The Interesting Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano Or Gustavus Vassa The African Written By Himself Second Edition Of 2 Volume 2

Author : Olaudah Equiano
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781514847312
Total Pages : 100 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (473 download)

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Download or read book The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano written by Olaudah Equiano and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-06 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African, first published in 1789, is the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano. The book describes Equiano's time spent in enslavement, and documents his attempts at becoming an independent man through his study of the Bible, and his eventual success in gaining his own freedom and in business thereafter.Equiano's narrative is written in first person as a whole. Prior to beginning his narrative in the first chapter, Equiano includes several letters that identify him as a person. The opening letters explain him as a person and is used to exemplify his character. Before his readers indulge into his narrative, he makes it a priority to ensure that they are aware of his good character. This is a huge key for Equiano as it sets the stage for what is to come in chapter 1.Equiano opens his Narrative by explaining the struggle that comes with writing a memoir. He is very passionate about the hardships that memoir writers go through. He explains that they often have to defend themselves from those who remain critical about the truth of their work. He apologizes to his readers in advance for not having the most exciting story, but hopes that it serves to be helpful to other slaves in his position. He states, "I am neither a saint, a hero, nor a tyrant." He begins his story with a description of his homeland and the district in which he was born. He was born in the kingdom of Benin. Benin was a part of Guinea. The specific district that he represented was Eboe. Eboe is in the same area as what is now, Nigeria. Within the district, Equiano was born in Essake, a small province, in 1745. He goes into detail concerning his district and the isolation of his province.[2]Eboe, Equiano's district, was very established when it came to rules and laws of governing. Their system of marriage and law were strictly enforced. His father was an elder in the district, and he was in charge of punishing criminals and resolving issues of conflict within the society. Within the district, women were held to higher standards than men. Marriage was seen as extremely important. The bride's family was responsible for providing gifts for the family of the husband, and the wife was seen as "owned by her husband".[3]Dancing was a huge part of the culture within the kingdom. All dancing as separated into four divisions of groups of people, and they all represented an important part of life and an important event in life. The kingdom was made up of many musicians, singers, poets, dancers, and artists. The people of the kingdom lived a simple life. Nothing was luxurious. Clothes and homes were very plain and clean. The only type of luxuries in their eyes were perfumes and on occasions alcohol. Women were in charge of creating clothing for the men and women to wear. But, as far as occupation goes, agriculture was the primary occupation. The kingdom sat on rich soil, thus allowing for health food and abundant growth. Slaves were also present in the kingdom, but in Eboe, only slaves who were prisoners of war or convicted criminals were traded.Some hardships came with an unusual amount of locusts and nonstop, random wars with other districts. If another district's chief waged war and won, then they would acquire all slaves, but in losses, the chief would be put to death. Religion was extremely important in the Equiano's society. The people of Eboe believed in one "Creator". They believed that the Creator lived in the sun and was in charge of major occurrences: life, death, and war. They believed that those who died transmigrated into spirits, but their friends and family who did not transmigrate protected them from evil spirits. They believed in circumcision. Equiano compared this practice of circumcision to that of the Jews.