Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano’s narrative was profound and moved me in several ways. I have heard many stories of slave trade and oppression, but I felt that Equiano’s personal account was rather touching. I enjoy personal narratives because it helps me to see into what the writer was feeling and how he or she coped with challenging circumstances. Equiano does a good job at painting a picture for the reader as he is traded across Africa. He includes vivid details of the types of people he encountered, the language they spoke, and even the foods he tasted. This kind of detailed account helped me to put myself in Equiano’s position.

            One of beginning quotes the Equiano describes himself as was astonishing to me. He regarded himself as “a particular favorite of Heaven.” When I first read this I admired his humility and also took into account that there were probably many other people who faced much more oppression than he did. However, after reading much of his account I weighed much more on admiring his humility. I felt that Equainao had faced a severe amount of adversity that I would consider life changing. The events that occurred his early childhood have to have such a huge impact on how he sees the world today. I think it is amazing that he is able to have humble outlook on his life now and he is able to acknowledge that he is the person he is today because of the events of the past.     

            I think it is interesting to see how well Equiano dealt with his tragedy throughout the first part of his imprisonment. Equiano describes how he used to climb into the trees to look for kidnappers preying on children when their parents were gone. It seems to me he didn’t see himself ever being in that situation since he was a frequent watch for these criminals. The irony of his capture is interesting and his ability to persist mentally throughout the first part of his capture stuck out as significant to me. Equiano does a good job at adapting to different people in different villages. I feel it would be difficult to not break down mentally by always being uprooted and thrown into a new setting almost every day. However, Equiano does a good job at noting the positives of his journey by describing the similarity in the customs and languages of the villages to his own. He also talks about the joy he felt when he was able to see his sister again. I feel the first part of his journey was bearable because of his ability to persist and his ability to make the best out of each situation. 

            I feel like the real horror of Equiano’s journey was throughout the latter half of his oppression. Equiano talks about being placed in a family in Timmah with very similar customs and with a boy about his age and size. This family seemed to fit well with Equiano and he notes that he could consider forgetting the tragedies that had been placed on him and move forward. However, just as soon as he gets comfortable he is uprooted once again and his thought of ever returning home becomes fleeting. The horror only continues when he a boards the slave ship. I feel that Equiano had to have had a considerable amount of good fortune to make it off the boat alive. He describes how horrible the treatment was to the slaves and how many died. I feel that no matter how much mental vigor one has in such a situation, he or she cannot control disease, starvation, or other people’s actions. Equiano was fortunate to be one of few to make it to Barbados alive and I feel he alludes to this fortune when he comments on being “a particular favorite of Heaven.” Either way, Equiano’s survival on the ship is nothing short of remarkable.  

            The last thing that I found moving was the cries of the African’s parting at the end of Chapter two. The African’s attack the “Christian” buyers with questions pertaining to civility and equality. I found these last words to be powerful and full of truth. It made me reflect on how far we had come as a society against racism and discrimination, but at the same time how similar we sometimes still are to these early people with the words we say and the actions we take.

The Pennsylvania Gazette

I chose to look at the April 15, 1742 edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette. When I first opened the article, a few things stood out to me that were different. The first was that the title contained an odd shaped “s” in Pennsylvania that looked more like an “f” to me. I noticed that this letter appeared in the article any time there was an “s” in a word. This made the article a bit harder to read but I became more used to it the more I read. Another thing that stood out to me was the language used in the text. The article read differently to me than a modern newspaper would read today.  The diction and the printing gave me a different view on how writers and printers distributed information to the public. I can only imagine how these early people would respond to our current newspaper.

            As I was reading the article, I was doing a compare and contrast with the Gazette to our current newspapers. This particular article started off with an excerpt from the Gentleman’s Magazine that was a brief report of a Dutch ship bound for Spain. The bulk of the news from this article was particulars relating to the revolution in Russia and did not start until about the middle of the first page. It seems to me that newspapers today are all about having the big story the first thing that they see on the paper. This difference in the priority of news made it interesting for me to read. I wasn’t sure if there was going to be a main topic of interest or just several short pieces of news. This helped me pay attention to everything I was reading so that I wouldn’t miss something important.

