1. In the
introductory chapter, Equiano mentions his father, and also the culture within
his country while he was growing up. Equiano’s father was a part of the
Embrenché – which was a set of chief men who decided the punishments for people
who committed crimes. He listed a few examples of what type of punishments
would be given, such as adultery and kidnappings. Then he went on to write about
the culture within the country. He talks about the African culture is heavily
influenced on dancing, music, and poetry, but also writes about how the living
style is very plain and simple. Agriculture was the main employment, and
everyone did something to contribute to it. They believed in one Creator, and
though there weren’t any places to worship, there were still priests around for
worship. He goes on writing about how he shipped from Africa with his sister,
but it was not long until he was separated from her. Equiano writes about the
kind of masters he was sold to, and I couldn’t believe what kinds of
punishments slave owners acted upon their slaves. In his narrative, Equiano
tends to steer towards a more logical stance for his audience is more the abolitionists
acquired in the legal fields. I think Equiano’s writing had more of an
informational style to it; it seemed to have logic mixed with a little emotion.
I think it was amazing to read that Equiano did not stay within North America
during his time as slave. He was shipped from Africa, but each time he was sold
to a new slave owner, it could have been in somewhere in the south, or in a
different country in Central America. It is also really interesting to read
about the friendships that were created between the slaves and the slave
owners’ children. Reading about Equiano’s friend, Dick, was an inspiring story.
It was fascinating to see how much Equiano thought of Dick as a friend, and as
a person of a different race. He thought of Dick to be his “best interpreter”,
and he could be “free with him”. I think it’s inspiring that as children,
slaves could befriend the children of their masters and be open and create a
close friendship with one another. The thing that I feel like I get most out of
reading these slave narratives is that the writings are so personal to the
authors, and as a reader, I feel like I should be the one doing something about
this horrible time. I’ve never read a slave narrative before, so I never really
knew what to expect from it – other than the idea that it would be the slave’s
story. However, I feel as though it is so much more than just a story. It’s an
emotional, informational piece of writing that makes you feel guilty for what
the slaves went through, and during the time of slavery, it made readers want
to put an end to such a terrible event.
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
The Life of Oludah Equiano - 2 Reflections
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