The interstiong Narrative of the life of Otandah Equiano

Equiano describes many of the horrors involved with the slave trade. Choose one passage from the narrative that had the biggest impact on you. Be prepared to discuss your choice.

“I then was a little revived, and thought, if it were no worse than working , my situation was not so desperate; but still I feared I should be put to death, the white people looked and acted, as I thought, in so savage a manner; for I had never seen among any people such instance of brutal cruelty; and this could I have got over the netting , I would have jumped over the sind not only shown towards us blacks, but also to some of the whites themselves….”
This passage was really shocking to me because this passage really revealed the fear Equiano felt on the ship. This passage tells us that Equiano would have suicide if he could. This shows how afraid he was. And it really shocked me that he would rather kill himself the staying on the boat. Furthermore I was also shocked my how cruel the Europeans were, they were so cruel that Equiano would rather kill himself then stay in the boat. That to me is really shocking.

What do you think motivates the slave traders to behave so cruelly?

I think they treated the slaves cruelly because they had not choice. They needed to have all of the slaves under control; they have to treat them cruelly and scared the slaves so they will listen to them. Because there were more slaves then white sailors so if they weren’t able to keep the slaves under control then the slaves would be able to rebel. Also the slave traders are white and they would think they are superior to the black slaves.
Although terrified as a captive on the slave ship, Equiano's curiosity still surfaces. What marvel does he encounter and how do they affect him?

He has encountered a lot of different activities on the ship the sailor's talking to other sailors on other ships, the ship believing to be sailed magically and the horses in America all made him amazed. And I think all these events made him afraid but at the same time respecting the whites powers. Also he recognizes the vast difference between the two cultures always referring to the whites as they and blacks as we.
Eauiano suggests that the cruelty he and his fellow captives experienced are "hardships which are inseparable form this accursed trade” of slavery. What do you suppose he means by this?

I think he means that slavery in itself is inhumane. The culture of the trade is cruel to the people being traded. With the traders benefiting from the trades (European’s) the people being traded (African’s) have to pay the price. And this therefore is cruel and unfair, because just for the benefit of the Europeans the Africans have to suffer generations of hardship.

Surviving in such harsh circumstances is difficult, and many African captives died aboard the ships. What have you learned about Equiano that may have helped him survive his ordeal?

There were two major factors that allowed him to survive this ordeal. The first being his age, from the story we can determine that he is young. As a result, he was taken care of more. When he was hurt the sailors took him on to the deck and made him feel better. Also with his age he was more able to adept into a new environment. The second factor is curiosity. His curiosity also allowed him to survive this trip. The was curious about everything and this allowed him to be enthusiastic when he sees new things and this kept him from being sad all the time so he wasn’t so depressed, therefore allowing him to survive the voyage.
As a free man, Equiano became an abolitionist and worked to end slavery. If he could travel in time and see American society today what would he say? What would he take pride in? What would he want changed?

I think he would have been proud of today’s society. Although he would say that we still have a lot to go. Even though African Americans can now all live as free men they still are predominately in the working class, a lot of them even fighting poverty. Only a few of them make it up the rug earning a better social status, many though sports. Although he would agree, looking at the presidential elections, that the country has gone really far. Not only just recognizing their rights as free men but also respecting there abilities to lead and giving them a chance to become president. So he would be proud of the counties progress to no racial discrimination. And of course he would want the country to be free of racial discrimination.
Imagery:
1. We were all pent up together, like so many sheep in a fold - visual
2. Flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast - visual
3. They tossed him over the side as the would have done a brute- visual
4. the other ship got her boats out, and they came on board of us and the people of both ships seemed to be glad to see each other. -visual
The produce copious perspirations so that the air soon became unfit for respiration - small
5. Several of the strangers shook hands with us black people - movement.