Olaudah Equiano
This piece reads very easily, as opposed to the other material we have read, which was sometimes hard to understand and took a lot of effort and concentration. The author writes as if he was speaking, and uses certain techniques which I found interesting. For instance, he would write something like, “and then something terrible happened!” (not verbatim) but that would make you want to continue reading to find out what happened. Also sometimes he would be very passionate in his memoir: “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”? How different from Mary Rowlandson, who just kind of relayed the events as they happened. But the difference is that Mary had her faith in God to support her, while Equiano does not much mention God, not that you can blame him.
The author goes back and forth during the story from happiness (before he was kidnapped), to despair (when he was kidnapped), to unspeakable joy when he finds his sister, to unspeakable anguish when they are separated; then he finds a kind of peace when he is bought by some nice people, then despair again when he is sold. He is thrilled to make a friend, then devastated when the friend dies; and this goes on and on. I am surprised he didn’t have a heart attack!
Some images in the memoir really affected me. One was his description of the slave woman with a muzzle on. It brought to mind “Silence of the Lambs.” But the difference is, this was not a Hollywood movie; this was reality at that time. I wonder what Equiano saw in her eyes. What was she thinking? Another difficult part to read was when he and a poor old man have their bags of fruit stolen by whites. “The poor old man wringing his hands, cried bitterly for his loss.” Equiano felt so bad for this man that he ended up sharing his own fruit with him. As bad as things were for Equiano, he never gave up, and finally got his freedom. Talk about an indomitable spirit!
Mindy Pigue
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I felt the constant back and forth of joy and sadness as well as Mindy. His emotions ran like a roller coaster. To have your sister ripped out of your arms, not once but twice is very traumatic. Also to be constantly bought and sold could get confusing. Once he got used to one way of living and working, he was sold. He grew very close to some of his Masters. So much that he was even baptized and Miss Guerin was his godmother. Equiano believed that now he can would go to heaven when he dies. He expressed his belief in fate as well. He believed his fate was in Gods hands and God would protect him. He was taught honesty which he practiced through out his journey.
ReplyDeleteI felt he was very strong and he was a hard worker. It was interesting that masters would beg to have him. His strive for freedom never stopped. As soon as he was kidnapped he would keep track of the sun rise/sun set and landmarks, just in case he got the opportunity to escape he knew which way to go. I feel because of his faith he remained alive. Towards the end of the narrative he was beaten badly to the point of almost death. 18 days of
What bothered me about this narrative was the abuse these slaves had to endure. The whippings and punishments were brutal. The living conditions in the scenes where the slaves had to constantly go under the deck were awful. Instead of Equiano throwing him self over board ( he knew that he would of most likely got caught and it would have been worse) he stayed.
I was so happy for Equiano because he was able to follow his dream. He bought his freedom. The way this narrative is written is great because its like he was sitting there telling us the story him self. It was visual and we weren't left with many unanswered questions.
I wonder if he was ever reunited with his sister and even though he was free, did he ever reconnect with his godmother and previous masters which he grown to like?
Jen Marchese
As I read Olaudah Equiano’s narrative I always heard a voice. I heard a voice not only speaking for himself but for all the Africans that witnessed the horrors of the Middle Passage. As others have stated his work is easy to read and I believe this is because he was in direct contact with the slave trade. Therefore, the depictions of his hardships and the descriptions of the horrors he had witnessed in his journey were coming from a primary source. He was kidnapped at a young age and forced into slavery and for that reason recounts his life with such vivid detail.
ReplyDeleteEquiano is a remarkable figure because instead of just accepting his enslavement, he made strenuous efforts to gain his freedom. He had fate in the equality of men and eventually worked to attain his own freedom. What strikes me the most is his move from a typical slave to an educated seaman. Even in the time where Africans were considered inhuman, he had managed to increase his value over a typical slave and make a progression for freedom. Although he was free he ultimately recognized that even the freed black slaves in America were treated with “profound contempt”, “plundered” and “universally insulted”. He is smart individual for making this realization and heading to London to settle his life instead of remaining in America where there was still danger and tension.
Rex De Asis
This piece allows the reader to understand the pain of the slaves like Equiano during this time. Many times the general actions of slavery are talked about ,but we do not always hear about the transporting of the slaves and how horrible the conditions were as well. Equiano's intelligence and beliefs is what allowed him to truly understand the mistreatments that were going on and feel the need to want to gain freedom even though he knew it would be a struggle. I agree that a powerful statement in the memoir was "Learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you”. This shows that not Equiano not only knew that the things going on were not only wrong morally but from a religious aspect as well.
ReplyDeleteChanel Merchant
Even though it is so hard for me to read about the brutal actions and horrible mistreatments that the African slaves had to endure, in particular, Olaudah Equiano, I agree that it is important to read about and be aware that these conditions existed in the 1700’s. I have read in the past about slavery that existed but not till one reads his memoirs can one feel the strong impact of cruelty that existed.
ReplyDeleteConsidering that Equiano had given up hope when he says “I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native country or even the least glimpse of hope of gaining the shore (683), I still admire Equiano for his strength and determination to survive. His writings are written with such exact detail and excitement, the reader is constantly anxious to find out what happens next.
I was relieved at one point reading that Captain Doran had given Equiano over to a good master, as well as reading later on that his master will not sell him, even though he received many offers (695). At least he had something good going for him.
