...Olaudah Equiano was a man that went through hell and back. Throughout his life time he experienced slavery, pain, and loneliness. Equiano wrote of this amazing and detailed journey and shared the things he saw and experienced throughout his life. In this essay I will be talking about his journey in two ways. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, he explains his detailed experience and in his biography it explains less details about Equiano but it goes into detail when it comes to location, facts, and slave work force. In my essay I will compare and contrast the differences and similarities between the interesting narrative of Olaudah Equiano and his biography. I will prove that Equiano interesting narrative is true based off the comparison of his biography....
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...William Bradford and Olaudah Equiano write about their ideas and terrors to white settlers and new generations on their way to America. In “The Interesting Narrative about the Life of Olaudah Equiano” Olaudah Equiano did not have a choice but to come to America but in “Of Plymouth Plantation” William Bradford leaves America in search of new laws and ways of living. Olaudah Equiano somehow found a way to write down his descriptions about what happened and what he saw. At 11 years old, Equiano was kidnapped from his home. Being separated from his family you would think he would have been terrified. In The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano, instead of being negative he explains the things he saw for the very first time in his life “I first saw flying fishes, which surprised me very much..” Equiano’s new journey was “heightened” he saw the land of the Barbados and the clouds looked like land to him as they sailed. (Equiano 174) Once arriving in America Equiano “We were conducted immediately to the merchant's yard..” (Equiano 175) had to begin working....
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...of the villainous Middle Passage, one of the very first narratives from a slave, a story that gave the hatchling abolitionist movement a buzzing moral influence; except it may not be exact. Therein lays the mystery: Because if the gentleman who penned "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African" was not born in Africa, but rather born into slavery in South Carolina -- as Vincent Carretta suggests -- then who was he? Where did he learn to speak fluent Igbo? And how did he obtain such agonizing details about life aboard an 18th-century slave vessel? The air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains. . . . The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable. (Equiano, 1789) In that lies the controversy: Carretta's findings, detailed in his biography of Equiano, have ignited a blaze in academic life, for the most part among those who have extensively considered Equiano the "black Ben Franklin" all on the weight of his auto biography. Given that Equiano's was in print first, Carretta argues that Franklin should be called the "White Equiano." No one questions that Equiano was the ultimate self-made man, cultured, and intellectual...
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...the recording of an event or by leading a revolution.” In my essay the person who will be the topic is “Olaudah Equiano”. I am to choose an individual and discuss their impact on world history. Olaudah Equiano, who was born 1745 in West Africa, contributed to a ton of accomplishments. He was an abolitionist and former slave who was the author of “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano”; Written by Himself. Equiano’s Narrative told the story of his capture and life in bondage. At 11 years old, while caring for the family compound, he was kidnaped along with his sister. The two were taken away from the place where they grew up, and sold to the neighborhood slave traders. Following a concise time of remains in Africa, in 1755 Equiano was captured and sold to the European slave brokers, who then transported him over the Atlantic to Barbados in the West Independents in 1756. In Virginia, Equiano was bought by Michael Pascal, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Pascal gave Equiano the name of Gustavus Vassa, which stayed with him for the better part of his lifetime. Domestic slaves in...
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...wanted to be able to practice their own beliefs so they went on a long and hard journey across the Atlantic to start a new and free life in America. The colonist almost didn’t make it but what kept them going was their dream of being able to live a life of freedom of religion. Another lesson that readers can learn is that people should be thankful because their situation could always be worse. Even though these stories don’t exactly talk about thinking positive and being thankful they still portray this message. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, this narrative is educating readers about the life of a slave. Equiano uses a lot of detail in his story to inform how inhumane and foul being a slave on a slave ship was. Readers learn to appreciate what they have through hearing this story because their situation is probably not as bad as Olaudah Equianos. La Relacion, Of Plymouth Planation and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano all include strong messages and lessons to the readers. One lesson is that you should never give up and always fight for what you believe in or believe is right. Another lesson that I learned is that I should be thankful for what I have and appreciate my...
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...The effects of transatlantic travel inevitably lead to a sense of homelessness. In Crèvecœur’s Letters from an American Farmer, and Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, the writing revolves around characters who essentially do not have homes, both dealing with transatlantic settings. Equiano is consistently stripped of his home, starting in Africa, and is perpetually forced to adapt in new environments. Crèvecœur’s narrative depicts a new American settler, James, who comes from England, and is in the liminal state of homelessness, from settling into his new land to eventually fleeing his estate. The piece that displays homelessness a lot more overtly is The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, where Equiano immediately gets taken from his home, igniting his life of disarray. In order to convey this theme of homelessness, it is important to outline the various instances leading up to it: “...two men and a woman got over our walls, and in a moment seized us both, and, without giving us time to cry out, or make resistance, they stopped our mouths, and ran off with us into the nearest wood” (The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, p.47). It is in this moment that Equiano will henceforth struggle to maintain some semblance...
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...Olaudah Equiano’s The interesting narrative of Olaudah Equiano was an interesting inspiring read about his life.He starts the narrative, establishing credibility by saying he’s not writing this for fame or fortune and saying that he isn't a hero but this is his life. He was born in Eboe or Esseka in 1745 and was kidnapped with his sister when he was young. He speaks on the customs, practices and lifestyle of his people. He changes master frequently and eventually taken aboard a slaveship. He tries to remain hopeful throughout slavery going from around Africa to North America to England. He meets Michael Henry Pascal who grows fond of him and buys him for some friends back in England. On his way to England, his name changes to Gustavus Vassa...
