Analysis Of Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano was a young boy sucked into the tornado of the African slave trade during the

Mid 1700's who lived to tell his story to millions. His narrative tells the story of his personal account as a slave that was written for the European society during the peak of the movement to help abolish slavery between the British colonies address to the superior white men at the time. Olaudah Equiano was captured by African slave traders and stolen from his home in West Africa. He was taken to many different places such as Barbados, colonial Virginia, and ended in the hands of a British Naval officer. After spending 20 years as a slave, he bought his freedom and wrote his stories. While his version gives a gruesome account, it doesn't tell everything

This small excerpt gives insight to the readers that tells us how many, if not all, how the slaves felt. They were taken from their homes, stripped from their own families, and became a melting pot of different people sharing the same color skin trapped in the same situation. Equiano, as many as the other slaves, were handled to see if they could handle being a slave. For example, he was "tossed up" to see if he was sound. This meant that they were testing to see if he would break under pressure as many did. Equiano was just a kid at this time period, and it was common for slaves to undergo this sort of pressure that young. Many kids were taken from families as he was, so they could grow into slavery and become used to the ways. Equiano was in an area with his fellow Africans but felt lost as he was around men with different colored skin, that had "funny" language to him. Equiano witnessed many things during his slavery on the ship. Slaves weren't fed and were flogged for not eating. Being clothed was a luxury, and conditions were bad all

Many slaves weren't able to buy freedom, and life became something you had to fight for as times were at the peak for death of slaves. Readers of Equiano's account could only assume that slaves were treated as they were the bottom of the barrel. Slaves didn't always live to tell their tale as to what had really happened during the Middle Passage and slave life. Equiano pursues to tell us how easy it became to die as a slave. Whether it be not being able to eat from disease, or terrorized by slave owners, death almost became inevitable. Death almost seemed to be a luxury on his ship, as many rather would've died than live and suffer. "I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat, nor I had the least desire to taste anything. I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me; but soon, to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables; and, on my refusing to eat." (Equiano,Olaudah.INTERESTING NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF OLAUDAH EQUIANO OR GUSTAVUS VASSA, THE AFRICAN: written... by himself.S.1.:LULU Com,2017. Death was a friend for slaves during that time period on the Middle Passage as it seemed. Equiano's narrative was produced not only to inform people as to what was happening to slaves, but as a chance to abolish slavery. If he could get his word out to millions and give a personal account, maybe it would be understood. Equiano couldn't give us all the details as to what happened because his views are limited. He wasn't able