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.