Allisons introduction, which places equiano s narrative in the context of the atlantic slave trade, has been revised and updated to reflect the. Abolition, ethnicity, and identity in the interesting narrative. Olaudah equiano describes national humanities center. Olaudah means good fortune and symbolizes one who is wellspoken.
Slaves were captured in africa, then taken by ship to the west indiesa journey called the middle passage. Olaudahs father was a man of dignity known as embrenche with markings carved into his forehead, and his mother was heavily involved in communal wars. Equiano recorded his story to bring about the abolition of slavery, alerting his readers to the horrific situation endured by those who the interesting narrative was required reading on a black. Analysis of the interesting narrative of the life of. Olaudah equiano slave olaudah equiano the life and writings of olaudah equiano olaudah equiano was a nigerian who by his own account was sold into slavery at the age of eleven but later became wellknown as a recognized author and abolitionist. Olaudah continued to support the slavery abolitionist movement until his death. But this disappointment was the least of my sorrow. Interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african, written by himself. Start reading the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african for free online and get access to an unlimited library of.
The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or. The interesting narrative olaudah equiano of the life of olaudah equiano background as european colonies in the americas expanded, so did the slave trade. Olaudah s book was titled the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african. My father was one of those elders or chiefs i have spoken of, and was styled embrenche. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african written by himself language. Proofread and posted by raluca preotu, august 1999. Using context clues in the selection, list the words give you an idea of what the word means and then give the words meaning. Edited and with notes by shelly eversley introduction by robert reidpharr in this truly astonishing eighteenthcentury memoir, olaudah equiano recounts his remarkable life story, which begins when he is kidnapped in africa as a boy and sold into slavery and culminates when he has achieved renown as a british antislavery advocate.
Olaudah equiano literary analysis and reading strategy. The project gutenberg ebook of the interesting narrative of the life. The life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african by. The life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african, written by himself new york. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african, first published in 1789 in london, is the autobiography of olaudah equiano. Olaudah married in 1792 and had two mixedrace daughters. Equiano the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah. Olaudah equiano s interesting narrative the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african relates equiano s autobiographical life story and was one of the first slave narratives published. Seized and forced into the slave trade when he was only eleven, equiano tells his story as a member of the african upper class, to a subjugated slave, and finally as a free man.
The book describes equianos time spent in enslavement, and documents his. Seized and forced into the slave trade when he was only eleven, equiano tells his story as a member of the african upper class, to a subjugated slave. Interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african written by himself author. From olaudah equiano, the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african, in henry louis gates, ed.
According to olaudah equiano s narrative, he was a born in an eboe province presentday nigeria and was kidnapped and taken to england at a young age and subsequently forced into. Descriptionolaudah equiano, frontpiece from the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano. He later worked on board royal navy vessels, receiving an education and converting to christianity. For the next six or seven months, equiano was sold several times to african masters in different countries.
Instant downloads of all 1427 litchart pdfs including the life of olaudah equiano. He was born in nigeria in 1745 into the igbo tribe. The interesting life of olaudah equiano by olaudah equiano. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. Olaudah equiano from the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano scan for multimedia notes mark base words or indicate another strategy you used that helped you determine meaning. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano by. Interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or. His account, which has to a large extent been verified, tells the story of his amazing and eventful life. The bedford series in history and culture the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano written by himself edited with an introduction by.
Check out this book interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa. Olaudah equiano the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african london, 1789. The life of olaudah equiano chapter ii summary and analysis. And in that shall ye say, praise the lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people. I will trust and not be afraid, for the lord jehovah is my strength and my song. Olaudah equiano at last when the ship we were in, had got in all her cargo, they made ready with many fearful noises, and we were all put under deck, so that we could not see how they managed the vessel.
Questions from the interesting narrative of the life of. Writing expository paragraphsuse print or online resources to. By olaudah equiano transcription, correction, editorial commentary, and markup by staff and research assistants at the university of virginia, sara brunstetter, and john obrien. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equian. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african written by himself behold, god is my salvation. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano published in 1789 slave narrative. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Proofread and pages added by jonathan perry, march 2001. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the autobiography of olaudah equiano.
