Equiano Case

Brittney Bowendale

September 7, 2011

Peter McDade

History 202

MWF 11:00-11:50

Writing Assignment 1

In this narrative Equiano develops a voice of his own. He conducts himself as a narrator as well as a character to explain the horrors of the slave trade. His language, tone and description of the experiences he went through in life appeal to the morality of the British. He uses language that the British are familiar with and once used to break free from their previous forms of government. His narrative provides an interesting picture of the different types of slavery he went through. He talks about his experiences of slavery within his own country as well as in the Barbados. Equiano verbosely speaks on the journey aboard the ship and targets a female audience in order to increase awareness of the troubled lives slaves live and wishes to persuade the British Parliament to abolish slavery.

While Africans did practice slavery and buy and sell their own countrymen, he portrays the indigenous African trade system as relatively more humane than the European trade system. With his details it is easy to imagine the life he lived. The descriptive language he uses allows for a comparison of the lifestyle of slaves in Africa and slaves who were victims of the Atlantic slave trade. The comparison of slavery in both lives tends to generate discomfort in order to appeal to the British politicians.

He often speaks of the freedom he earned while being enslaved in his own country. Unlike the white slave traders who did not speak the language of the slaves or attempt to communicate with them, his countrymen spoke with the slaves themselves. Many times he engaged in daily activities with the family and was treated as if he were adopted into the family while enslaved in Africa. This gave him a sense of belonging and also allowed him to inherit his culture and practice traditional customs. Equiano notes that the treatment he received as a slave in Africa made him forget that he was a slave. However, from the moment he was sold into British slavery he was deprived of it all.

Equiano gives a description of the sudden and unexpected change he experienced. He explains his surroundings and talks about the encounter of the inhabitants which differed from all the people of his nation. He then speaks heavily on the time he spent on the ship. He dwells on the harsh treatment the slaves received and unsanitary conditions of the ship to disturb the British readers and cause them to be uneasy. He expresses the desire for death several times due to the filthy and abusive living conditions. The crucial distinction in Equiano's narrative is not between African and British, but between good and bad. As he recalls his experience