Olaudah equiano autobiography excerpt

Happily perhaps for myself I was soon reduced so low here that it was thought necessary to keep me almost always on deck; and from my extreme youth I was not put in fetters. In this situation I expected every hour to share the fate of my companions, some of whom were almost daily brought upon deck at the point of death, which I began to hope would soon put an end to my miseries.

Often did I think many of the inhabitants of the deep much more happy than myself.

Olaudah equiano autobiography excerpt: Interesting Narrative chronicles the life of

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Olaudah equiano autobiography excerpt: One day, when all

We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. Focusing primarily on early Black Atlantic writings--especially in the U. Besides, Britain's exploration ventures to African territories, along with its participation in the Transatlantic Slave Trade, helped to shape perspectives on race that often clashed with humanism's didactic mode.

Richard Hofstadter, cited in Nicholsp. The second implication suggests that the act of writing empowers the slave. Literacy is the vehicle that enables the slave to determine his own self-image and administer control over the events he chooses to relate while writing himself into history. Throughout my paper I will argue that the act of writing becomes a humanizing process, as Olaudah Equiano and Ottobah Cugoano present a human image of the African slave, which illuminates the inherent contradictions of the slave trade.

Olaudah equiano autobiography excerpt: 1. Using examples from Equiano's autobiography,

Written by Himself. London: Author [], p. Geography and Government of West Africa That part of Africa, known by the name of Guinea, to which the trade for slaves is carried on, extends along the coast above miles, from the Senegal to Angola, and includes a variety of kingdoms. Of these the most considerable is the kingdom of Benin, both as to extent and wealth, the richness and cultivation of the olaudah equiano autobiography excerpt, the power of its king, and the number and warlike disposition of the inhabitants.

It is situated nearly under the line, and extends along the coast about miles, but runs back into the interior part of Africa to a distance hitherto I believe unexplored by any traveller; and seems only terminated at length by the empire of Abyssinia, near miles from its beginning. The Interesting Narrative 's style and structure are influenced by other 18th century literary genres, particularly works by Defoe adventure novelsRowlandson Protestant captivity narrativesand Franklin rags-to-riches stories.

It also demonstrates the traditional structure of a conversion narrative, or a spiritual autobiography, through its author's journey from sin to salvation. One of its sophistications is how this narrative shape mirrors the author's physical move from slavery to freedom. The Narrative has also garnered attention as an important piece of travel literature, which was another popular genre in the 18th century.

The Narrative received generally favorable reviews upon publication, and later editions of the work were introduced with examples of that approbation. One negative review was published by Richard Gough in in the Gentleman's Magazine ; Gough wrote that the memoirs were written in a very "uneven style," and that while the first part dealt compellingly with the manners of Africans and Equiano's journey towards freedom, "the second, from that period to the present, is uninteresting; and his conversion to Methodism upsets the whole.

The Question and Answer section for The Life of Olaudah Equiano is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. What does Olaudah mean by "a stickado? His ship was supposed to go to Montserrat —where he thought he would get the last of the money he needed—but the crew receives an order to go to St. Eustatia and then Georgia.

He sells more items and earns enough money to buy his freedom. He goes to the captain to consult with him about what to say to his Master. The captain tells him to come when he and the Master have breakfast. That day, he offers to purchase his own freedom for 40 pounds. With a little convincing from the captain, Equiano's master agrees, and Equiano is granted complete freedom.

In the succeeding months, the captain dies. Equiano writes, "had it pleased Providence, that he [the captain] had died about five months before, I verily believe I should not have obtained my freedom when I did. Equiano expresses his desires to return to England. He has recurring dreams of the ship crashing, and on the third night of his travels, his fears come true as the ship collides with a rock.

Although Equiano is terrified and feels sure he is going to die, he is able to collect himself and prevent the ship from crashing. This traumatic event also causes him to reflect on his own morals and his relationship with God. Eventually, the crew end up on an island in the Bahamas, and are able to find another ship heading to New Providence.

Once they reach their destination, Equiano goes to work on another ship headed for Georgia. After a few interesting interactions in Georgia, he finds a spot on a ship destined for Martinique. Before leaving for the island, Equiano comes across a black woman who needed a church burial service for her child. No white person will help her, so Equiano agrees to perform the role of a parson before he departs for his journey.

