The Life of Equiano Analysis - 1232 Words

Joseph Ortiz Professor Graves M.E.British Lit Paper 1 Topic #4 A Complex Argument Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings takes a particularly complicated stance in its critique of slavery. While Equiano has a (biased) tendency to focus on the good natured character of African slaves, he also tends to portray them as a commodity, a title he immensely fears. In addition, Equiano appears throughout the narrative to attempt to forsake his African identity, leading some to believe that Equiano is complicit towards his stance on slavery. However, Equiano also portrays slavery as an affront to all of humankind and argues against the separation of families caused by slavery. This makes Equiano’s critique of slavery†¦show more content†¦African women are promiscuous 2. Africans are depicted as degenerate During this time period it was believed that African women were mostly promiscuous, a notion that Equiano completely dispels.â€Å"Our women too were, in my eyes at least, uncommonly graceful, alert, and modest to a degree of bashfulness; nor do I remember to have ever heard of an instance of incontinence amongst them before marriage† (38).He also notes that white women â€Å"were not so modest and shamefaced as the African women† (68), a comparison Equiano uses to enhance the good nature of African women. Equiano is also amazed that the white people don’t participate in sacrificial services, eat with unwashed hands, and touch the dead (68).These observations show a distinct separation between the whites and Africans, to which Equiano seems to be caught in the middle. However, Equiano seems to go out of his way to portray Africans as â€Å"cheerful and affable† (â€Å"two of the leading characteristics of our nation†), especially in the aspect of fa mily. This can be seen explicitly when Equiano recalls the instance where a women accused of adultery was spared the death penalty â€Å"on account of a child† (33). Equaino sentimentalizes the notion of family bond in an â€Å"ethos† argument against slavery. His experiences with his sister – being ripped apart several times throughout their excursion in slavery together – ring aShow MoreRelatedOlaudah Equiano Analysis851 Words   |  4 Pagesslave narrative and writer is, Olaudah Equiano because I believe his narrative provides an analysis of the treatment slaves experience and witness. Reading From The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African, Written by Himself, describes a typical slave who faces challenges while being separated from his family, but also has an opportunity most slaves don`t have which is, the ability to purchase his freedom. Equiano embodies the self of a slave who doesntRead MoreThe Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African938 Words   |  4 PagesBorn in 1745, Equiano was born a member of the Igbo tribe in a village called Essaka in the kingdom of Benin. He describes Essaka as a remote and fertile village where slavery is a part of life. Born into a family of seven, Equiano is the youngest of six sons and the greatest favourite of his mother. One day, when he and his sister were left to mind their house while their people were gone to their work, they were both kidnapped and enslaved, violating the unwritten rules that slaves should onlyRead MoreSlaves Narratives: Frederick Douglass, Olaudah Equiano Essay1477 Words   |  6 PagesSojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, and Olaudah Equiano all have extremely interesting slave narratives. During their lives, they faced plenty of racist discrimination and troubling moments. They were all forced into slavery at an awfully young age and they all had to fight for their freedom. In 1797, Truth was born into slavery in New York with the name of Isabella Van Wagener. She was a slave for most of her life and eventually got emancipated. Truth was an immen se women’s suffrage activist. SheRead MorePrimary Source Analysis : Equiano937 Words   |  4 PagesPrimary Source Analysis – Equiano Olaudah Equiano had a very unique experience with the slave trade system. He began conveying his experience with how he was captured in his village by two men and a women, who kidnapped him and his sister. Their captors traveled with them for a few days before separating the siblings, and selling Equiano to his first master. He was treated fairly well, even when he ran away for a day and came back, he says his master â€Å"having slightly reprimanded me, ordered meRead MoreAnalysis Of The Narrative By Ayub Suleiman Diallo1435 Words   |  6 Pageswhich he describes the state of slavery in Africa. Secondly, there will be the analysis of the narrative by Ayub Suleiman Diallo, in which he recall how he was captured and taken to slavery. Thirdly, the paper will use the narrative by young Olaudah Equiano, who remembers how he was kidnapped into slavery. Lastly the analysis on kidnapping story by venture Smith while at the age of six will be used in the paper. The analysis of the narratives According to John Barbot, who was an agent of a company dealingRead MoreThe Plight of The African Slave Essay1558 Words   |  7 Pagesand subjected to the harsh life on the plantations. When this happened, their authentic cultures were drastically changed from the way of life in their native homelands in Africa to life in the plantation society of the American colonies. In this essay, I will attempt to show how the enslaved Africans’ authentic culture was immensely disrupted by using the â€Å"Culture Conflict Model† as a guide. To aid in my analysis, I will be drawing upon the works of Olaudah Equiano, Venture Smith, Frederick DouglasRead MoreEarly Slavery; Middle Passage, and Other.1508 Words   |  7 PagesThe Middle Passage is the journey the abducted slaves undertook while going to the new world. This trip was treacherous for these African people because they were forced to live in unsanitary conditions, confined to chains, whipped and tortured. Analysis Thomas Phillips was the captain commander of the ship called the Hannibal. On this journey he picked up his slaves and made this journey known as the middle passage. This document shows how the experience this commander went through and also theRead MoreEnslavement Disrupted the African’s Authentic Culture Essay1593 Words   |  7 Pagesa result, their authentic cultures were drastically changed from the way of life in their native Africa to life in the plantation society of the Americas. In this essay, I will attempt to show how the conditions of enslavement disrupted all dimensions of the African’s authentic culture. To aid in my analysis, I will be using the â€Å"Reid Culture Conflict Model† as a guide and also drawing upon the works of Olaudah Equiano, Venture Smith, Frederick Douglas, Harriet Jacobs, and William Wells Brown, theRead MoreOlaudah Equiano s Influence On African Diaspora History1941 Words   |  8 Pages In 1745, Olaudah Equiano was born in Eboe, which is now Nigeria. When he was about eleven years old, he was kidnapped and sold to slave traders heading to the West Indies. Though he spent a short time in the state of Virginia, much of his time in slavery was spent serving the captains of slave ships and British navy vessels. One of his masters, Henry Pascal, the captain of a British trading vessel, gave him the name Gustavas Vassa, which he hardly used throughout his life. Paul Lovejoy, CanadaRead MoreThe Destructiveness Of The Slave Trade985 Words   |  4 PagesATIENZA, Rizsa Mae 03 October 2015 Fall 2015 HIST 177 Primary Document Analysis The Destructiveness of the Slave Trade Olaudah Equiano begins the narrative by describing his home. He paints for his audience a charming, very fruitful picture of his province Essaka. It was a place where all the neighborhood children would come together and play whilst their parents were away laboring in the fields. He recalls being taught by his mother how to defend himself. They would practice shooting and throwing