            The actual content of the material was harder for me to relate to because of the different time frame and relevance of the material. However, I did try to correlate current events that I have heard and read about today to the current news in 1742. The news on the Russian revolution talked about Princess Elizabeth and her attempt to take the reins of the government in her hands. It helped me relate better to the article by thinking of current issues relating to power and authority such as the presidential election or the struggle for power in Middle Eastern countries. I tried to see myself reading a paper today with news from 1742.

            After the news on Russia, the paper became to look more familiar with advertisements and current issues relating to parliament, legislative acts, and legal proceedings. There is a column about dues to be paid and laws passed for the Library Company as well as news regarding local shipping. As I read this column, it reminded me of a small Philadelphia because it seemed to read like a small town paper. The last page consisted of mostly advertisements that pertained to land or work. This part of the paper seemed to be fairly similar to the end of our papers today that consist of want ads, advertisements, and coupons.

            Overall, the Pennsylvania Gazette took me back in time and helped me see what the early people of Pennsylvania were doing and what was important to them. I feel that newspapers today are much different from the Pennsylvania Gazette, but are also similar in many ways. News is always changing and people will always want to be updated on current events. Since the Gazette was one of the first papers printed, this was the only source of news that people had besides word of mouth. Today the news is all around us in TV, magazines, and billboards. However, newspapers were effective back then, and they are still effective today.  

Rowlandson's Survival and Belief

The Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson was a good read for me, particularly for my interest in survival psychology. I think it is interesting to understand how people react in life or death situations as well as why they react how they do. Rowlandson’s writing was full of emotion. This emotion captivates the reader and puts them inside Rowlandson’ situation. Many of Rowlandson’s mental processes centered on faith as she was captured and restored. I feel that without her devote faith and patience; her strength would fall short of what was needed to survive.

            It is interesting to note how vivid Rowlandson’s description of the initial attack is. She seems to remember the number of people that were taken from houses, who was afflicted, as well as many other specific events. Some people cannot even recall the events of traumatic situations because they are so flustered and in shock. Rowlandson then quickly turns to her faith for support as everyone around her is being killed. This spiritual response seems normal for early English settlers because of how rooted they are in their faith. They are conditioned to turn to faith in times of trouble because that is what they have been taught and believe. However, Rowlandson previously claimed that she would rather be killed by the Indians than be taken alive. She notes that her mind quickly changed in the moment when the Indians where taking her. It is amazing how the mind wants the body to stay alive and will do whatever necessary to do so.   

As Rowlandson continues her survival throughout the remove, she continues to stay founded in her faith. Rowlandson’s hope grew weak when she was not allowed to see her sister because one of the Indians would not allow it. This hope was soon restored when she found out that the same Indian was soon hanged in Boston. Rowlandson took this positive event as a sign from God and that he was still watching over her. Whether one might believe this to be true or not, it was very important for Rowlandson’s strength during her captivation. When one is put in extreme conditions to survive, it is paramount that hope is maintained. Rowlandson’s hope continued to be maintained through her faith.

            Rowlandson also describes how God “strengthened them (the Indians) to be a scourge to his people.” The Indians knew that the English army was upon them and survival instincts arose in them when food was scarce. Rowlandson describes the Indians eating old bones filled with worms and anything from birds to frogs. The Indians knew they had to eat to survive and continue moving forward or their lives would be in jeopardy too.

            When Rowlandson is finally restored, she does not deviate from her beliefs at all. She happily praises God and quotes scripture in thanksgiving. Many people have a strong faith when hard times come. They quickly look to God for help and restoration. However, when the storm passes we are not as faithful and live relatively independent of God only until the next storm arises. Rowlandson knew that Christ was her rock and this positive mentality carried her through the captivation with the Indians. I feel that having a strong belief in something is vital for surviving hard times. Lance Armstrong does not claim to be religious but found the strength do deal with cancer through family and personal mental vigor. After reading Rowlandson piece I wonder how I would have reacted in her situation and what would have been my strong hold. I can only hope that I would have emulated her behaviors.