Chapter 9 describes Equiano's many journeys, including one to the North Pole with the scientist Doctor Irving, the inventor of a way to distil fresh drinking water. Phipps--Some account of that voyage, and the dangers the author was in--He returns to England. After learning about predestination from multiple figures, Equiano worries he will never be able to fully repent and reach heaven.

He contemplates suicide but does not wish to upset God by committing what was generally seen as a sin. Originally published inThe Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The Africanplayed a large role in "[altering] public opinion" towards the debate over abolition in Britain. Equiano was viewed as "an authority" in relation to the slave trade.

His claims of being born in Eboe now southern Nigeria and being captured and traded as a child gave him definite credibility. However, several people questioned his credibility in the s in order to challenge rising abolitionist sentiments. There were rumours that Equiano was actually born in the West Indies, but these claims were thrown away for being "politically motivated.

InVincent Carretta published olaudah equiano autobiographies excerpt of two records that questioned Equiano's birthplace in Africa. This made Carretta doubt the reliability of Equiano's first-hand descriptions of his home "country" and "countrymen". Carretta explains that Equiano presumably knew what parts of his story could be corroborated by others, and, more importantly if he was combining fiction with fact, what parts could not easily be contradicted.

Because only a native African would have experienced the Middle Passage, the abolitionist movement needed an African, not an African-American, voice. Equiano's autobiography corroborated and even explicitly drew upon earlier reports of Africa and the Middle Passage by some white observers, and challenged those of others. Paul E. Lovejoy disputes Carretta's claim that Vassa was born in South Carolina because of Vassa's knowledge of the Igbo society.

Lovejoy refers to Equiano as Vassa because he never used his African name until he wrote his narrative.

Olaudah equiano autobiography excerpt: Excerpt II. The Middle Passage.

Lovejoy goes on to say: [ 18 ]. The fraud must have been perpetrated later, but when? Certainly the baptismal record cannot be used as proof that he committed fraud, only that his godparents might have. Lovejoy also believes Equiano's godparents, the Guerins and Pascals, wanted the public to think that Vassa was a creole instead of being a fully Black man born in Africa.

He claims that this was because the perceived higher olaudah equiano autobiography excerpt of Creoles in West Indian society and Equiano's mastery of English. InCarretta wrote a response to Lovejoy's claims about Equiano's Godparents saying: "Lovejoy can offer no evidence for such a desire or perception. But to have it off by five years, as Lovejoy contends, would place Equiano well into puberty at the age of 17, when he would have been far more likely to have had a say in, and later remembered, what was recorded.

And his godparents and witnesses should have noticed the difference between a child and an adolescent. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano was one of the first widely-read slave narratives. Nine editions were printed during the author's lifetime, and it was translated into Dutch and German. The work has proven so influential in the study of African and African-American literature that it is frequently taught in both English literature and History classrooms in universities.

The work has also been republished in the Heinemann African Writers Series. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikisource Wikidata item. This article includes a list of general referencesbut it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations.

Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. October Learn how and when to remove this message. Dewey Decimal. Main themes [ edit ]. Summary [ edit ]. Preface [ edit ]. Chapter 1 [ edit ]. Chapter 2 [ edit ]. Reprint, Boston: Bedford Books, Annotated by Colleen A. My father, besides many slaves, had a numerous family, of which seven lived to grow up, including myself and a sister, who was the only daughter.

As I was the youngest of the sons, I became, of course, the greatest favourite of my mother, and was always with her; and she used to take particular pains to form my mind. I was trained up from my earliest years in the arts of agriculture and war; and my mother adorned me with emblems, after the manner of our greatest warriors. In this way I grew up till I was turned the age of eleven, when an end was put to my happiness in the following manner: Generally, when the grown people in the neighborhood were gone far in the fields to labor, the children assembled together in some of the neighboring premises to play; and commonly some of us used to get up a tree to look out for any assailant, or 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.

One day as I was watching at the top of a tree in our yard, I saw one of those people come into the yard of our next neighbor but one, to kidnap, there being many stout young people in it. Immediately on this I gave the alarm of the rogue, and he was surrounded by the stoutest of them, who entangled him with cords, so that he could not escape, till some of the grown people came and secured him.

But, alas!