Traumatic Experiences In Olaudah Equiano's Life As A Slave

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Olaudah Equiano undergoes multiple traumatic experiences as a slave; based on his experiences he discovers that there are many criticisms against the institution of slavery. From the time Olaudah Equiano was a small child he lived a life as a slave, Equiano along with his sister were kidnapped in Eboe and sold to slave traders. Equiano recounts the horrific experiences he shared with many others, and how he was ultimately stripped of his identity and lost all sense of his past history, culture, and family. Equiano is ultimately writing his stories to share with white European slaveholders, he wanted to show them what he and others like him were facing and why slavery should be abolished. Throughout all of Equianos experiences as a slave he realizes that it is not the practice of slavery that he is critiquing but the institution of it.

Equiano faced much hardship throughout his many years as a slave, although he was not always unhappy with his position he discovered many reasons as to why he was opposed to …show more content…

He understood the position that those he was looking after are in but he also finds experiencing something that was unknown to him. As an overseer Equiano discovers the horrible treatment the slaves are faced with and this disgusts him. As years had gone by Equiano continued to rely on his newfound faith in God to guide him through the difficult situations he had been facing. His religious faith had played an important role on his views of slavery and why he believed it was wrong. Christianity allowed Equiano to discover a sense of equality that every human was supposed to have, and that each person deserved to be treated with dignity. He used scripture passages to improve his arguments against slavery and also his own experiences to show why he believed that the entire institution of slavery should be