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Olaudah Equiano Sparknotes

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In his book, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, African author Olaudah Equiano wrote about his life and experiences after being sold into the slave trade. Equiano used his writing to expose the horrors of slavery and the agony he and other slaves faced. He wrote with the hope that by exposing the horrors that slaves endure, people would realize how wicked slavery was and put an end to it.

Equiano spoke about his encounters with white men in the Middle Passage and how he was terrified of them in chapter two of his book. As they examined him when he initially boarded the ship, he described how he was terrified: "I was immediately handled and tossed up to see if I were sound by some of the crew; and I was now persuaded that I had gotten into a world of bad spirits, and that they were going to kill me." As time on the ship passed, he learned more about the …show more content…

He talks about how white men offered him a drink soon after he boarded the ship, but he was too terrified to accept it until a black man handed it to him. He describes this incident by saying, "one of the crew brought me a small portion of spirituous liquor in a wine glass; but, being afraid of him, I would not take it out of his hand. One of the blacks therefore took it from him and gave it to me, and I took a little down my palate" As time passed, he grew to perceive the blacks around him as "his countrymen," people in the same horrific situation as him. In his book, he describes how the predicament they were all in as a result of white people and slavery drove two of his countrymen to commit suicide, saying, "two of my wearied countrymen who were chained together (I was near them at the time), preferring death to such a life of misery, somehow made through the nettings and jumped into the sea"

His passages show that he thinks of his fellow Africans as people he can

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Both Mary and Equiano suffered greatly upon their being taken. They both endured mental, physical, and emotional distress at being torn from their families and friends. Equiano was only a child when he was taken from his village, away from everything and everyone he had ever known, so the natural fear of parental separation would be terrifying in itself. Many years later, as he was being shipped overseas, he witnessed the cruel and inhumane treatment of innocent people. In describing the living conditions of the slave ship, Equiano states, “The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable” (Equiano 1279).

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According to PBS Africans in America, after Equinao bought his freedom he became an active abolitionist in England. Olaudah Equiano’s descriptions of the middle passage severed a purpose for

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He said, "I had never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruelty, and this not only shown towards us blacks, but also to some of the whites themselves" (Perkins 165). He expressed the pain that he felt during his slavery experience, and people may feel the pain he suffered through his writing. In addition, he writes that, “rather than give any of them to us to eat, as we expected, they threw the remaining fish into the sea again" (Perkins 166). The misery and humiliation cannot be compared with nothing. It was pure cruelty what he suffered during slavery.

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He published an autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano, which recounted his experiences and life as a slave. His autobiography served as one of the first testimonies in the abolition movement (Biography.com). His work began with a petition address to Parliament and ended with an antislavery letter to the Queen (Smith, 2013). Equiano’s book gave his readers a first hand perspective of slavery through the eyes of a former slave. This book made a vital contribution to the abolitionists’ cause and also raised slavery

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17.1 Captivity and Enslavement, Olaudah Equiano, the interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano written by himself 1. What are Equiano’s impressions of the white men on the ship and their treatment of the slaves? How does this treatment reflect the slave traders’ primary concerns? Equiano’s first impression of these white men is a feeling of uncertainty and sorrow for the future. As his story goes on Equiano is afraid of these white men, but also he is wishing to end it all because of the conditions and treatment of the slaves.

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For example, when he told of his arrival in Virginia when he was the last of his group left at a plantation with no one to talk to and no way to understand those around him. To the British readers, who thrived in their own daily social interactions, the thought of such a lonely situation created feelings of pity and understanding. Equiano thought that he was “worse off than any of the rest” of his companions and “was constantly grieving and pining,” because of his loneliness. The British readers related to his emotional distress and allowed themselves to see him as a person. Therefore, they were more open to his ideas on slavery as a whole, because they could relate to Equiano's

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He describes the anguish, anxiety and despair that surrounded him on the slave ship with vivid detail. He leaves no detail spared as he describes slaves throwing themselves off of the boat seeing death as a better alternative than the fate that awaits them. Equino uses imagery in his text to show the reader the anguish they felt and appeals to the readers emotions to elicit a response to the wrongdoings of the white men that had enslaved them and kept them in such horrible conditions. For example he writes, “One day they had taken a number of fishes; and when they had killed and satisfied themselves with as many as they thought fit, to our astonishment who were on the deck, rather than give any of them to us to eat, as we expected, they tossed the remaining fish into the sea again…”(pg. 173) this shows the reader the cruelty of the men on the boat and makes the reader feel an emotion.

