Equiano learnt to read the bible and seen amazement at the exact laws and rules his country, Nigeria, have always abided by. After becoming baptized, Equiano identified himself with the Christian abolitionists in England and began to write his first autobiography about Ibo religion. Equiano elaborates on how Christianity correlates with the African descent and its culture. In his passage, he describes the similarities between the Jews and the Africans—from circumcision to offerings, from purifications to washings, from believing in one Creator to life after death.
Equiano’s fortune landed him in the hands of a wealthy widow who purchased him from the traders who had kidnapped him. He lived the life as a companion to the widow and her son. Luck was on his side in this transaction, many slave owners frowned upon educating and assisting slaves. “Masters” typically feared an educated slave would take measures to make a change. He explains, though, how he held status above other slave under the widow’s ownership, “There were likewise slaves daily to attend us, while my young master and I,...
Jacobs, Harriet. "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: Penguin Books, 1987. 333-513.
Samuels, Wilfred D. “Olaudah Equiano.” Encyclopedia of African-American Literature. New York: Facts on File, 2007. 170-171. Print.
Through the eye’s of the white plantation owner in the eighteenth century, Equiano is less than credible. Equiano himself mentions that free blacks have less rights than slaves(Equiano 88). Equiano is aware of this. Showing he knows his audience well, Equiano begins to use Biblical allusions and references to build his credibility.
Both, “The Interesting Narrative Life of Olaudah Equiano” and “Amistad” are important stories about slavery in pre-civil war america because they both address the issues of slavery. These gentlemen in the story made a difference in the slave trade. In “The life of Olaudah Equiano”, Olaudah was sold on a slave ship that came to the Barbados. Olaudah worked for his freedom, and in the end became efficient in American language. He worked his way to the free life and in the end it worked out for him, although it leaves scars on his soul. In “Amistad”, Cinque is a slave that leads a revolt on a slave ship after escaping. When they get to america, Baldwin, a lawyer that is representing the slave and the former president Adams helps free the slaves.
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 ...
Slave narratives documented experiences of African and African decent slaves to convey the horrors of slavery. The slave narrative of Olaudah Equiano and Ottabah Cugoano narrate an idyllic beginning in Africa, a traumatic kidnapping into slavery, experience of the cruelty of slavery, and the joy of regaining their freedom. The most important message that both Equiano and Cugoano wanted to exposed is that slaves had the ability to learn to read and write and be part of the society of the people who enslave them.
After reading the slavery accounts of Olaudah Equiano 's "The Life of Olaudah Equiano" and Harriet Jacobs ' "Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl", you gain knowledge of what slaves endured during their times of slavery. To build their audience aware of what life of a slave was like, both authors gives their interpretation from two different perspectives and by two different eras of slavery.
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.