The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano has many elements of the slave narrative, which was a type of memoir written by former slaves or stories about slavery from the perspective. Gullivers travels a letter from captain gulliver to his cousin sympson. Following the publication of his interesting narrative, equiano traveled throughout great britain as an abolitionist. Start studying the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano. Olaudah equiano sthe interesting narrative ofthe life ofolaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african, written byhimselftells the story ofa young man who was captured and put into slavery at the age ofeleven. Equiano expanded his activities in london, learning the french horn and joining debating societies, including the london corresponding society. Equiano died eight years later on march 3, 1797 in england. When he was about ten years old, he was kidnapped by africans known as aros and sold into slavery. I use equiano as an introduction to american slave narrative literature and demonstrate the important influence of autobiographical form and style on the whole range of africanamerican literature up to the present day, including its impact on such writers as richard wright, ralph ellison, alice. The life of olaudah equiano chapter i summary and analysis. Further, people expect memoirs to have dramatic events and great personages if they are to be interesting. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african by olaudah equiano first published in 1789 this ebook was edited by hogarth blake ltd download this book and many more for free at.
Equiano grew ill, first with chilblains and then with the pox, but he soon recovered. Equiano travels to england and becomes apprentice to a. He accomplishes his rhetorical purpose of informing the world of the slave experience in this narrative. He continued his travels, visiting philadelphia in 1785 and new york in 1786. As to religion, the natives believe that there is one creator of all things, and that he. The man and his works uses the critical essay format to assess chinua achebe as a person, a writer and the inaugurator of the literary tradition of cultural nationalism. Equiano describes it as the happiest day of his life.
The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano or gustavus vassa the african paperback published august 15th 2006 by waveland pr inc paperback, 190 pages. Widely admired for its vivid accounts of the slave trade, olaudah equiano s autobiography the first slave narrative to attract a significant readership reveals many aspects of the eighteenthcentury western world through the experiences of one individual. As he was firmly indebted to the kindness of farmer and king, he continued to sail with them, but now as a paid steward and sailor. Equianos early life in ibo country, as a slave in southern america. He describes how he was kidnapped with his sister at around the age of. Equiano published his autobiography, the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. According to his famous autobiography, written in 1789, he was born in what is now nigeria. The second edition reproduces the original london printing, supervised by equiano in 1789. His 1789 autobiography was immensely popular, and he is considered the originator of the slave narrative, although there is controversy regarding his birth. Literacy and the humanizing project in olaudah equianos the.
Olaudah equiano, was a former enslaved african, seaman and merchant who wrote an autobiography depicting the horrors of slavery and lobbied parliament for its abolition. Narrative, which will be the primary text used in this study, sollors writes, equianos voice is both that of the african as the title page of his book promises and that of a european xix. Olaudah equiano about 17451797 was one of the most prominent people of african heritage involved in the british debate for the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. Africans who were writing slave narratives were expressing their intelligence in literacy. Abolition, ethnicity, and identity in the interesting narrative. This selection from equianos narrative provides a sobering descrip tion of the middle passage and the operation of the slave trade. The book describes equiano s time spent in enslavement, and documents his attempts at becoming an. He names the names of the different ships that he comes in contact with during his service on a manofwar in the seven years war. A refutation of virtually the entire historiography surrounding the outcomes of the revolution, this epic narrative traces the shift from the ideas of liberty to the politics of order during the difficult period between 1783 and1800. Editions of the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah. Among his many adventures, equiano had the opportunity to sale to the arctic in 1773 in search of the northwest passage. Olaudah equiano s capture by slavetraders at the age of ten took him from life in what is now eastern nigeria and thrust him on a fateful journey that would submerge him in an incomprehensible world.
Mar 27, 2020 olaudah equiano, selfproclaimed west african sold into slavery and later freed. Equiano was born in 1745 in essaka, a small province so far from the sea that he had never heard of it or of white people. Summary of the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano. The title says the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano and it certainly was interesting.
Equianos father was an elder called an embrenche in his society who helped decide disputes and punish crimes. Classic books library presents this brand new edition of the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african, an autobiography published in 1798. Pdf downloads of all 1277 litcharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. King taught him to read and write more fluently, guided him along the path of religion. If he were a european, he might think that hes suffered greatly, but compared to his fellow africans he feels that providence has actually been relatively kind to him. Equiano opens his narrative with an explanation of his struggle to write a. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african. Olaudah equiano 1745 1797 was an 18thcentury african writer and antislavery campaigner. Equianos enslavement was enforced at sea on royal navy ships.
Equiano s travels brought him to turkey, martinico, georgia, montserrat, grenada, france, and even to the north pole. Equiano acknowledges the difficulty of escaping the charge of vanity for writing a memoir, a genre usually dealing in remarkable events. Equiano apologizes that he is neither a saint, a hero, nor a tyrant. Eboe had an established system of law and marriage.
Equianos modesty stems in part from his selfconscious identity as a christian. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. He emerged a gifted writer and has provided insights into centuries of slave trading and why the relationship between black and white seems always in favor of white. First published in 1789, equiano s engaging narrative. We have new and used copies available, in 0 edition starting at. For equiano, though, theres another clear motivethe interests of humanity that include the slave trade. Vincent carrettas equiano, the african is the complex narrative of a carolina slave who bought his freedom, married an english woman and published a memoir on his life as a seafarer and gentleman. Olaudah equiano was an african writer and abolitionist.
