Life Of Olaudah Equiano, Sojourner Truth, And Frederick Douglass

Slave narratives are written accounts of fugitive slaves. It was difficult for these fugitive slaves to get their works out in a time of intense discrimination and hatred, so getting their works published was monumental. Olaudah Equiano, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass all wrote slave narratives with a common goal: end slavery and discrimination. Olaudah Equiano was born into a conventional village in 1745 in Essaka in the province of Eboe. He was kidnapped with his sister and was sent to the Americas as a part of the Middle Passage (Equiano, Olaudah). Sojourner Truth was born into slavery around 1797, and she had many other siblings with her. Sojourner Truth’s birth name was Isabella Truth, but she changed it after she was purchased

It was also pretty widely accepted that slaves or any African American did not have the intellectual capacity of a white person. The following said by Douglass counteracts the previous statement by showing his insight on equality: “‘Have I not as good a right to be free as you have?’” He sees himself completely equal to any other person. This further represents how Douglass depicted the mental evils of slavery in his narrative (Douglass 510). Education also plays a key role in the lives of many slaves as they used it as an aid in escaping to freedom and to inspire their narrative works. Motivations and influences for Douglass’s work were encouraged by other books that he read during his time as a slave. These include The Columbian Orator, The Liberator, and The Christian Bible (“Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave”). Furthermore, The Columbian Orator inspired Douglass to realize that something had to be done about his current situation. He didn’t yet know how he could find his freedom, but he knew it needed to happen: “Fortunately, or

(“Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave”). Books and education were very hard to come by as a slave, and they often had to pay a physical price for learning. However, Douglass had one mistress that loved to teach and further his education when she could. The following describes how the mistress feels about Douglass reading after her husband converted her compassion into resentment: “Nothing appeared to make my poor mistress—after her turning toward the downward path—more angry, than seeing me, seated in some nook or corner, quietly reading a book or a newspaper” (Douglass 509). Douglass dealt with cruel owners more often than not, and a priority of his was to gain education through reading and writing to find connections to liberty; his narrative was “a series of challenges to white authorities intent on preventing him from achieving knowledge.” Education was an integral part of Douglass’s life, and he would not have escaped slavery if it were not for his persistence in learning. (Andrews). Another prominent aspect of Douglass’s narrative is the call for action which led to his freedom. Rather than being