Equiano s Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano Essay

Throughout the book The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Equiano tries to say that he is just an ordinary person, but this cannot be the case. He survives several ship wrecks, learns to read and write, and is able to buy his freedom. This is far from ordinary and borderlines with extraordinary. As he describes his adventures he starts by telling you a depressing story of how his sister got separated from him. This sets up the reader to know that there is plenty more tragedy to come. This is when he gets thrown into a life of slavery. From there he tries to wiggle his way out from the life of a slave and to create his own. Equiano uses anecdotes that he has experienced to prove to his readers that slavery is cruel and unforgiving, such as the time when he was being transported, to the treatment under his masters, and finally even when he was a free man. Being taken away from his sister, Equiano not only was grieving, but he was put aboard a ship where he had no i dea what was coming next. When he was first carried onto the boats his first thoughts were â€Å"that I had gotten into a world of bad spirits, and that they were going to kill me.† After this thought, he had fainted for being only a mere child scared for his life. He believed that these people with a lighter complexion were going to eventually eat him. Once he was told of his true purpose on board the ship, his mind came to ease. Before even setting sail for the west indies, he was experience theShow MoreRelatedEquiano s Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano1367 Words   |  6 PagesOlaudah Equiano, the author of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano was captured in Africa and sold into slavery. Later in life, he purchased his freedom and wrote his autobiography in 1789. Equiano experienced hardships beyond imaging in his years as a slave and oftentimes witnessed extensive cruelty by whites towards Africans. Equiano s experience of the Atlantic slave t rade and middle passage as we understand it today was typical of a regular captive. The Atlantic slave tradeRead MoreOlaudah Equiano s Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah1993 Words   |  8 PagesInteresting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is a classical and well known slave Narrative. Olaudah Equiano who also goes by the name of Gustavus Vassa his given name was born in 1745 in a part of Africa that is now known as Nigeria. . Olaudah Equino’s narrative tells the story of his travels as a slave and then as a freeman through the Artic, North and Central America, the West Indies, Europe and Great Britain. This narrative was first published in 1789 and was written by him. When Equiano wasRead MoreOlaudah Equiano s Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Essay1458 Words   |  6 Pages Olaudah Equiano, also known as Gustavus Vassa, traveled much of the world encountering a variety of people from different cultures and backgrounds. In Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, the author witnesses how slavery was imbedded in the economic and social values of his day and age, through the experiences of others as well as himself. Having numerous relationships with people of differing religions, socioeconomic statuses, and principles, he developed a uniqueRead MoreThe Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano s `` Oroonoko, And The Royal Slave `` And Olaudah1781 Words   |  8 Pagesknown slave narratives that give the modern day reader just an idea of what slavery was like are, Aphra Behn’s â€Å"Oroonoko, or, The Royal Slave† and Olaudah Equiano’s â€Å"The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equia no†. The journey of these two young men, although in many ways are similar, from a larger perspective could not be more different. For Oroonoko a somewhat established young man who comes from royalty, optimizes what it means to be a noble savage. As for a young Equiano who seemsRead MoreOlaudah Equianos Influence1139 Words   |  5 PagesInfluence and Career of Olaudah Equiano There have been many authors throughout history who have impacted America, amongst them is Olaudah Equiano. Olaudah Equiano, a slave who wrote about his terrible experiences, not only changed America, but changed the world. Equiano s life and career were divided in two parts: his life as a slave and his life as a free man. He battled the slave ships and helped abolish the slave institutions with the power and depth of his writings. Equiano s most powerful pieceRead MoreThe Interesting Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano, By James Sweet And Katrina Thompson901 Words   |  4 Pagesbook The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano, in which the author recounts his experience as a slave going through the Middle Passage. Other works such as Ring Shout, Wheel About The Racial Politics of Music and Dance in North American Slavery, by Katrina Thompson, and Domingos à lvares, African Healing, and the Intellectual History of the Atlantic World, by James Sweet, can help us garner a deeper insight as to the experiences of Olaudah Equiano by analyzing similarRead MoreA Narrative Of Captivity By Mary Rowlandson Essay962 Words   |  4 PagesA Narrative of Captivity by Mary Rowlandson and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano are captivity narratives in which the two narrators share their individual stories of being abruptly kidnapped and enslaved . Equiano was an black 11 year old boy who was stolen from his home by African slave traders in 1756. Rowlandson, a 39 year old Puritan woman, was taken in 1675, during King Philip’s War, after Indians raided her town. Although the two authors are both kidnappedRead MoreThe Narrative Of Olaudah Equiano1123 Words   |  5 PagesMatter Where Olaudah Equiano Was Born? The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, by Olaudah Equiano, can be described as one of the most successful literary prose written by an African-American up to the start of the Civil War. Autobiographies were not considered a form genre in the literary field at the time it was published in 1789 and few books that had been produced in America gave such garish, solid and adventurous narratives. Equiano s narrativeRead MoreThe Life Of Frederick Douglass And Olaudah Equiano1398 Words   |  6 Pagespeople a way to see life through their eyes. Frederick Douglass and Olaudah Equiano were two slaves during those times that were forced into the world of slavery. Frederick Douglass’s â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave† and Olaudah Equiano’s â€Å"The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano† are literary pieces that talk about their views, experiences, and ideas in relation to slavery. The narratives of Douglass and Equiano offer true records of life as a slave. InRead MoreSummary : Free Slave Voice 1397 Words   |  6 Pagesfor we are many and evil is few. (OE) after reading the excerpt of â€Å"The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African,† it was then necessary to read the complete text. Upon completion of the reading, I found that it was somewhat troublesome because there is not a sense of urgency in the tone of his writing to help his fellow Negros out of their enslavement. The narrative does not provoke the reader to become alarmed at the plight of Negro slave but instead