This revised edition of the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, written by himself, with related documents continues to offer a vivid account of the eighteenthcentury western world through the experiences of one individual. The life of olaudah equiano chapter vi summary and analysis. It discusses his time spent in slavery, serving primarily on galleys, documents his attempts at becoming an independent man through his study of the bible, and his eventual success in gaining his own. Each excerpt is followed by two questions for the students to answer. Request a sample or learn about interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, 3rd edition by robert j. An interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equianopreviously sold in the universally designed tpt storestore rating of 4. Completely revised and edited with an introduction and notes by vincent carretta an exciting and often terrifying adventure story, as well as an important precursor to such famous nineteenthcentury slave narratives as frederick douglasss autobiographies, olaudah equiano s the interesting narrative recounts his kidnapping in africa at the age of ten, his service as the slave of an officer in. Allisons introduction, which places equiano s narrative in the context of the atlantic slave. Interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african, written by himself creator. Until recently, slave studies rarely discussed childrens experiences, but it. Olaudah equiano book report olaudah equiano s the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano is one of historys most raw and multifaceted arguments for the abolition of slavery. In the first several chapters of his autobiography, olaudah equiano describes how slave traders kidnapped him and his sister from their home in west africa and transported them to the african coast.
In its introduction, equiano states that the main purpose of the book is to excite in the readers august assemblies a sense of compassion of the miseries. Olaudah equiano 17451797 was a former slave who became an outspoken opponent of the slave trade. The interesting narrative of olaudah equiano was first published in 1789 by equiano himself and was funded through a subscriber method, which entails buyers purchasing the book before it was finished or published. Strictly for personal use, do not use this file for commercial purposes. As i was the youngest of the sons i became, of course, the greatest favorite with my mother and was. The project gutenberg ebook of the interesting narrative of.
The narrative is argued to be a variety of styles, such as a slavery narrative, travel narrative, and spiritual narrative. In the mid 1750s when he was about eleven years old, olaudah equiano was captured with his sister by slave traders in presentday southeastern nigeria. His interesting narrative of the life of oaudah equiano, or gustavas vassa, the african. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african plates engraved by cornelius tiebout.
He is the editor of the penguin classics editions of the complete writings of phillis wheatley, letters of the late ignatius sancho, an african, and thoughts and sentiments on the evil of slavery and other. I do not own the audio recording of this short story or any of the publication rights. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on litcharts. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano written by himself introduction by atidem aroha full text. List 3 words that describe how slaves were treated on the slave ships. Equiano, olaudah the interesting narrative of the life of.
When olaudah equiano was 11 years old, he and his sister were kidnapped while the adults in his village were working in the fields. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african 1789, ch. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano or gustavus vassa the african. Teach your students to analyze literature like litcharts does. Pdf the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or. Interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, 3rd. During this six or sevenmonth journey, equiano was separated from his sister and held at a series of way stations. The life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african. Each represents some interesting scene of real life, such as a. Excerpts from the interesting narrative of the life of. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african.
The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano essays are academic essays for citation. The interesting narrative of the life of ola udah equiano quotes showing 14 of 4. Descargar the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african pdf gratis espanol. The narrative is argued to represent a variety of styles, such as a slavery narrative, travel narrative, and spiritual narrative.
The life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the. After being forced to travel for several days, equiano and his sister were separated. At the age of eleven olaudah equiano was kidnapped, along with his sister, and sold into slavery. Olaudah equiano 1745 1797 the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, written in 1789, is the autobiography of olaudah equiano. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african, written by himself, is one of the earliest and most widely published slave narratives. The book began with a petition addressed to parliament and ended with an antislavery letter addressed to the queen. I hanover historical texts project scanned and proofread by kathleen diekhoff, may 1998. Portrait of abolitionist olaudah equiano, from page 8 of the pdf version of the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african portait painted by william denton and engraved by daniel orme.
Jan 25, 2011 olaudah equiano was a wellknown abolitionist by 1789, the year he published his autobiography, the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano, or gustavus vassa, the african. Vincent carretta is professor of english at the university of maryland, college park. Interesting narrative of olaudah equiano worksheets. Olaudah equiano was an african slave in london who gained his freedom, helped to support the end of slavery in britain, and wrote about it in his autobiography. The interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano in the classic slave narratives edited with an introduction by henry louis gates, jr new york. But, in 1999, english professor vincent carretta uncovered two documents that suggested equiano was not born in africa. Olaudah equiano describes his homeland in west africa. Mar 17, 2005 you may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at. His book was so popular it went through nine editions while he was still alive.
In this activity students will read four brief excerpts from the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano. It is an abolitionist text as well as a conversion narrative. Excerpt annotation from the 16th to the 18th centuries, an estimated 20 million africans crossed the atlantic to the americas in the transatlantic slave trade. About the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano. The interesting narrative recalls olaudah equiano s life and journey starting in africa, where he was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery.
660 1358 1404 825 186 698 1121 856 828 928 506 593 596 1073 1018 1416 449 550 924 838 924 925 271 849 948 342 1517 1060 954 32 377 1628