Brutal Events In Equiano's Life

515 Words2 Pages

While a slave, Equiano experienced some brutal events. He was starved, beaten, and other torturous events happened to him. The start of the events happened when his sister and him were captured by kidnappers and sold to slave traders. After Equiano was brought to the coast of Africa, he was sent to the West Indies via the dreadful Middle Passage. After being sold again he was reunited with his sister when their masters crossed paths but Equiano experienced grief and anxiety when their short lived reunion ended and he was sold again. At one point Equiano became ill and wished for death to save him. He was tied and flogged severely due to his lack of eating from being sick (page 88). Equiano was a victim to beating a few times. After …show more content…

After Equiano was sold again he was transported to Tinmah which he says is a lavish country and is the most beautiful country he has seen in Africa (page 79). In Tinmah he was sold to a wealthy widow and her son. Under their care he was rarely treated like a slave. He was washed and perfumed and was fed by his new his owners (page 80). However, this experience was short lived and was once again sold.
There are several occurrences in which Equiano presents his belief that free blacks are worse off than slaves. Their freedom was only nominal and lived in constant fear of becoming recaptured as slaves or being constantly abused of their liberty. While in Georgia, Equiano engaged in a fight with Mr. Read’s slave. Mr. Read wanted punishment and Equiano was shocked and frightened that Mr. Read didn’t respect his title as a free man (page 276).
Another occurrence happened shortly after he gained his freedom. Equiano became employed by Doran and had to prove his education when almost being kidnapped and returned to slavery by slaveholders. He later points out that free slaves are little to none better than captive slaves because of the horrific treatment both

Show More
Related

  • Indentured Servitude and Slavery in the New World

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    Equiano was the youngest of his brothers who enjoyed playing outside throwing javelins enjoying the normal life of a small child. At the beginning of the day, the elders would leave their children at home while they went out into the fields to work. While they were gone, some of the children would get together to play but always took precautions of potential kidnappers. Even with all these precautions, people were still seized from their homes and taken away. Equiano was home one day with his little sister tending to the everyday household needs when out of nowhere they were captured by a couple men who had gotten over the walls. They had no time to resist or scream for help before they found themselves bound, gagged, and being taken away. Equiano had no idea where these people were taking him and they didn’t stop once until nightfall where they stayed until dawn. He tells us about how they traveled for many days and nights not having any clue where they were going or when they would get there. Slaves traveled by land and by sea, but Equiano’s journey was by sea. He tells us how he was carried aboard and immediately chained to other African Americans that were already on the ship. Once the ship halted on land, Equiano along with many other slaves were sent to the merchant’s yard where they would be herded together and bought by the

    Read More

  • The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

    1532 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Olaudah Equiano Rhetorical Analysis

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    He describes the ways in which he was considered fortunate amongst other slaves. Equiano confessed that all of his masters were “worthy and humane”, they treated him right and even gave him the gift of literacy and religion (709). He compares his experience to the experience of other less fortunate individuals, and finds that treating slaves in a kinder manner actually benefits the slave owners (Equiano 709). Equiano states that the slaves under more solicitous masters “were uncommonly cheerful and healthy, and did more work” (709). Furthermore, he mentions how many malevolent slave owners would have to replace their slaves very often in order to make up for the amount of slaves that would die due to the harsh and unhealthy conditions that the slaves were put in (709). Equiano does all of this in order to try and reason with his audience in a more efficient way. Equiano realized that trying to convince his audience that slavery was completely wrong would not work due to the very strong views on it in his time. Instead he tries to convince his audience to change the manner in which they treat their slaves in order to benefit themselves, which consequently would benefit the slaves and contribute to their

    Read More

  • Essay On Olaudah Equiano

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    This would lead him to a fantasy about what life would have been life back in Africa based on freedom. Equiano longed for freedom and suffered a traumatic experience (being enslaved) at a young age which may lead him to romanticize a different life. He believed that he would find his paradise in Africa. This can lead to a more favorable and positive view of Africa. He paints Africa as a place free of harm making him an unreliable source. By juxtaposing his freedom in Africa with his captivity in the colonies; he creates a biased image of his respective homeland. His reliability is questioned because he has no previous knowledge about life in Africa and only knows how it is described to him. His romanticized version of Africa gives a dynamic in his writing that negative towards the

    Read More

  • The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    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. Works Cited Equiano, Olaudah. [1789] 1987. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African.

    Read More

  • Religious Liberty In John Winthrop's The Trial Of Anne Hutchinsonson

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    The “Speeches,” written in 1762 and 1763, informs how the Pontiac rebellion occurred. Neolin, “a religious prophet who helped to inspire the rebellion” criticizes that the Indians have lost their culture (Foner, 2014). They have become dependent on the European’s culture, traditions, and even weapons. Instead of using their bows and arrows, they depended on European guns and knives. Though they may believe that they were free, the Indians were bounded by the European ways. The second passage about the life of a slave was written by Olaudah Equiano in 1789. This runaway slave from the West Indies was caught into slavery again, but his new slave owner was kind and not abusive. Robert King, Equiano’s slave owner, entrusted him with clerk duties and taught him new skills (The Life of Olaudah Equiano Chapter V Summary and Analysis, para 5-6). The passage emphasized on the procedure of auctioning slaves and the emotional struggles that the slaves have. He stresses on the emotional aspects when slaves are separated from their family and friends. Equiano does this because he wants the Christian slave owners to display their belief in religion and liberty. This is also a way to emphasize the cruelty of the Whites. This passage is about slave trade, and how slaves lose their friends and families to the