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The autobiography “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” of former slave Olaudah Equiano, is a detailed account of his journey, starting from the time he was kidnapped from his home, separated from his family, and later separated from his sister. He was eventually loaded into a slave ship, which sets sail for Barbados. The story continues through the time he was a slave until the time he bought his own freedom and, subsequently, write the autobiography. To help readers visualize the reality he lived through, Equiano uses in-depth descriptions of the experiences and conditions he endued in his journey. The transatlantic journey taken by Olaudah Equiano in “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” demonstrate him to be curious, strong-willed, and frightened individual.

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Such stories were regularly utilized as promulgation or propaganda: accordingly, Europeans frequently stereotyped Native Americans as merciless and whites started to see subjugation of African-Americans as detestable. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast the two narratives which are A Narrative of the Captivity and The interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equianoa. A Narrative of Captivity by Mary Rowlandson and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano are two generally read imprisonment accounts , which, individually, relate the encounters of a grown-up white lady caught by Indians and an eleven-year-old Black male caught for the American slave market. Looking at these two accounts uncovers fascinating similitudes and contrasts and in addition in the encounters and responses of these two prisoners.

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Charles Johnson's use of journal entries in his novel, The Middle Passage, is a powerful literary device that enhances the impact of the story. By incorporating personal accounts and first-hand experiences of characters, Johnson brings a level of authenticity and emotional depth to the novel that would be impossible to achieve through narration alone. Johnson's use of journal entries in The Middle Passage is a key factor in its ability to convey the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade and the impact it had on the lives of those who were forced to endure it. One of the most striking aspects of The Middle Passage is the vividness and detail with which Johnson portrays the experience of being a slave aboard a slave ship.

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The slave narratives is an integral part of African literature. The slave narratives is a type of literature that appeared in the middle of the seventeenth century and continued to the end of the nineteenth century and was written by the same slaves who lived in oppressive servitude. Indeed Olaudah Equiano is one of the most famous writers in Slave Narrative. The first work was written in 1789, entitled "Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano," by Gustavus Vassa, who is of African origin, who wrote it by himself in this narrative. In this narrative, Olaudah Equiano conveys his ordeal during his arrest in Africa, and then talks about his liberation and success in Europe.

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Olaudah Equiano, and the narrative of his life that he has written is eye opening. He and his sister had their rights stripped from them, and they were separated from each other indefinitely. However, to me, it seemed more shocking to see less of the violence that I had initially thought of in relation to slavery. During the time that Olaudah spent as a slave, he was treated more as a servant. During his first servitude he turned killed a chicken, and ran away, but he was not beaten or punished.

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Olaudah Equiano was one of the most famous black men in the history of slavery who was lucky enough to purchase his freedom by himself. Equiano was highly popular for his autobiography named The interesting narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African. This is an interesting autobiographywhich was published in 1789 and it emphasized various aspects of slavery throughout the entire book. In The Interesting Narrative, Olaudah Equiano uses poetic diction and tone ( sadistic) to illustrate his perspective as a slave by portraying the cruality and brutality of slavery. Equiano was very disappointed with his master’s betrayal.

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In his letter he described his life as an indentured servant as one where he has nothing to comfort him but sickness and death. The life that he was living in colonial Virginia was one where you couldn’t escape or else you will be captured. Attempting it could of cause him to die, therefore he hoped his parents brought his escape but with his parents being poor there was no way of escaping the life of an indentured servant. Having no escape as an indentured servant, he wrote to his parents a letter asking that his parents bought out the indenture. In his letter, he wrote that he was trapped in a place filled of diseases that can make any body weak and leave you with lack of comfort and rattled with guilt.

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He uses these experiences to show just how unjust the treatment towards slaves was. As a child, he was not allowed to learn like many of the white children were, they wanted to keep the slaves ignorant

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