Plantation Vs Equiano

Bradford and Equiano have narratives with differing tone, audience, and purpose. However, both narratives align in experiences and values. Horrific circumstances and the value of human life are expressed in Bradford’s "of Plymouth Plantation" and Equiano’s "An Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.” First, both narrators endure horrific circumstances in essentially the same situations. The ships are stricken with sickness and conditions, whether it be nature or people causing it. In Bradford’s case, his ship and crewmen fought against storms and damage to the boat. Diseases such as scurvy also killed many of the crewmen. Similarly, conditions were poor in Equiano’s ship. People were flogged and scolded. Even “the air soon became unfit for respiration,” leading many to commit suicide. The inhuman situations of ships are detailed in the narratives. Similarly, the authors encounter different cultures and respond to them with curiosity and presumptions. The impressions given by the Native American and white captors were received negatively. Bradford encountered native Americans who could …show more content…
Throughout both stories, a discriminated group of people are addressed in the same light. In each of these instances, both Equiano and Bradford side with this group of people, helping them in some way. In Equiano’s narrative, that discriminated group are African Americans. After recounting their turmoils, he addresses the christian reader to take action, calling them out for their hypocrisy. He shows his value of human life through representing his minority and calling people to action. Similarly, Bradford encounters such a group, represented in the sick and dying. While other groups leave them to die, his people are willing to “cast themselves into a desperate and inevitable peril” to supply them essentials. The shared value of human life is expressed in Equanio and Bradford’s