Olaudah Equiano Reflection
I found the excerpt from the book, The Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African had left a significant impact on me after I had finished reading the entirety of chapter two. The chapter began with Equiano describing his childhood. One aspect of his childhood that had great significance on his life was the short anecdote about how when he and the other children in the area would go out to play, but they would also climb up in the trees to be lookouts for potential kidnappers so they could warn the others to attack. After he told that story, he told the one about the day his people were not there to help secure his safety so he and his sister, who were all alone, were kidnapped. That was the day that his life was changed forever. He then goes on to describe his different encounters and experiences with a variety of his slave owners and masters. Last was his description of life on a slave ship at sea and his arrival to land. As a white female, I cannot identify with Equiano’s hardships, but I definitely made me feel appreciative …show more content…
“It would be tedious and uninteresting to relate all the incidents which befell me during this journey, and which I have not forgotten; of the various hands I passed through, and the manners and customs of all the different people among whom I lived…” (21). He went on to say how instead of focusing about all of his suffering and misfortune, he would reflect on the different countries, cultures, landscapes he encountered. I thought he was brave and mature for choosing to do this. I was not surprised at how mature he was because he had to do so at such a young age. He was only eleven when he was taken from his country and thrown into the hardships of slavery. Just when he thinks things are looking up, they get worse again. The cycle was a continuous feedback loop called his
Similarities Between Equiano And Mary Rowlandson
389 Words | 2 PagesEquiano vs Mary Rowlandson Human rights is defined as “the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are considered to be entitled, often held to include the rights to life, liberty, equality, and a fair trial, freedom from slavery and torture, and freedom of thought and expression.” This isn’t what Equiano or Rowlandson were allowed. Though both had different situations, they had many similarities as well. The two narratives, Equiano and Rowlandson, are similar in that they both were captured for money, but different because of their attitude towards their individual situation. To begin with, we see that both stories share a motivation for their captors, which is money.
Compare And Contrast Equiano And Rowlandson
127 Words | 1 PagesThe worst bearing of both Rowlandson and Equiano has to face was being separated from their own love ones. Rowlandson was separated from her family and relations when her village was attacked then eventually lost her only child that was with her. Nevertheless, Equiano also endured tormented pain when he was parted from his sister while she was the only comfort to him at once. He was a young boy in a fearful atmosphere with nothing to convey a positive perspective. “It was vain that [they] besought than not to part us; she was torn from [him], and immediately carried away, while [he] was left in a state of distraction not to be describe”.
Olaudah Equiano Rhetorical Analysis
683 Words | 3 PagesIn Equiano's personal slave narrative, "The Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African", Equiano flips the idea that the African people are backwards and barbaric, thus ripe for slavery, by demonstrating his personal exceptionalism through his literacy to show that it is truly the white people who are backwards and barbaric through their own hypocrisy. This reversal that Equiano demonstrates in his slave narrative shows that the savagery of African people exists as a misconception and makes the reader fully grasp the need to abolish slavery and any inequality present. On page seventy-eight, Equiano uses first person pronouns like 'I', 'my', and 'me' to separate himself from the other African people and whites around him. This separation that Equiano creates demonstrates his exceptionalism as an African slave.
How Does Frederick Douglass Use Direct Language
1257 Words | 6 PagesFor years, the institution of slavery existed in the United States and was characterized by the legal, inhumane treatment of those enslaved. One of the most prominent figures during this time was Frederick Douglass, an African-American abolitionist who detailed his own experiences in the practice. Having spent most of his life enslaved and wishing to escape, when he finally did he would find himself in a new and overwhelming situation. In this excerpt of his autobiography, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” he describes his life after escaping slavery and shows how his state of mind goes from being enthusiastic over freedom to suddenly fearful and lonely. To convey his change, Douglass uses deliberate language, such as various
Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis Essay
958 Words | 4 PagesIn the autobiography Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, the author details the horrors and dehumanization of slavery in the south. Douglass utilizes paradox and powerful diction to illustrate his transformation from slave to man in mind, body, and spirit. After overcoming his oppressor, Mr. Covey, Douglass declares, “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” Douglass captures the reader’s attention with use of word play and allusion, he clearly indicates the turning point of the memoir and his transformation from slave to man. Douglass uses an allusion to the Bible, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away
Frederick Douglass Literary Analysis
