Essay On Olaudah Equiano

Majority of Olaudah Equiano’s experiences he has written about in his autobiography, “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or, Gustavus Vassa, the African” were the typical experiences that many slaves have also experienced. Olaudah Equiano, as a child was kidnapped from his family, along with his sister and was then separated from her. He was then taken to Virginia where he was sold and worked on a plantation. This depicts the life of a typical slave. On the other-hand some of his life experiences as a slave did not portray the usual experiences that most slaves encountered. He spent a lot of his life on slave ships and British navy vessels. He was purchased by a Quaker merchant, Robert King, in 1763. King allowed Equiano

The Navigation Act of 1651 was made to trade goods between England colonies and the rest of the world. England was running a tight supervision on imports and exports. As the act states “No goods or commodities whatsoever of the growth, production or manufacture of Asia, Africa or America”, basically no one else can bring goods into the colonies besides English boats. Only the English boats can leave pick up and ship out goods. But they did make and exception-- goods can be brought in by the main manufacture from its original place of production. This was the only way other ships besides the English were able to enter to trade with the colonies. This was to limit and have control over all goods importing and exporting to and from England and its colonies. I would say this not only being in control but to be informed of no mistakes for protection of the English colonies.

Another detail that Equiano incorporated within his writing, is the meaning of his name. As he says in the text “I was named Olaudah, which, in our language, signifies vicissitude or fortune also, one favoured, and having a loud voice and well spoken” (Gates Jr. & Smith 121). Equiano was a man who was the youngest born son to village leaders who owned slaves, became a captive of slavery himself, briefly worked in the fields as a slave before following his master overseas and ultimately buying his own freedom. What’s most profound throughout that, is the fact that he used his voice to help others who are stuck where he was able to break free. PBS has an article where

The life of Olaudah Equiano was a mixture of tragedy, struggle, and achievement. He was forced onto a ship to the Caribbean, after being kidnapped at age seven. He witnessed something that haunted him for the rest of his life, the injustice of slavery. “ The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that it was so dangerous to remain there for a long time…” (Equiano 28) In that quote he is explaining the living conditions underneath the ship, and how dangerous it could be for anyone that remained there. He also gives another quote saying, “The closeness of the place, and

In Equiano’s autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, is one of the books that is wrote in English by someone of the African inheritance. It is one of the most successful book that was written by the start of the Civil War. Books like autobiographies were not recognized as a form of genre in the 1700s. Books that were produced in those days were given bright, firm, fearless narratives. Everyone knew Equiano’s narrative. It considered religious pieces and caught the eye of some readers. Equiano encountered pieces of his life in his books.

Although Olaudah Equiano was not directly involved in American slavery, several aspects of The Life of Olaudah Equiano can be used to understand why the institution lasted so long. A major part of the novel was dedicated to counter one of the major propagating ideas of slavery: the widespread myth that Africans were either not fully human or were of a less developed branch of humanity so enslaving them was moral. Equiano spends the first section of the book

He claims that when his master, Michael Henry Pascal, gave him the name Gustavus Vassa at age 12 while crossing the Atlantic in 1754, he ‘refused to be called so.’ He apparently had not objected to the names he had been given earlier – Michael on board the slave ship, and then Jacob in Virginia – and he could not possibly have known who his namesake was in 1754 (Lovejoy).

Equiano then travels to America and the West Indies with King Robert. The King allows his friend, Captain Thomas Farmer, to take Equiano as sailor on several of his voyages. On his voyage both King and Farmer accused Equiano of making plan to escape. With time King starts to see trustworthiness and loyalty in Equiano, and promises Equiano money towards his freedom. Equiano makes money by trading goods between ports on the sea. King

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

Equiano’s luck soon shifted when he was once again kidnapped and sold as a slave, this time he would have to endure the notoriously dreadful journey across the sea to America. Knowing that this was a pivotal point in his life and that he would become a gudgeon to the harshness of slavery, Equiano attempted to prepare himself for what lay ahead. However, the sight of the inhumane acts he witnessed on the African coast, while being transported, were new to Equiano and instilled fear into his consciousness.

2. What does Equiano think will happen to him when he is brought on board ship?

"I believe there are few events in my life which have not happened to many; it is true the incidents of it are numerous, and, did I consider myself an European, I might say my sufferings were great; but when I compare my lot with that of most of my countrymen, I regard myself as a particular favorite of heaven, and acknowledge the mercies of Providence in every occurrence of my life." Olaudah Equiano lived the life as a slave like many black people of the 18th century. He was born free but soon was forced into slavery which took him all around the world. From his accounts he has written down, he shows his life as a slave. Equiano had been bought and sold throughout the Americas and Europe; he showed the

If it were not for the stories past down from generation to generation or the documentations in historical books, the history of the twelve million African slaves that traveled the “Middle Passage” in miserable conditions would not exist. Olaudah Equiano contributes to this horrid history with The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Through this narrative, the appalling personal experience of each slave is depicted. He accomplishes his rhetorical purpose of informing the world of the slave experience in this narrative. His use of unique style and rhetorical devices in this conveying narrative portray his imperative rhetorical purpose.

History shows that both Africans and African Americans alike faced unique problems prior to and during the 1800's, particularly prior to 1865. One such problem is the issue of Diaspora and how culture and slavery has affected the choice of religion. It is the purpose of this paper to expose comparatively the extent to which individuals have been influenced by these issues. One such individual is Olaudah Equiano. By following and analyzing some of the key moments of faith in his life, this paper seeks to expose the extent to which the series of controversial dialectical incidents that happen throughout his early life, i.e., his cultural African religious traditions

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.