Compare And Contrast Olaudah Equiano And Frederick Douglass

Written Words of What Not to Be Slave narratives are extremely valuable for today’s readers because they give a reader a first-person look inside the life of a slave. Slave narratives teach us exactly how daily life was for slaves and allows readers to sympathize for the slave. They teach how cruel and hard life was and remind us how to make sure that we do not repeat history. Olaudah Equiano and Frederick Douglas are two examples of slaves who wrote first-hand experiences of their lives. Olaudah Equiano was taken from his family by local slave drivers at the age of eleven, after some misfortune and eventually some good luck he was bought by Michael Pascal, a sailor in the Royal Navy, as Michael’s slave he was taught seamanship. Equiano learns this and was sent to war with his master to help assist him. After the war, he was sold again and was given a basic English education, and eventually he was able to purchase his freedom. After becoming a freed man, Equiano joined …show more content…
Fredrick Douglas was the staple child for overcoming adversity and rising up from the circumstances that he was born into. Born in 1818, Douglas was born the son of a slave woman and an unknown white man. Although he was born as a slave, he wrote that his childhood could be considered lavish as opposed to the usual slave standards. He wrote how he suffered much more from being hungry or being cold than he did from any type of abuse or attacks. As a child he was sent off to another home to work as a house slave. As a house slave, his master’s wife began the process of teaching him how to read. Even though his master attempted to stop him from learning, he continued to educate himself and learn more. This act, though, is what started his journey to one day holding the highest form of office an African American could hold at the time and being the voice of African Americans in the