Comparison Of Olaudah Equiano And Frederick Douglass
American slavery is said to have been a man’s culture. Douglass had written that there was a bunch of different looking types and classes of people that were now being held as slaves that originally came from Africa. Both men came from different upbringings and different cultures and customs. Being a slave from Africa where he was born, Equiano started his life as a free man. The happiness of his people from his home was guided by the life of plain lifestyle, which was described to be “jubilant and clean and never indulged in alcohol or condoned laziness. ” That made the separation of Equiano and his family was the hardest aspect of his kidnapping. The separation of him and his sister, “doubled his wretchedness of his situation. ” Equiano later wrote that he found comfort onboard the ship being around other people from where he was from.
When comparing Douglass’ narrative and Equiano’s there are some graphic and crude details that are left out. For example, Equiano writes that he got his first whipping on the ship, but does not indicate that this flogging was that bad. While Douglass’ account shows that he was “severely flogged as he wrote that the lashes cut through him leaving marks that were visible for a long time. ” The writing of Equiano can be said to have been written with the thought of his audience of the time, as his writing was popular with those interested in travel literature. His writing is not formal. The life led by Equiano could be described like the life of a traveler, unlike Douglass who never used any details describing his life as a slave that could count as interesting. He mainly focused his writing on authenticity. His main theme within his writing is escape and not traveling.
Frederick Douglass is described to be one of the smartest authors in the nineteenth century. He was one of the most famous considering he was the first escapee to openly declare out against slavery. He fought for equality, no matter what the persons race is. Douglass was taught to read by his mistress, the wife of his master, which led the master to declare that “learning was to spoil the best slave in the world. ” This led to Douglass buying a book that opened his mind and inspired his speech and writing skills. After that, Douglass did not deal with the abuse because then he resulted to defend himself. Which earned him respect because he was no longer punished. The small freedom that Douglas got from his master, the privilege of wages, made him capable to live independently and this allowed him to plan, and ultimately escape. Douglass talked a lot, explain that he was against slavery as his main cause, and another reason he spoke openly was because of the struggle against slavery and discrimination slaves received. He even started to raise a fund that was used to help fugitive slaves.
He even lobbied the president during the civil war to make slaves become free and organize the black regiment, which was the first military unit consisting of black soldiers. He stated that whites were lack-luster when it came to recruit for the union. He never stopped fighting for commitment to equal rights. He even told the young generation to continue making a statement as he never stopped to making a statement himself. Olaudah Equiano was also a prominent African person that fought toward the abolition of the slave trade and for equal rights. Even though he was a slave, he had earned his freedom and did end up working as an author; he wrote his autobiography that depicted the horror of the slave trade and using that helped law makers abolish the slave trade. Equiano had been kidnapped and sold to the European slave traders, and was transported among other to the British colony of Virginia.
His writing talked about the cruelty of the slaves in slave-owners homes. They suffered the iron gag used around the mouth to remain them silent, which made them unable to speak or eat. He talked about the fear he was experiencing in his new environment. His was shocked by this new culture so much he used to wash his face to try and change the color of his face. He got trained in seamanship as he was naval slave and then was sent to school to learn and read. After Equiano learned to read, his new master taught him about religion, he even allowed him to trade in order to profit on his own for his master, and that allowed him to earn him his freedom when he was in his twenties. Equiano then travelled to Britain where he joined the abolitionists who inspired him to write his life story and then publish it.
Even though their narratives are very different, Equiano and Douglass did overcome racism and cruelty because their message was being heard, and because they were able to learn how to read and write, which helped lead them to be free men. They also contributed a considerable amount of help in the of abolishment of slavery. There was no being able to read and write helped pave the path. The writers of slavery and African Americans had come a long way, starting with exploring their language, and being able to produce outstanding and meaningful literature. Because of this, it helped in the growing development of culture and literature, which in turn ead to strong writers.
