Example Of The Interesting Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano?

Many slaves have been treated brutally by white men and Christians; as a result, slaves created slaves narratives to advocate for antislavery and better treatment. One example of a slave narrative is The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African Written by himself, published in 1789. Olaudah Equiano, the narrator of the speech narrative, is an African-American who was a captured at a young age from his own race. In addition, he was sold into the slave trade by immoral men. He is determined to become free, and to advocate for anti-slavery. Despite being a minority in society, he hopes that his use of pathos and vivid descriptions will help persuade white men and Christians to realize that African-American …show more content…
Diptee also writes about child slavery and explains why more children get into the slave trade than adults. She argues that children are easy prey, and that they are “more vulnerable to [be] overpowered by their captors” (184). Equiano has lost his lovely family, and he will definitely not complain in public because he does not want to lose his life too. He is now thrown into the real world, where one has to work hard in order to survive. Victims of slavery do not only look forward to survive, but also to work even more to gain their freedom. Gwyn Campbell writes about how young victims were able to get away with slavery. One example is when a teenager explained that she would be a bad investment as she claimed, “I will take a knife and cut my own throat from ear to ear before I would be owned by you" (Campbell 276). Being part of the slave trade means to move around different locations with different owners, and this teenager had enough. Just like Equiano, she had no one to look up to. One must stand up, so others can see the evil in slavery. If slaves do nothing to defend themselves, superior men will continue taking advantage of them. Overall, his use of pathos demonstrates how the slave trade takes away a slave’s happiness as they get separated from their …show more content…
According to Equiano’s experience, African-Americans have never encountered white men before (695). It is a new race to the African-Americans, and a new society who believes that they have absolute control over every weak and brainless individual. The African-Americans have no idea how powerful and inhumane these men can be. At a first glance, many believed that these white men were monsters. Equiano and Campbell explain that the African-Americans feared to be eaten by white men (Equiano 695, Campbell 263). If the journey was intimidating for an adult, then it felt even worst for a