There will always be slavery in some part of the world and we must be aware of it. There is torturous crimes happening every day, but we don’t know about them. At least Equiano had written his memoirs so America can know what’s gong on.
Eva
I do agree that the reading was one of the easiest to read. Though, i was somewhat saddent with all the Equiano went through. It was like "God" was playing tricks with him, He gave Equiano happiness but moments later will take that away from him. As i was reading this piece it came to me that Equiano was a bit luckiers than many of his fellow countrymen. The "white" man were sometimes nicer to him.
ReplyDeleteI felt bad when he talked about wanting to die and wanting to have the same faith as those that drowned. It was easy to read but hard to bear.
-Vanessa Martinez
"Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" is a wide-ranging tale of Equiano's life: from early childhood to enslavement, to travels and finally earned freedom; through new experiences, novel and horrifying sights, and long and wearying travels. The images in Equiano are truly vivid, as Mindy points out, though their veracity is complicated by the introductory possibility of his having been born in Georgia and never having stepped foot in Africa.
ReplyDeleteEquiano also brings to light an inherent humaneness possessed by his African relatives and by him, and his contrast with the white slavemasters, captains, and seamen. As Mindy quotes, "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?” This brings to mind de Vaca, who decried the Spaniard "Christians" in their image as Christians. Even the so-called kind Quaker Robert King is cruel, and immoral -- how can one enslave another human being in this manner, expose one to terror, physical danger, and psychological distress, against one's will? What Equiano brings to light, once again, is the incomprehensible cruelty and unthinking state of so many human beings -- people who upheld family values, professed an ethical religion, established a government based upon truth, justice, liberty, and happiness for all, and claimed generally to lead moral lives.
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ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Mindy's take on Equiano's biography. He was indeed an individual with "indomitable spirit!" to have gone through what he went through and not give up. What I truly loved about his biography is how he gives the reader an historical account of how Africans lived before they were sold into slavery. Africans were not barbarians who ate each other on a daily basis, who lived in filth, or slept with animals(yes, some actually believe that these were how Africans used to get through their days, I know right, what the fudge?). Equiano was actually born into royalty in a beautiful world called Africa, and contrary to what people believed and still believe about Africans, about how filty and dirty they were or are, hum, yeah, Equiano and his people cared about cleaniness and wash their hands before they ate which is still norms that are followed today. I also have this theory about violence, hate, and who the true barbaric individuals were. Reading Equiano's biography, I see a civilized, strong, hard working society. Yes, the fact is that there were tribal wars between the different tribes, the Ibo, Hausa, Yoruba,and others. These tribes sold their prisoners of war among each other and to the English and the Americans which I can say, being an African, really pisses me off and makes me embarrased but this is not about me, it is about Equiano. Even when the prisoners of wars were sold to other tribes, these prisoners were treated like human beings not animals which is completely unlike how they were treated when they were sold to the English and the Americans. I mean seriously, what the fudge? Oh and the Africans are the barbarians?Oh sure that is freaking convenient, what do u call being raped, being mutilated, being beaten, whipped to an inch of your life? humane? Oh fudge that. These so called slaves did not believe that humans with these kind of cruelty existed until they were sold to the English and the Americans. I also agree with Mindy when she brings up how passionate Equina is especially when he stated: “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”?. How can these so-called Christians call themselves christians when they were treating their fellow human beings like crap but hey they probably believed in the whole Cain and Able bull**** theory, hmmmmm, moving on,
ReplyDeleteI think Jen asks an important question which was that " if he was ever reunited with his sister and even though he was free, did he ever reconnect with his godmother and previous masters which he grown to like?". There are countless stories of slaves who were seperated from their familes and were never reunited which always kills me when I hear it. Some slaves never even remember their names or what their families look like, but I can't help but wonder if I was a slave seperated from my family, brainwashed by my captors, made to believe in a new system disregarding my past, if I would want to be reunited with my family. I think I would be too shameful to tell of my experience(whatever awful experiece that it may be) to my family, I wonder ifI would want them to see me because I am not who I was. I don't know man, I am going to watch som Barney or teletubies to get me in a better mood.
I liked the easy-going style, the historical flashbacks, etc, etc, etc... what I think holds the most substance is that yet again, like in Phillis Wheatley's "On being Brought From Africa to America", we see how the only way for a former slave to get anything published is through their public conversion to Christianity. By doing so, they are perceived as non-threatening to their white audience of the time. Perhaps they were true believers of the faith, that is neither a matter I'm interested in challenging nor questioning. The true danger of slavery is not the constant mutilation of bodies but rather the idea of bestowing inferiority on a race, inducing a massive blow of low self-esteem, to the clear extent where for African narrative to be read its author needs to be, must be at some level European-like. Not that they had another choice, or did they? That is still a matter of debate for me.
ReplyDeleteDiana Sanchez
I also saw the pation in his writing. In the commentary written before the actual piece it explains that the facts of this writing are questionable. The way the piece is written however makes it sound extrememly realistic. From the very beggining he describes his homeland, not just the town but the actually length of its land. He described his "father" as being the head of the tribe and what this entails. "My father was one of those elders or chiefs I have spoken of, and was styled Ebrenche;" He even goes as far as to describe the actual ritual that becoming a tribe leader entails. "This mark is conferred on the person entitled to it, by cutting the skin across att he rop of the foreheas, and drawing it down to the eyborws." All such vivid descriptions make this "biography" sound all the more real, despite the skeptacism.
ReplyDeleteMeghan Farrell