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...How did Squanto help the colonists? 4. What conditions did the Pilgrims face on the First Thanksgiving? 5. Who is the author? from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God 5. What feeling does the author hope to inspire in his listeners? 6. Who is the audience? 7. Who is the author? from The General History of Virginia 8. How was Smith saved form death in Powhatan’s court? 9. Why were the Native Americans important to the colonists? 10. What does Smith’s description of giving gifts to the Native Americans reveal about his attitude toward them? 11. Who is the author? from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano 12. How can we tell that the slave traders wanted to keep the captives alive? 13. Why did Equiano fear the sailors? 14. In what ways were the sailors cruel? 15. Why was Equiano whipped? 16. According to Equiano, what added to the horror of slavery? 17. Who is the author? The World on the Turtle’s Back 18. Why does the man go to the Great Tree at the beginning of the myth? 19. Why is the Great Tree important to the Iroquois’ creation myth? 20. What does this creation myth explain about the Iroquois dance rituals? 21. What do the arrows that the man brings to the girl represent? 22. What does the twins’ competition to make animals in this creation myth explain? 23. What does the gods’ reaction to the woman’s fall tell you about the role of the gods in Iroquois culture? 24. Why is the diversity...
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...The primary purpose of historical narratives is to report as accurately as possible what happened at each particular place and time in history. But each of the writers in this unit (De Vaca, Bradford, and Equiano) went beyond merely reporting the facts; they had other, more personal reasons for writing what they did. Each of them had a personal agenda. Equiano’s personal agenda in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano was to shame his white audience into abolishing the slave trade by describing the horrible events that took place on the ship. While he did state facts about the ship, Equiano described personal experiences to persuade the audience more. For example, Equiano describes the smell of the hold as being “…so intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to...
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...Olaudah autobiography was very inspirational but very disconsolate. Olaudah speaks about being deprived from education, most slaves presented their stories to ghost writers. Equiano was very intelligent, honest, well spoken. Many believed that Africans were not human, and they endured many hardships. Equiano’s story would be sufficient to wipe off the stigma attached to Africans (73). Equiano life was very fascinating to European and Americans spectators. The book proves that Africans are capable of reading and writing. Equiano’s writing goes far beyond anthropological interest: combing elements of the travelogue, spiritual autobiography, and antislavery argument, Equiano, Equiano combined genres to create a new prototype which slave narratives...
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...fact “born and bred up in the Danish Island of Santa Cruz (St. Croix), in the West Indies” (Lovejoy 173). However, not only does Equiano repeatedly state that he was born in Africa, the entirety of the first chapter of his autobiography is filled with anecdotes and cultural rituals he remembers from living in Africa that he would not have known...
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...Rachel Lee Professor Williams HSS2: Final Paper April 30th, 2012 Marks of Identity In Olaudah Equiano’s selfentitled narrative, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, there is a correlation between appearances, be it within the context of clothing or bodily markings, and Equiano’s perception of his own identity. As we, the readers, go along his journey with him, there are points in his narrative that involve appearances by other people and some kind of change in aesthetic that provides insight into how he’s changing as a character. More specifically, how Equiano’s understanding of himself changes as he moves from place to place and fulfills different roles from slave to freeman. At the end of the narrative, Equiano makes an important and seemingly cryptic statement about how “if any incident in this little work should appear uninteresting and trifling to most raders, I can only say as my excuse for mentioning it, that almost every event of my life made an impression on my mind and influenced my conduct.” (214) which infers that the ostensibly “uninteresting” and “trifling” observations he has made within the duration of his narrative have the potential of holding significance and meaning of some sort that isn’t readily apparent. This could be applied to certain instances of when he describes people of other nations and how his aesthetic for beauty, or perhaps attractiveness seems to shift just as his persona does. The first occasion in which another person or group of people’s appearance...
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...The Autobiography of Olaudah Equiano is a woeful recount of an African boy who was kidnapped into slavery. However, with the story of Olaudah Equiano comes a question. Was Equiano an African who merely wanted to share his life’s story or was he born in South Carolina and wrote this as a calculated attempt to “increase the odium against the West India planters?” as Vincent Carretta states. If the first presumption is correct, then all is well and the story can be revered as a highly respected expositional work of history. Although, if the second is correct, then this calls into question Equiano’s right to play the victim in representing the slaves who suffered through the Middle Passage. The answer to this highly debated question lies in the accuracy of his details, the historical validity of his stories, and the fact that pro-slavery writers are the source of the original doubt. In his autobiography, Olaudah Equiano describes his experience of the Middle Passage with many details. For example, one of the most notable details he notes of the slave ship was the horrible stench that reeked from the lower deck. Equiano writes, “I was soon put down under the decks, and there I received such a...
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...Olaudah Equiano is ex-African slave who wrote his own autobiography “The Interesting Narrative of The Life of Olaudah Equiano” in his autobiography, he says that he was born in the country of what is now Nigeria. Equiano was kidnapped and sold into slavery when he was just a child. During this time, he went through what was known as the middle passage on a slave ship bound for the New World. Equiano was then shipped to Virginia to work weeding grass and gathering stones after a short time working in Barbados. Equiano was eventually bought by a naval captain for about £40 named Gustavas Vassa. Equiano was 12 when the captain brought him to England, and While he was there he stayed at Blackheath located in London with the Guerin family who was relatives to the naval captain. While he was there...
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...Throughout American literature, slavery has been written about time after time. Two well known works about this topic are The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano and “On Being Brought from Africa to America” by Phillis Wheatley. While these works deal with the same topic of slavery, they differ in genre and time period. Equiano wrote a narrative in the Early American Fiction time period while Wheatley wrote a poem during the Revolutionary period. They both tell the tale of slave in first person perspective, but they tell two different stories. Equiano’s narrative was written in the 1750s at the end of the Early American Fiction period of American Literature. The religious theme that was common during this...
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