Olaudah Equiano s Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is a classical and well known slave Narrative. Olaudah Equiano who also goes by the name of Gustavus Vassa his given name was born in 1745 in a part of Africa that is now known as Nigeria. . Olaudah Equino’s narrative tells the story of his travels as a slave and then as a freeman through the Artic, North and Central America, the West Indies, Europe and Great Britain. This narrative was first published in 1789 and was written by him. When Equiano was eleven he was kidnapped along with his sister and sold to slave traders in the beautiful Island of Barbados. Equiano was of royal African blood and born to the chief Ibo of the Benin nation, but spent majority of his time with his mother. Equiano is the youngest son of seven children. Equiano uses his narrative to paint a descriptive eyewitness account of slavery in the American colonies and in the Caribbean during that time. Through his slave narrative he paints a clear descriptive picture of African culture, including customs of clothing, food and the respect paid to the dead as well as religious customs/ practices. He compares the inhabitants of Eboe or as we know it Nigeria to the early Jews. He also offers his theory that dark African skin is a result of exposure to the hot and tropical climates. In this his also hints that Africans may be the indirect relatives of Christian Europeans because of their Jewish ancestry and argues against slavery. He stands firmlyShow MoreRelatedEquiano s Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano1367 Words   |  6 PagesOlaudah Equiano, the author of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano was captured in Africa and sold into slavery. Later in life, he purchased his freedom and wrote his autobiography in 1789. Equiano experienced hardships beyond imaging in his years as a slave and oftentimes witnessed extensive cruelty by whites towards Africans. Eq uiano s experience of the Atlantic slave trade and middle passage as we understand it today was typical of a regular captive. The Atlantic slave tradeRead MoreOlaudah Equiano s Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Essay1458 Words   |  6 Pages Olaudah Equiano, also known as Gustavus Vassa, traveled much of the world encountering a variety of people from different cultures and backgrounds. In Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, the author witnesses how slavery was imbedded in the economic and social values of his day and age, through the experiences of others as well as himself. Having numerous relationships with people of differing religions, socioeconomic statuses, and principles, he developed a uniqueRead MoreThe Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano s `` Oroonoko, And The Royal Slave `` And Olaudah1781 Words   |  8 Pagesknown slave narratives that give the modern day reader just an idea of what slavery was like are, Aphra Behn’s â€Å"Oroonoko, or, The Royal Slave† and Olaudah Equiano’s â€Å"The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano†. The journey of these two young men, although in many ways are similar, from a larger perspective could not be more different. For Oroonoko a somewhat established young man who comes from royalty, optimizes what it means to be a noble savage. As for a young Equiano who seemsRead MoreEquiano s Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano Essay1579 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout the book The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Equiano tries to say that he is just an ordinary person, but this cannot be the case. He survives several ship wrecks, learns to read and write, and is able to buy his freedom. This is far from ordinary and borderlines with extraordinary. As he describes his adventures he starts by telling you a depressing story of how his sister got separated from him. This sets up the reader to know that there is pl enty more tragedy toRead MoreOlaudah Equianos Influence1139 Words   |  5 PagesInfluence and Career of Olaudah Equiano There have been many authors throughout history who have impacted America, amongst them is Olaudah Equiano. Olaudah Equiano, a slave who wrote about his terrible experiences, not only changed America, but changed the world. Equiano s life and career were divided in two parts: his life as a slave and his life as a free man. He battled the slave ships and helped abolish the slave institutions with the power and depth of his writings. Equiano s most powerful pieceRead MoreThe Interesting Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano, By James Sweet And Katrina Thompson901 Words   |  4 Pagesbook The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano, in which the author recounts his experience as a slave going through the Middle Passage. Other works such as Ring Shout, Wheel About The Racial Politics of Music and Dance in North American Slavery, by Katrina Thompson, and Domingos à lvares, African Healing, and the Intellectual History of the Atlantic World, by James Sweet, can help us garner a deeper insight as to the experiences of Olaudah Equiano by analyzing similarRead MoreThe Life Of Frederick Douglass And Olaudah Equiano1398 Words   |  6 Pagespeople a way to see life through their eyes. Frederick Douglass and Olaudah Equiano were two slaves during those times that were forced into the world of slavery. Frederick Douglass’s â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave† and Olaudah Equiano’s â€Å"The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano† are literary pieces that talk about their views, experiences, and ideas in relation to slavery. The narratives of Douglass and Equiano offer true records of life as a slave. InRead MoreA Narrative Of Captivity By Mary Rowlandson Essay962 Words   |  4 PagesA Narrative of Captivity by Mary Rowlandson and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano are captivity narratives in which the two narrators share their individual stories of being abruptly kidnapped and enslaved. Equiano was an black 11 year old boy who was stolen from his home by African slave traders in 1756. Rowlandson, a 39 year old Puritan woman, was taken in 1675, during King Philip’s War, after Indians raided her town. Although the two authors are both kidnappedRead MoreSummary : Free Slave Voice 1397 Words   |  6 Pagesfor we are many and evil is few. (OE) after reading the excerpt of â€Å"The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African,† it was then necessary to read the complete text. Upon completion of the reading, I found that it was somewhat troublesome because there is not a sense of urgency in the tone of his writing to help his fellow Negros out of their enslavement. The narrative does not provoke the reader to become alarmed at the plight of Negro slave but insteadRead MoreThe Narrative Of Olaudah Equiano1123 Words   |  5 PagesMatter Where Olaudah Equiano Was Born? The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, by Olaudah Equiano, can be described as one of the most successful literary prose written by an African-American up to the start of the Civil War. Autobiographies were not considered a form genre in the literary field at the time it was published in 1789 and few books that had been produced in America gave such garish, solid and adventurous narratives. Equiano s narrative