Two first-person, 16th-century narratives share a story about surviving a horrible voyage overseas, however, both stories are intended for different purposes. “La Relacion” is an objective report to the king about traveling to new lands, and the “Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano” is a subjective autobiography of an 11-year-old boy on a slave ship.
In, “La Relación” Cabeza de Vaca writes an objective report to the king of a disastrous expedition to become the first European to cross North America. Upon arrival to new lands, ”we had suffered hunger and the heavy beating of waves”(LN 4), Cabeza de Vaca and his men had been suffering, and In “Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano”, Equiano writes a subjective autobiography about, “when he was 11, he was captured and sold as a slave”(pg 78). Equiano suffered being placed on the ship enduring suffocation, and starvation.
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This makes Cabeza de Vaca’s report an objective one because the king wants a factual report on exactly what happen and not have the truth tainted with personal feeling or opinion. Olaudah Equiano’s autobiography is a subjective narrative unlike “La Relacion”. This story is subjective because it’s told in the first person and shares a lot of opinion and description of what he experienced, “the groans of the dying, rendered the whole scene of horror almost inconceivable.”(LN 84) , giving the reader more of an insight on Olaudah Equiano’s point of
There are few things as brutal as the history of the institution of slavery. In his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African, the aforementioned Olaudah Equiano describes the experience of his entrance into slavery.
The slave narratives written by Olaudah Equiano and Frederick Douglass, were important pieces of literature, helping to bring to the life the harsh realities of slavery. Equiano and Douglass, documented their experiences as slaves, to in hopes to connect with white audiences, showing them the immorality and hypocrisy of slavery. While both writers aimed to highlight the inhumanity of slavery, hoping it would lead to abolishment, Douglass and Equiano had different approaches. Both writers were influenced by different eras: Equiano’s writing is influenced by the Enlightenment Period, while Douglass was influenced by Romanticism. Comparing the styles, Douglass’ narratives are stinging, while Equiano’s narrative seems to be more appeasing. However, this has more to do with the influences of their time, than the character of either man. Contrasting styles of both men, echoes the contrasting philosophies of Romanticism and Enlightenment; different but one paves the way for the next.
The fight for racial equality is one of the most prominent issues Americans have faced throughout history and even today; as the idea that enslaving individuals is unethical emerged, many great and innovative authors began writing about the issues that enslaved people had to face. Olaudah Equiano was no exception. In his work The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, he attempts to persuade his readers that the American way of slavery is brutal, inhumane, and unscrupulous. Equiano manages to do this by minimizing the apparent differences between himself and his primarily white audience, mentioning the cruelties that he and many other slaves had to face, and the advantages of treating your slaves correctly.
Equiano starting out had caring captors, “[t]he people I was sold to used to carry me very often when I was tired either on their shoulders or on their backs” (Equiano 54). Equiano’s first master lost his wife and daughter causing the mental state to be off, so Equiano was sold. Luckily Equiano was able to see his sister once again, he felt the need to be there for her and try to aid the pain she was feeling. All slave masters admired Equiano and he was still live a fair well off life but, that would soon change when boards the slave ship. Equiano finally will see the true horrors of how slaves were treated, “...and I even wished for my former slavery in preference to my present situation” (Equiano
Olaudah, Equiano. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Yassa, Written by Himself. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Bartolomé de Las Casas vividly describes the brutality wrought on the natives in the Americas by the Europeans primarily for the purpose of proclaiming and spreading the Christian faith. Las Casas originally intended this account to reach the royal administration of Spain; however, it soon found its way into the hands of many international readers, especially after translation. Bartolomé de Las Casas illustrates an extremely graphic and grim reality to his readers using literary methods such as characterization, imagery, amplification, authorial intrusion and the invocation of providence while trying to appeal to the sympathies of his audience about such atrocities.
The autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, first published in 1789, is the first example of a slave narrative. Unlike most of the class, I took it upon myself to read the entire story of Equiano’s Travels, abridged and edited by Paul Edwards. In that version, as in the version represented in The Norton Anthology American Literature Shorter Fifth Edition, the journey of Olaudah Equiano is expressed in his own words, from his own point of view. That makes this writing a truly unique piece of literature. It is not only the first slave narrative but also one of the only ones written pre-civil war by a former slave, and someone seized from Africa. These facts give the writing a unique feel, for it is the words of a man that was born a free man, raised to be a ruler of his tribe, kidnapped and made into a slave as a young child, and then journeying through life to become once again free as a mature adult. Equiano experienced almost all parts of a slave’s existence. He was a slave throughout Africa, England, and the New World.