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Douglass And Equiano

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, when Equiano asserts “As if it were no crime in the whites to rob an innocent African girl of her virtue; but most heinous in a black man only to gratify a passion of nature, where the temptation was offered by one of a different color, though the most abandoned woman of her species (754),” he wishes to show the hypocrisy in the treatment of black men in comparison to white men. Invoking an emotional connection is an important element in literature, but especially during the Enlightenment. Illustrating that both blacks and whites share the common bond of humanity, helps makes Equiano’s narrative easier to digest. While some may criticize Equiano’s narrative for its accessibility, it fits with the theme of the

    Read More

  • Olaudah Equiano

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    Equiano’s fortune landed him in the hands of a wealthy widow who purchased him from the traders who had kidnapped him. He lived the life as a companion to the widow and her son. Luck was on his side in this transaction, many slave owners frowned upon educating and assisting slaves. “Masters” typically feared an educated slave would take measures to make a change. He explains, though, how he held status above other slave under the widow’s ownership, “There were likewise slaves daily to attend us, while my young master and I,...

    Read More

  • Social Isolation In The Interesting Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano

    1282 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Olaudah Equiano Essay

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    In comparison to other slaves that are discussed over time, Olaudah Equiano truly does lead an ‘interesting’ life. While his time as a slave was very poor, there are certainly other slaves that he mentions that received far more damaging treatment than he did. In turn, this inspires him to fight for the abolishment of slavery. By pointing out both negative and positive events that occurred, the treatment he received from all of his masters, the impact that religion had on his life and how abolishing slavery could benefit the future of everyone as a whole, Equiano develops a compelling argument that does help aid the battle against slavery. For Olaudah Equiano’s life journey, he expressed an array of cruelties that came with living the life of an African slave; which demonstrates all of the suffering that he endured, then proving how much it can change one’s point of view in life.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Olaudah Equiano And Philis Wheatley

    1577 Words  | 4 Pages

    Equiano knew he had to please his masters in order to have any opportunity of freedom. He knew he had to find a way to stick with a kind master; otherwise he could be sold, mistreated and even killed. To do this he chose to build a rapport with his masters worked hard to be indispensable to them. Equiano negotiated trades, proving he was of value for more than just manual labor. Adapting to his environment by learning to read, write and speak English fluently was an intelligent way to advance his worth as a slave, and also to help himself in the future when he purchased his freedom. After he became a free man, he continued to think of methods to abolish slavery, his now primary goal in life. He positioned himself as a mediator to promote his message of anti-slavery to people of different classes and then went further to offer a solution for continued economic growth. Just as a trickster is able to transform in to whatever it needs to become, Equiano was both a protestor of slavery and an industrialist, when the time called for it.

    Read More

  • Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

    1506 Words  | 4 Pages

    In conclusion, at an interpretive level, the remainder of The Life of Olaudah Equiano is the story of a Christian convert who finds solace from bondage in the ministerings of a kind divine intervention. I believe he perceives his past through the eyes of a religious man, and through his Christian faith, he composes a narrative that is significantly colored with Christian ideals, including, forgiveness, gratitude, and acceptance. As a civilized, Christian subject, he is able to survive with equanimity the vagaries of servitude, the whims of fortune, and the cruelties of fate. Clearly he sees the evils that he has suffered as part of a larger plan; furthermore, he attributes good fortune and punishment to the work of God and in my opinion, he sees God using him for a much greater purpose.

    Read More

  • Freedom: To the African American Slave

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    Olaudah Equiano was not an American born slave. He was born and raised well into his childhood in Africa with his family. His slave narrative, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustav Vassa, the African, published in New York in 1791 however, had a lasting impact on America as it described the inhumane treatment of Africans being sold into slavery (Baym 1: 687). Equiano’s initial concept of freedom stemmed from his childhood of which he speaks very fondly, describing his homeland as a “nation of dancers, musicians and poets,” a...

    Read More

  • Summary Of Olaundah Equiano

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    He finally settled with a family who made brought him close to the happiness his biological family gave, but to only be torn away. He describes the horror and the torture not able to his see the world that he loved so dearly anymore. Saying farewell to the people who spoke his language, looked like him, and obtained many of the same traditions as his tribe. Equiano was now embarking on a brand new adventure. Being used to the slavery of his own world made his life somewhat bearable; being shipped off to another existence, seeing many unfamiliar faces, is a different story.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Arguements in The Life of Olaudah Equiano

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    "The Life of Olaudah Equiano” is a captivating story in which Equiano, the author, reflects on his life from becoming a slave to a freeman during the 19th century. Through his experiences and writing, Equiano paints a vivid picture of the atrocities and cruelties of European slavery. Ultimately through his narrative, Equiano intends to persuade his audience, the British government, to abolish the Atlantic slave trade as well as alert them of the harsh treatment of slaves. He successfully accomplishes his goal by subtly making arguments through the use of character, action, and setting.

    Read More

More about Brutal Events In Equiano's Life

Open Document