The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

However, Equiano, a previous slave, obtained his education despite the fact the many Europeans deemed it unacceptable for an African. With his autobiography, he wanted to inform the audience of his own struggles and his moving journey to becoming well-educated in a white-dominated society: “there are few events in my life, which have not happened to many” (Equiano 77). He displayed himself as living proof of a “civilized” African person who can read and write. By writing his own powerful…

Throughout the novels of Kant’s What is Enlightenment and Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano both texts discuss what is the true nature of freedom and what is just in allowing humanity to have this freedom. Kant and Equiano are both arguing for a certain level of freedom, but Equiano’s level is very basic, it is rooted in the slaves not having control over their basic level of understanding. Equiano demonstrates the dangers of containing their minds to a level of…

The Effect of Slave Narratives on American Literature American literature has been shaped by history. Slave Narratives, known as autobiographies written by American slaves, portrayed a personal account into the horrors of slavery between 1700 and mid 1850’s. Slaves endured miserable treatment and experienced huge amounts of pain and hardships. Slaves used writings as a way to escape their misery and possess something they could call their own. It was something no one could take away or claim.…

from their homes and forced into slavery. These two events helped mold the lives of Ben Franklin and Olaudah Equiano. Now you’re probably wondering how these two men are similar seeing how Ben Franklin is white, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States while Equiano is a former African slave, right? Well as it turns out, Equiano based his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life…

The Different Meanings of Power Marco Polo, Niccolò Machiavelli, Bartolomé de Las Casas, Olaudah Equiano, and the Signatories of The Declaration of Independence define ideas of power and difference through their personal narratives or texts and the intentions of their writings. Primary sources that will be explored in this essay are Marco Polo’s The Travels of Marco Polo (1298) translated by Thomas Wright and William Marsden, the Venetian, Machiavelli's The Prince (1532) translated by W.K.…

European countries had also developed a system of feudalism. In this system the lower class people, known as serfs, were bound to a portion of land and forced to work for their aristocratic masters. Serfs were often mistreated and forced to live a life of poverty. In “The Revolt of Stenka Razin” written in Sources of The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, we see that not all serfs decided to accept their fate of enslavement to the nobility . A man named Stenka Razin lead a revolt against…

People from different cultural backgrounds and circumstances used religion to survive harsh conditions, cope with changes around them, and even justify their actions. Although religion became the way many people during the time period lived their life, it was also a barrier because of the different ways people interpreted the religion. Each community shared their own beliefs and defended themselves with their own religious practices. Religion for many years has been a force that has continued to…

Once again, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is an effective example of this argument, in that the reader witnesses the African’s forced entrance into Western culture, as well as a diminishment in his dedication to the cultural practices of his homeland, Eboe. While some may argue that the narrative’s introduction regarding Equiano’s background reinforces its continued magnitude in his life despite his experiences as a slave, the events which…

and history, a struggle for the realization of equality. Which opposed the accepted immoral standpoint of discrimination and exclusion. Held by the majority of public during most of the literatures publication. Authors such as William Apess, Olaudah Equiano, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln depict the battle between a nocuous lack of morality and righteous penmanship. The ideals of American identity have been epitomized by an imperfect nation’s struggle for equality and the…

Bradstreet from “ Burning of our House”, Equiano from “ The Interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano”, and the pilgrims of “ Of Plymouth Plantation”, all went down the street that had challenges, yet the never gave up. Bradstreet had to overcome losing her home and all her memories. Equiano had the challenge of being in the slave trade and even being sold by his own people. The early Americas identity was shaped by Hardships. Which is a part of life that everyone must go through,…