Olaudah Equiano Narrative Analysis

Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, written by Himself relives the story of a young man taken from his home in Africa and was put into slavery at the age of eleven. Olaudah Equiano 's quest of being a slave to buying his own freedom was accomplished by not only his physical work, but by both his religious views and scholarly ways. “Equiano is truly a man of conflict, and his feelings towards slavery are complex and sometimes paradoxical.” (Dias 5). Equiano was truly blessed to have the slave owner’s he did. He decided against slavery and makes an effort to end slavery by telling the story of his life and the hardships and evils of slavery. Equiano’s views of slavery are from his own account of being a slave and the religious views he picks up on his journey are both key factors that helped him achieve his …show more content…
He did not approve of slavery and was shocked by what he had to see. In chapter 5 he describes how he often had to take care of cages full of slaves and saw many white men raping the slave women they had on board the slave ship. With much remorse, he was "obliged to submit at all times, being unable to help them" (97 Equiano) which further developed his hatred towards slavery. He begins to use religion and money reasons for why slavery should be ended. Toward the end of the narrative he begins to argue that slavery should be prohibited, because of the "tortures, murders, and every other imaginable barbarity and iniquity" (200 Equiano), but also because it will help the British economy. With the argument of slavery being inhuman and it will help the British financially. Equiano followed those arguments with a list of cruel things he witnessed while being a slave. Equiano did everything in his power to end slavery and used his intelligence and religious views to stop the evils of slave