The Diary of My Life in 1756, by: Olaudah Equiano
Dear Diary
Today was another interesting day. My friends and I went to our traditional tree to look out, yet another day, for kidnappers. To my surprise, I found some! It was up to me to alert the neighbor kids so that they could capture the man before our parents returned home. These foreign men were always trying to come over and steal us, most of the time we were able to group together to fight them off.
Dear Diary
It has finally happened, one of the most dreadful days of my life. My sister and I have both been seized by two men and a woman. They climbed right over our wall and took us before we could even begin to understand what was happening. They think they are so smart but they have no idea that I have been tracking the way they walk. I have been watching the way the sun rises and sets to know how to find my way home. My sister is so scared; it is extremely hard to calm her down when I myself am terrified about the outcome here. I am hiding this diary in hopes that I may put information on how to escape and return to my hometown.
Dear Diary
Just as I thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. My sister has been torn from me; I have no idea where they have taken her. It has been days and I have not eaten anything except for what was forced. I can't believe all the things that are happening. It seems as if I am being sold quite frequently to others. As of now I am with a chieftain. They have all been nice but I am still continuing on with my plans to leave here and return home.
Dear Diary
Well, my escape plan failed. I was able to escape to the woods but later that evening I realized I could never make the long journey alone in the woods with no food or water.
When they finally found me the next morning sleeping in the barn I thought for sure I was going to be beaten within an inch of my life. I was utterly amazed when they beat me lightly and were told to take care of me so as not to become ill.
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 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 ...
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.
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.
Comparing The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olauda Equiano and Wiesel’s The Death of My Father
There are many stories, diaries and books from the time of The Holocaust but arguably the most famous of them all is the story of Anne Frank. Anne Frank was a teenage Jewish girl who went into hiding in her fathers offices in Amsterdam, The Netherlands when the Nazis called up her older sister, Margot (Anne ??). Just before the call up, Anne had started to write a “diary” which she continued to write when she went into hiding with her family. Throughout the book Anne writes that her worst nightmare is to be discovered (Anne ??). The Franks when into hiding in 1941 in the Annex of the Opekta offices and were arrested by the Nazis in ???. After such a long period of time in hiding there are many suspects for who betraye...
Marion Bauer certainly followed in the tradition of great novels. On My Honor is set in the hot summer of a small city. It explores the stress we put on ourselves to express blame and feel guilt when blamed. The biggest heartache is when you blame yourself for things that could not be prevented, or were not your fault. That is what Joel did.
In the late 18th Century an ex-slave from Nigeria wrote an influential work that helped to end the British Slave trade. Olaudah Equiano, or Gusta Vassa, wrote The interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gusta Vassa, the African in 1789 which told of his personal experiences with slavery from a rational, persuasive point of view, focusing on the religious aspects of Christianity, the worth of Africans and the brutally detrimental effects of the slave trade. He was particularly calculated in his appeals since they were effective in the use of ethos, pathos and logos.
Olaudah Equiano in his Interesting Narrative is taken from his African home and thrown into a Western world completely foreign to him. Equiano is a slave for a total of ten years and endeavors to take on certain traits and customs of Western thinking. He takes great pains to improve himself, learn religion, and adopt Western mercantilism. However, Equiano holds on to a great deal of his African heritage. Throughout the narrative, the author keeps his African innocence and purity of intent; two qualities he finds sorely lacking in the Europeans. This compromise leaves him in a volatile middle ground between his adapted West and his native Africa. Olaudah Equiano takes on Western ideals while keeping several of his African values; this makes him a man associated with two cultures but a member of neither.
I thought we were close to getting out but them I climbed up a tree and saw that I was wrong. We need to go north. I saw a little rustic old cabin up that way. And that was the closest point of exit. Which at that point was the best way to go. But up north the forest look even thicker which was not good. There was fruit and meat that would be a good kill so we could eat. So off we went. The only way now to tell days was the sun but even at some points we couldn 't see it.
The book Napoleon by Paul Johnson is a monograph on the life of Napoleon. Napoleon was born on August 15,1769 on an island called Corsica which was a French island south of the mainland. Ironically his future enemy Duke of Wellington was also born in 1769. Napoleon was born in the lower nobility class, and gifted with mathematics. He admired the Royal Navy and wanted to join as a midshipman. At the age of ten, Napoleon left Corsica for a military school in Brienne, France. On completion of his studies at Brienne in 1784, Napoleon was admitted to the elite military school in Paris. He trained to become an artillery officer. His full height was five feet and five inches tall and Napoleon was promoted to first lieutenant by 1791. Napoleon knew that war meant war promotion, and he was eager to move up in command. He controlled the entire army of France by age of 26. He was a genius in artillery and believed that making his opponents fearful on the battlefield means the battle is already half won. A lot of military genius comes from his chief of staff Louis Berthier, who translated his ...
In 1938, the Frank family applied for visas to the United States but were denied because they were considered to be German Jews (Foray 335). However, this was sadly only the beginning of Anne’s difficulties. Not long after that, “Thirteen-year old Anne Frank began her now-famous diary on June 12, 1942, two years into the German occupation” (Foray 332). Then, in July 1942, as Hitler started invading more and more countries, the Frank family went into hiding in a secret annex located above a business w...
Today is a particularly miserable day because I have to go to a care home the home of the living dead. I had to retrieve a human called Vivian. I looked at her papers. Her life was as intricate as a Michelangelo painting; a life well lived, however every detail beautifully crafted.
My friend’s mom worked for the sheriffs department, so she called and I filed a report. Guess what they made me go back home. Yes, they sent me back home, because I was consider a run away. Therefore, for a week I was brutally beat for telling the secret of our family. That week was the week I wish I was dead. I prayed every night for God to take me away. I was grab by my neck and slammed up against the wall and released as I slid down the wall. A nail caught my back and ripped my skin ...
It seemed like a normal day when I entered Mrs. A’s AP Language and Composition class, but little did I know that she was going to assign a very important project that was going to take forever. I took my seat and wrote down what was on the board. Then I sat patiently and waited for Mrs. A to come explain what we were doing today. When the tardy bell rang, Mrs. A glided into the room and gave us all a stack of papers. She then proceeded to discuss our upcoming assignment, a memoir. As she explained the very important assignment, I wondered whom I would write about. No one really came to mind to write about and I thought for sure I would never be able to get this thing done on time. I finally decided that I would write in on my mother, Kari Jenson. I knew I would probably put the project off until the very end and do it the weekend before even though it would get on my mom’s nerves. Putting work off was just how I did everything, it worked for me. When I arrived home from school that day, I told mom about the project. I told her I would most likely write it about her and she was overjoyed.