Olaudah Equiano

A detailed Summary of Olaudah Equiano

Overall Olaudah Equiano had a good life in comparison to slaves of that time period. While many slaves had a short life expectancy and did very unpleasant work, Olaudah Equiano was blessed with doing interesting work and being able to travel all over the world at the same time. Throughout his travels he witnessed the horrific situation of the slave trade, sometimes even first hand.

Olaudah Equiano provides the reader with first hand information that would not normally be brought to light. He describes where he came from and how he got to the state of slavery. Olaudah Equiano is very graphic in giving his description of his native land, which is very important in providing the reader with an understanding of his perceptions of situations. He describes his native land as simple and plain in their customs. After the description of his culture the reader may portray the group as naive. This is demonstrated by their lack of exposure to liquor (page 35) and their contradictory rules for extra-marital relations between mates. However interpreted, his account of his upbringing and surroundings is priceless to the reader. This form of first hand account seems to be left out of all other references to slave trade. Olaudah Equia

Another informative aspect of the narrative was the author's insight as to how freed black men were treated. The author met with people who treated him as an equal and he met with people who treated him no different than a slave. One interesting theme of this treatment was that cities were particularly tolerant and agreeable to the lives of freed men. Island communities and being at sea were like no-mans-land, no rules existed and all blacks were slaves in the eyes of men. Olaudah Equiano was astonished at this, and at how men could have no respect for what he had rightfully earned on his own.

Freedom was not taken seriously and was laughed at by many whites, Olaudah Equiano describes circumstances where freed men were forced into slavery and leaving their families behind. Equiano would have thoughts of this happening to him in all his interactions with people. Freed men also did not have the same rights as other men. A colored man's word meant nothing against a white man's. From this, white men took the liberty of stealing from black men quite often. The author was victim of this from time to time and often there was no restitution for such crimes. However sometimes if he got a white person involved, he could get what he was owed.

Obtaining freedom for Olaudah Equiano was something that he was lucky to have accomplished. Being a rather intelligent m

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Approximate Word count = 927
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History