Afterwards, he went with pascal to holland to carry the late duke of cumberland to england. Equiano arrived in london to lodge with a relative of pascal and his two amiable sisters, the miss guerins. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano or gustavus vassa the african was published in london in 1789. Equianos travels by professor paul edwards editor, olaudah. Olaudah equiano alias gustavo vassa 1745 in igbo dem heutigen nigeria. At the age of ten he was captured by slavetraders and taken to the southern states of america. Pdf the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah. War at sea this chapter is about his life on the sea and the different places that equiano visits. I hope you will be ready to own publicly, whenever you shall be called to it, that by your great and frequent urgency you prevailed on me to publish a very loose and uncorrect account of my travels, with directions to hire some young. He braved the harsh conditions of the middle passage to the. Equiano published his autobiography, the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african, in 1789 as a twovolume work. This selection from equiano s narrative provides a sobering descrip tion of the middle passage and the operation of the slave trade.
Equiano sjourney from slavery to freedom takes place over the next ten years, not justat a physical level, but at. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano. He, however, is an obscure person not known to the public. It is one of the earliest books published by a black african writer. Olaudah equiano contributes to this horrid history with the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano. He was sent to barbados, then to colonial virginia, and then sold to a british naval officer. Equiano s multilayered appeal for abolition of slavery. Englandand perhaps, as a result of his writing the. Thus i continued to travel, sometimes by land, sometimes by water, through. In the 1760s and 1770s he saw action in the mediterranean, the channel and north america.
Olaudah equianos views of slavery in his bridgewater state. Mar 17, 2005 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Buy equiano s travels by professor paul edwards editor, olaudah equiano, s e cgude adapted by online at alibris. His autobiography, the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african, was first published in london in 1789 and went through nine editions in the next five years. Olaudah equiano, selfproclaimed west african sold into slavery and later freed. The life of olaudah equiano study guide gradesaver.
The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano or gustavus vassa the african 3rd edition. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano wikipedia. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you. Although equiano was living in london when his memoir was published, he was still only almost an englishman equiano 56. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. During his time in africa he went through a series of slave owners but they were very friendly, soon after he was forced onto a slave ship where he lived the worst experiences ever. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the autobiography of olaudah equiano. It is one of the earliestknown examples of published writing by an african writer to be. However, i kept asking myself why reading this autobiography felt more like reading gullivers travels than a former slaves account of his life. In 1773 he accompanied irving on a polar expedition in search of a northeast passage from europe to asia. Summary of the interesting narrative of the life of.
Throughout my paper i will argue that the act of writing becomes a humanizing process, as olaudah equiano and. Olaudah equiano was born in 1745 in eboe, in what is now nigeria. Olaudah equiano was a british citizen and former slave who, in the 1780s, became a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. In service to captain pascal and subsequent merchant masters, equiano traveled extensively, visiting england, holland, scotland, gibraltar, nova scotia, the. From an early age, olaudah equiano experienced the horrors of slavery first hand. In his biography, he records he was born in what is now nigeria, kidnapped and sold into slavery as a child. Captured far from the african coast when he was a boy of 11, olaudah equiano was sold into slavery, later acquired his freedom, and, in 1789, wrote his widelyread autobiography, the interesting. Equiano continued to travel, making several voyages aboard trading vessels to turkey, portugal, italy, jamaica, grenada, and north america. In his autobiography, olaudah equiano writes that he was born in the eboe province, in the area that is now southern nigeria. Olaudah equiano was an african who was kidnapped from his village in africa at the age of eleven. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, written in 1789, details its writer s life in slavery, his time spent serving on galleys, the eventual attainment of his own freedom and later success in business. Equiano purchased his freedom in 1766 and became active in the british antislavery movement.
Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, written by himself, became a bestseller both in england and america, and fueled the beginnings of an antislavery movement. Born in nigeria, african writer and abolitionist olaudah equiano was sold into slavery as a boy. Equianos journey from slavery to freedom takes place. Through this narrative, the appalling personal experience of each slave is depicted.
Olaudah equiano was born in 1745 in a village east of the niger river in what is now nigeria. Ten things to know about olaudah equiano kentake page. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano book summary. Olaudah equiano the interesting narrative of the life of. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano essays are academic essays for citation. This enabled him to become a british citizen and he began writing about his experiences. Pdf teaching guide to the interesting narrative of the. Olaudah equiano and the eighteenthcentury debate over africa.
He spent most of his time in slavery serving captains of slave ships and other british navy vessels. The narrative is argued to represent a variety of styles, such as a slavery narrative, travel narrative, and spiritual narrative. Equiano s travels the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano or gustavus vassa the african by olaudah equiano and paul edwards and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. A teaching guide from the antislavery literature project, with a crosscultural study guide coauthored by shi penglu. Equiano became a slave at the age of 11, he was kidnapped and was seperated from his sister soon after the kidnapping. Thus i continued to travel, sometimes by land, sometimes by water, through different. Equiano s travels is based on a real venture of a slave named olaudah equiano or gustavus vassa which was a name given to him by one of his masters. In 1789 he published his autobiography, the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano or gustavus vassa, the african. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or. In 1792, equiano married an englishwoman, susanna cullen, and they had two daughters. Olaudah equiano and the eighteenthcentury debate over. This gave him an opportunity to travel widely while transporting slaves to various parts of continue reading equianos travel. The interesting narrative and other writings summary. Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible.
Equianos travel olaudah equiano was a nigerian who was kidnapped and sold to slave traders when he was just eleven years old. Excerpts from the interesting narrative of olaudah equiano. Equiano begins his narrative by acknowledging how memoir writers often must defend themselves against claims of vanity. Born around 1745, he was the son of an african ibo chief. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african, first published in 1789 in london, is the autobiography of olaudah equiano. During this time, equiano saw one young sailor cursing wickedly. But, eventually one of his master gave him his freedom. Edwards and walvin, black personalities in the era.
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