799 Words | 4 PagesSlavery is wicked and gory and monstrous and that is well known today but during the time it was well known. In Frederick Douglass’s, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass tries to persuade everyone to stop the madness and recognize how awful slavery is; to do this he uses comparison and realization leading to the reader being blown away by this one slave’s life story. The goal of Douglass’s writing makes the reader see slavery in a different light. This is why Douglass’s writing is such a heavy read. To get his point across he talks about how monstrous his whole life is, starting for the very beginning when “... the child has reached its twelfth month, its mother is taken from it” (Douglass 1.4) Douglass had to go through
Olaudah Equiano Ethos Pathos Logos
679 Words | 3 PagesFor example, when he told of his arrival in Virginia when he was the last of his group left at a plantation with no one to talk to and no way to understand those around him. To the British readers, who thrived in their own daily social interactions, the thought of such a lonely situation created feelings of pity and understanding. Equiano thought that he was “worse off than any of the rest” of his companions and “was constantly grieving and pining,” because of his loneliness. The British readers related to his emotional distress and allowed themselves to see him as a person. Therefore, they were more open to his ideas on slavery as a whole, because they could relate to Equiano's
Frederick Douglass: Overcoming Obstacles
392 Words | 2 PagesDouglass managed to overcome the maltreatment of his wretched slave owners through the eventual attainment of freedom. The injustice imposed upon the African-American slaves by their owners was the crux of Douglass’s motivation to escape this inhumane life. Adolescents in today’s society could use Frederick’s determination as an example of moving forward to better oneself or one’s situation regardless of
Emotional Irony In Frederick Douglass
1876 Words | 8 PagesWhile learning to read and write ultimately helped him escape, it caused him suffering beforehand. More thorough understanding of slavery made him angrier with his masters, less satisfied with complacency, and more anguished at his position. What he read was liberating and crushing simultaneously, and he detailed this ironic duality in describing his anguished emotions at the time. The writings themselves also prompted discussion of the irony in hypocritically oppressive slave owners who claim to be Americans for freedom and Christians for equality but force the opposites on slaves. Describing his stressful emotions, which happened to be situationally ironic, creates an effective emotional appeal to sympathy similar to the childhood chapters.
12 Years A Slave Movie Analysis
1268 Words | 6 Pages12 Years A Slave Do you care about human rights? Do you feel like injustice, racism and oppression has been and still is a huge issue in America? And most importantly, do you care about the cruel and brutal history of slavery and the consequences it has had for the future generations of African Americans? If the answer is yes to all of the above, then it is an absolute necessity for you to watch the movie 12 Years A Slave!
Equiano In Black Robe
700 Words | 3 PagesOne interesting, yet saddening, fact we learn is how his name changed from the proud name his family had given him, to one that was from the Bible: "In this place, I was called Jacob; but on board the African snow I was called Michael." (Page 93) From this chapter itself, we learn that the appearance of the Atlantic World to a colored outsider is something to be feared. Not only were they forced into slavery, but also the conditions that they had to survive in were atrocious. Equiano doesn 't discuss the journey to the Atlantic World as an adventure, but more as a fearful reminder that nothing would ever be the same as it was once being. On the other hand, we are given the example of Black Robe.
Frederick Douglass Syntax Analysis
1186 Words | 5 PagesIn this except from the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass (1844), Douglass tells the story of the obstacles he faced as a runaway slave. Douglass speaks of the excitement he experienced after first escaping; he soon realizes that he will forever be bound to the paranoia caused by the idea of getting caught, and he challenges his audience to place themselves in his situation. Douglass’s purpose is to reveal the physical and emotional hardships faced by runaway slaves and to encourage the people to do something about it. He writes with tones of loneliness and paranoia to an audience who does not understand the trials runaway slaves face, in hopes that they will recognize the cruelness of slavery and make an attempt to end it.
Olaudah Equiano Journal Entry Analysis
136 Words | 1 PagesOlaudah Equiano begins his journal entry by describing the ocean and the slave ship, which were the first things he saw when he was taken onto the slave ship. He was fascinated by them, but he soon realized that it was going to be a horrific journey. Equiano’s first thought was that they were going to kill him, for they had a different skin tone, bore long hair, and spoke a different language. The crew beat Olaudah when he refused to eat. The conditions under the deck where Equiano lived were dreadful: people were packed together so tightly that they were fighting for breathing room.
Captivity And Enslavement, By Olaudah Equiano
1405 Words | 6 Pages17.1 Captivity and Enslavement, Olaudah Equiano, the interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano written by himself 1. What are Equiano’s impressions of the white men on the ship and their treatment of the slaves? How does this treatment reflect the slave traders’ primary concerns? Equiano’s first impression of these white men is a feeling of uncertainty and sorrow for the future. As his story goes on Equiano is afraid of these white men, but also he is wishing to end it all because of the conditions and treatment of the slaves.
My Bondage And My Freedom Frederick Douglass Literary Analysis
616 Words | 3 PagesHe uses these experiences to show just how unjust the treatment towards slaves was. As a child, he was not allowed to learn like many of the white children were, they wanted to keep the slaves ignorant
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