The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano: The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings is an autobiography about an African American man, Olaudah Equiano, who tells of his story as a slave. The story is not pleasant, nor enjoyable, and by that I mean slavery is not a pretty sight. It’s not something people like to talk about, and I would imagine it is especially hard to write an autobiography about it. In the Preface, Equiano provides a note to the reader stating that he has been accused of lying about his birthplace.…

the work The Narrative of the Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano, Equiano goes into great detail about his life, while revealing his personality through his inner thoughts and actions. Equiano’s personality can be defined as being strong willed, religious, and independent. Equiano's writing on the Middle Passage is the section of his narrative that greatly reflects his strong will. It is a brutally honest account of one of the most terrible events in Pre-colonial history. Equiano describes his…

In the year of 1758 an eleven-year-old boy named Olaudah Equiano was one of millions of Africans to be kidnapped from his homeland and sold into slavery. Equiano was forced to leave behind and forget his Ibo religion, his family, and anything else that he once knew. This young boy was then forced aboard a ship sailing towards a new land where he and hundreds of others were crammed into the vessel as if they were cargo. On this voyage these people were first stripped of their basic human rights…

Years War, Equiano was delighted at the thought of collecting his prize money and receiving his freedom from his master Captain Pascal. Although Pascal hadn’t promised him freedom, Equiano felt assured that he had no right to detain him since he was baptized and served him well for many years. However, Pascal feared that Equiano had plans of escape and without warning, sold him to another Captain, Mr. James Doran, therefore condemning Equiano to further years of slavery. At this moment, Equiano…

blacks did not have that freedom and many narratives show just that. The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano is an optimistic narrative because Equiano sheds light on the treatment that blacks received from whites. He shows this treatment with white individuals mainly from his friend, Jack, on board the ship. Although he sheds light on the treatment he received, he also brings some darkness in a sense of the treatment of free…

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is written with a simple descriptive tone that translates his experiences without over saturating them with emotion. An example of this is when he speaks of the appalling conditions on his voyage through the Middle Passage, he describes the ships hold with “The closeness of the place and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us’ (Equiano…

Religion in the 18th century and Equiano’s time was concentrated around Christianity. Olaudah Equiano was an African born abolitionist and author. Also known as Gustavas Vassa, he published his autobiography named The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, . . . the African. He narrated his life starting from his childhood to his experiences as a free man emphasizing his embrace of the European religion while, towards the end, arguing against slavery. More specifically, this paper…

Friends?”: Olaudah Equiano Describes the Horrors of the Middle Passage, 1780s is a letter written by a young boy who was put into slavery. The letter narrates Equiano’s experience while being transported to his destination. Olaudah Equiano was an African American boy born in Nigeria who was kidnapped at the age of 11. The author through his letter is able to explain in terror what he goes through at a young age during commercial trading of black African American children, men and women. Olaudah…

of The Interesting Narrative, Olaudah Equiano speaks of the similarities between his culture and the culture of the Jews. He speaks about the matching traditions they share: “circumcision...sacrifices and burnt-offerings” etc. (44). Equiano shows African people resembling people with dissimilar religions and color to strongly argue against slavery. On page forty-five, he fights against the ignorance of Spaniards defining a person as a slave by their “complexion” (45). Furthermore, Equiano…

Olaudah Equiano, or also known as Gustavus Vassa is presented as an outspoken abolitionist in Gloria Fiero’s textbook The Humanistic Tradition. Gloria Fiero introduces Olaudah Equiano by summarizing his life as he tells it in his book The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself. Thus through this summary, we are enlightened about Olaudah's past experience as a young captive slave and learn about the traumatizing and humiliating experience he…