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The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano
Effects of slavery in america
Effects of slavery in america
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Olaudah Equiano demonstrates a shift in tone from dark to fanciful while on the ship highlighting the true tragedy of enslaving young children. In the compacted ship, Equiano describes hearing “the shrieks of women, and the groans of the dying… (as) a scene of horror” (45). Equiano darkly describes his everyday life leading up to slavery as a “scene of horror”. The author's strategic use of diction ultimately creates sympathy from the reader as he explains the hardships of slavery. Soon after, men from the ship “make [Equiano]... look through…(a) quadrant…heighten[ing] (his) wonder (and) persuad[ing] (equiano) that [he] was in another world...and that everything...was magic” (47). Despite his terrible situation, Equiano is still able to find
The North American Slave Trade began when slave traders started to kidnap people of all ages from West Africa. They were forced to endure unspeakable horrors on their trek across the Atlantic as well as when they were finally sold into slavery in the Americas. Olaudah Equiano was one of the few Africans to document his experience on paper, and have his two volume autobiography published. The journey Olaudah suffers through showed the horrors of the trip across the atlantic, but also showed how what he thought and felt about the process as well.
Olaudah tells the story of slavery from a different perspective; “Their complexions too differing so much from ours, their long hair, and the language they spoke, (which was very different from any I had ever heard) united to confirm me in this belief. Indeed such were the horrors of my views and fears at the moment, that, if ten thousand worlds had been my own, I would have freely parted with them all to have exchanged my condition with that of the meanest slave in my own country.” “I asked them if we were not to be eaten by those white men with horrible looks, red faces, and loose hair. They told me I was not.”
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 (Gustavus Vassa) was kidnapped from his African village at the age of eleven, shipped through the arduous "Middle Passage" of the Atlantic Ocean, seasoned in the West Indies and sold to a Virginia planter. He was later bought by a British naval Officer, Captain Pascal, as a present for his cousins in London. After ten years of enslavement throughout the North American continent, where he assisted his merchant slave master and worked as a seaman, Equiano bought his freedom. At the age of forty four he wrote and published his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African. Written by Himself, which he registered at Stationer's Hall, London, in 1789. More than two centuries later, this work is recognized not only as one of the first works written in English by a former slave, but perhaps more important as the paradigm of the slave narrative, a new literary genre.
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
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.
...ns it held. Melville creates a character who never sees the reality on board the ship in his many speculations, particularly because Delano sees the slaves as too ignorant as to be able to devise such a thing, when the grand irony is the he is too blind to see it. Melville reverses the master and slave roles and brings them before a very slavery-conscious audience to whom he leaves the interpretation open, but laden with subtle messages about the horrible institution of slavery.
Slavery consisted of numerous inhumane horrors completed to make its victims feel desolated and helpless. Many inescapable of these horrors of slavery are conveyed in the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. The entire prospect of the duration of the story is to plan an escape from the excruciating conditions awaiting Douglass as a slave. When his escape is finally executed, unpredictable emotions and thoughts overwhelm him. Within the conclusion of his narrative (shown in the given passage), Frederick Douglass uses figurative language, diction, and syntax to portray such states of mind he felt after escaping slavery: relief, loneliness, and paranoia.
As horrible an act slavery is, it was a common practice in England up until the year 1833. Therefore, the occurrence found in the work of Oroonoko : Or the Royal slave by Behn and the information learned in Slavery and the slave trade, found in the Norton Anthology helps the reader put into context the practices of slavery and the slave trade in England during the late 17th century. This story is a criticism of slavery practices and Behn’s dislike of the practices shown through the text by example of the cruel practices of the slave trades.
Use of Diction, Imagery and Metaphor in Seamus Heaney’s Poem, Blackberry-Picking Seamus Heaney’s poem “Blackberry-Picking” does not merely describe a child’s summer activity of collecting berries for amusement. Rather, it details a stronger motivation, ruled by a more primal urge, guised as a fanciful experience of childhood and its many lessons. This is shown through Heaney’s use of language in the poem, including vibrant diction, intense imagery and powerful metaphor—an uncommon mix coming from a child’s perspective. Heaney emphasizes the importance of the experience of Blackberry picking by using diction that relates to sensory imagery and human urges.
He was taken from his home in Africa and forced on a ship with four hundred other men and women who were also being removed from their home. They spent two to four months on this ship, stacked on top of each other, with feces, urine, and vomit surrounding them. There was no ventilation and constant cruelty. The whole time Olaudah Equiano was on the ship, he could not help but think of his sister. He was worried the English would take his sister’s virtues and innocence. He expressed this concern in his narrative when he says, “I commit to the care of your innocence and virtues, if they have not already received their full reward, and if your youth and delicacy have not long since fallen victims to the violence of the African trader” (519). As soon as the ship landed in the Americas, Equiano was sold. He was taken to Barbados, Virginia, and then straight back to England where he was then promised money and freedom if he fought in the British Navy during the Seven Year’s War. But afterwards, he was denied those promises. There is no doubt that his life was difficult and tortuous, but Equiano found a way to not only improve his life, but other African American’s lives as
All captivity narratives contain a great amount of sorrow. Both Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano have a melancholy experience while being captives. For instance, Mary retells the tragic event of her daughter dying from wounds given to her during the kidnapping and her other children being taken from her and wasn’t allowed to see them (66). Similarly, Olaudah suffers a loss as well, when his sister was torn from him, not only
Olaudah Equiano is well known historically as a narrative that overcame slavery in order to achieve the ideal that all men are created equally. At eleven years old when he was abducted, he went through troubling times as an African American and was able to tell his horrifying yet fascinating experience as a slave on the voyage known as The Middle Passage.
In the narrative “From the Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; Horror of a Slave Ship” Olaudah suggest that he was handled and tossed by the slaveholder to ensure his endurance or strength after he was carried on the ship (Equiano 164). As the author speaks of the horrifying experience, the extensive details concerning the speech, and physical appears of the crew, fashions a fictional illustration of someone who has experienced or suffered horror. “I asked if we were not to be eaten by those white men with horrible looks, red faces and long hair.” (Equiano 164). Although, the author illustrates details of the experience he encountered, the most horrible statements declared in the narrative, is the space of the deck below. This space was compact, and created problems for the slaves to breath, which caused some to die. Meanwhile, the narrator asks several questions, and viewed several events which adds to the reader’s suspicion concerning the author’s
In the Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano, Equiano starts right out in the beginning with his story. He starts out with introducing his life as a free African. This could be seen as part of his narrative plot to show the reader how happy he was in his homeland. After the introduction, there is then the story of his life as a slave. This is where sympathetic tactics are initiated of how he was abducted and taken to a different country. There was even a line that hit the emotions of all dead on. He questions that, “ O, ye nominal Christians! Might not an African ask you, learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you?” (Equiano 209). That simple line phrased the entire meaning of what a slave narrative was. He sought out the sympathy of others by using religion to captivate and then motivate them to support slaves having rights like other humans. During this time, religion was a very big entity. She was able to call out the slave masters on their hypocrisy in their religion. She was pointing out the facts saying one thing while doing the other. This is one of the most powerful w...