Olaudah Equiano in his Interesting Narrative is taken from his African home and thrown into a Western world completely foreign to him. Equiano is a slave for a total of ten years and endeavors to take on certain traits and customs of Western thinking. He takes great pains to improve himself, learn religion, and adopt Western mercantilism. However, Equiano holds on to a great deal of his African heritage. Throughout the narrative, the author keeps his African innocence and purity of intent; two qualities he finds sorely lacking in the Europeans. This compromise leaves him in a volatile middle ground between his adapted West and his native Africa. Olaudah Equiano takes on Western ideals while keeping several of his African values; this makes him a man associated with two cultures but a member of neither.
The transatlantic slave trade paved the way for mass distribution of the human civilizations strongest labor force. The thought of using other humans as a means of production was first internal only within Africa but as other nations began to witness the degradation of one race, they saw an opportunity to tap into the weakened morals of one race which in turn allowed the Africans to fall into a lower class. Thus began the dispersion of slaves to other nations needing to fill the labor gap. An event that represents the beginning moment of the trans-Atlantic slave trade within the readings arise when Equiano was on watch with one of his sisters and was kidnapped by a group of people. Ever since Equiano was kidnapped, he was sold numerous times through different masters and traveled coast to coast. Equiano also witnessed the first time in his life a slave ship that was filled with black people of every description chained together with dejection and sorrowful expressions, and it was then that he realized the future that awaits him. Through the descriptions and Equiano’s wish for his former slavery in preference to the present condition he was in, we can imagine how awful and dehumanizing the slaves were being treated on shore. According to Equiano, many of the African slaves had the unpleasant personalities and traits that were similar with the white slave owners on the ship because of the close interaction that they had with each other. According to Gomez’s Reversing Sail, the beginning moment of the trans-Atlantic slave trade occurred because “Muslim forces in al-Andalus were never in control of the entire Iberian Peninsula and were continually threatened by Christian enemies during their nearly 800-year rule” (Gomez 59). As a result, “in both Iberia and the
Equiano’s first major event marked in his life was when he and his sister were kidnapped from their country with the kidnapper’s intent of selling them as slaves. This was not an uncommon event for the children knew to be on the lookout for a “kidnapper, that might come upon us; for they sometimes took those opportunities of our parents' absence to attack and carry off as many as they could seize” (Equiano 128). Equiano and the populace of his country all lived with the fear of a child being taken from their home to never find their friends and family ever again. The kidnappings that occurred in Africa were wrong and noth...
The typical life of an indentured servant was not a convenient one. Their journeys to the Americas were miserable. The servants were packed into large ships carrying thousands of people as well as, tools, food, etc. Not only were the people densely packed, there were various diseases flooding the ships, and many people would die from them. “I witnessed . . .
The novel The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano exists as an extremely important work in the abolitionist movement in England. As an 18th century narrative written by a former black slave, the novel provides a glimpse into the lives of the African slaves involved in the slave trade as well as the slave traders themselves. Even with the controversy over the authenticity of Equiano’s claims on his origin in Africa and his subsequent voyage through the Middle Passage, this novel serves as a powerfully instructive piece of literature. Throughout the novel, Equiano strives to impress upon the reader a certain set of moral standards or ideals that he desires to instruct the reader about. One such moral ideal that is prevalent throughout the entirety of the novel is Equiano’s construction of the idea of the value and worth of the African slaves, as opposed to the view of the African slaves as simply commodities or objects to be purchased and traded.
Olaudah Equiano’s spiritual autobiography follows him across his remarkable journey. His narrative follows his spiritual and physical period of enslavement, conversion to Christianity and ultimate escape from the life as a slave. Also, it succeeds with a spiritual rebirth and ultimately, his physical freedom and independence. Equiano finally gains his liberty and begins to develop his character as he converts his religion and becomes a faithful man. Equiano immerses himself and is allowed to blend into Western society.
Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Edited by Angelo Costanzo. Orchard Park, NY: Broadway Literary Texts, 2004.
Rivas-Rojas, Raquel. “FABULAS DE ARRAIGO VICARIO EN LA NARRATIVA DE JULIA ALVAREZ. (Spanish).” Canadian Journal Of Latin American & Caribbean Studies 33.66 (2008): 157-169. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.