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IvyPanda. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano His famous autobiography can be considered to be one of the causes of the success of a British movement that wanted to end the slave trade. In this situation I expected every hour to share the fate of my companions, some of whom were almost daily brought upon deck at the point of death, which I began to hope would soon put an end to my miseries. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. "Equianos Influence and Narrative." . The Life of Olaudah Equiano Essay Questions | GradeSaver Olaudah Equiano: Creating An Identity Through Christianity In his narrative, Equiano detailed his experiences as a slave, both in Africa and in the Americas, and also spoke out against the slave trade. While enslaved in his homeland, kidnappers kept Equiano separated from his sister. [12] Throughout his memoir, Equiano is easily seen to be leaning towards either his African ancestry or the European culture he now finds himself involuntarily a part of. Text transcribed by Apex Data Services, Inc. In his attempted conversion of the indian prince he comments; I was well pleased at this, and took great delight in him, and used much supplication to God for his conversion.[4] His work with the indian prince assured him of Gods will and his faith was then strengthened by his own actions. In his work, Equiano portrayed the lives of enslaved people and devoted a significant part of the text to describe various types of abuse from which many slaves suffered. When first on board the slave ship Equiano describes a horrid scene in which, One white man in particular I saw flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast, that he died in consequence for it; and they tossed him over the side as they would have done a brute.[6] This first experience gave Equiano the impression that these men were horrible unmerciful creatures or even evil spirits that were to punish them to no purpose with his opinion formed through his statement of, Every circumstance I met with served only to render my opinion of the cruelty of the whites.[7] Once purchased by a benevolent master, Michael Henry Pascal, Equianos perspective of the European changes drastically from one of a barbaric race to a civilized and advanced culture. Much of the power of Equianos narrative stems from the fact that it is a first-person testimony of what he has witnessed and experienced, but he also uses his narrative as a means of recording a wide variety of non-personal experiences associated with the slave trade. Although free, Equiano himself was nearly beat to death after visiting a local physicians slave. [5] Equiano, The Interesting Narrative, 208. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Equiano is even baptized in 1759, although his conversion later in his life was a more profoundly impactful event in his spiritual growth. Although Equiano himself might have been born in America, other slaves were being brought from Africa on a regular basis. Knowing that what awaits him in the West Indies can only be comparable to the brutality that Equiano experienced when he was first enslaved, he tries everything he can to escape. Olaudah Equiano, was a former enslaved African, seaman and merchant who wrote an autobiography depicting the horrors of slavery and lobbied Parliament for its abolition. These two positions are incompatible. But neither Olaudah or Susannah was able to enjoy their married life for very long. To Tell a Free Story: The First Century of Afro-American Autobiography, 17601865. Good Names: Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa. The Eighteenth Century, vol. If you are the copyright owner of this paper and no longer wish to have your work published on IvyPanda. Walvin 1998 and Carretta 2005 are the only full-length treatments of Equianos life, times, and works. In twelve chapters, Equiano presented a body of evidence that helped to support the cause of abolition and the end of transatlantic slaving by Britain and others. The abolitionist cause to which the Interesting Narrative was a major contributor succeeded only after his death, as Britain ended its participation in the slave trade in 1807, and finally abolished slavery in its colonial holdings in 1833. ", "One of the key problems today is that politics is such a disgrace, good people don't go into government.". Image: Painting by William Denton / Colorized by Rick Szuecs. The book describes Equiano's time spent in enslavement, and documents his attempts at becoming an . He was born into a local tribe and described the area he grew up in as a "nation of dancers, musicians and poets.". A very readable account that relies heavily on Equianos autobiography, rather than offering new biographical information. He powerfully uses the very kind of reason so prized in Enlightenment England to refute the logical arguments of those who seek to maintain the institution. Original content on this site created by its authors is licensed under a Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Olaudah Equiano's autobiography was one of the most important abolitionist tracts of the eighteenth century. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Virtue was a key Enlightenment-era attribute in European society, and Equiano uses it now against Europeans themselves. Thus, his work is not a simple recollection of one mans life. Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man (University of Georgia, 2005) extends Carretta's research on Equiano's origins to provide the first scholarly biography in over thirty years of the man known in the Western world for . | Proudly powered by WordPress In 1797, he died in England, around the age of 52, without seeing the goal come to fruition. Equianos description of his people contains none of the stereotypes that Europeans employed to paint Africans as savages. His growing affection for Christianity is developed after his baptism at the request of the Miss Guerins, whom are friends of Equianos master at the time, Michael Henry Pascal. -Graham S. For the nearly 300 years that preceded Olaudah Equianos writing of his life, the international slave trade had shrunk the world like never before: globalization could already describe this interconnected relationship between humans, goods, and places. Equianos autobiography was so popular that it ran through nine English editions and one printing in the United States and was translated into Dutch, German, and Russian during his lifetime. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Expand or collapse the "in this article" section, American Magazines, Early 20th-Century Popular, Dune and the Dune Series, Frank Herberts, New England Pilgrim and Puritan Cultures. A planter in Virginia sold him to Michael Henry Pascal, an officer in the British Royal Navy. He wrote an autobiography narrating the horrifying tales of slavery and championed for its abolition in parliament . At the end of his account of the Middle Passage, Equiano pauses his narrative and addresses the reader: Might not an African ask you, learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you?. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Every circumstance I met with served only to render my state more painful, and heighten my apprehensions, and my opinion of the cruelty of the whites. (Wikimedia Commons). Equiano makes the plight of slavery more vivid and relatable to his readers by talking about slaves not as property (like the slave traders do), but as human beings subject to exhaustion and able to be creative and strategic within the bounds of their dire circumstances. Equiano was born in an African village and kidnapped into slavery at the age of eleven. The fact that Equianos life may be seen as a template for a slave narrative is not accidental. This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers.