Captivity Narratives

Since Equiano was treated so differently from other slaves he developed a greater connection with his master. When Equiano's master was going to leave him, he cried. In The Life of

In the documents “Considering the Evidence: Voices from the Slave Trade” it shows how the Atlantic slave trade was an enormous enterprise and enormously significant in modern world history. In document 15.1 - The Journey to Slavery it talks about the voice of an individual victim of the slave trade known as Olaudah Equiano. Equiano was taken from his home and sold into the slave trade. He worked for three different families while in the slave trade but what is different about him is that he learned to read and write while being a slave. He traveled extensively as a seaman aboard one of his masters' ships, and was allowed to buy his freedom in 1766.

In Equiano's personal slave narrative, "The Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African", Equiano flips the idea that the African people are backwards and barbaric, thus ripe for slavery, by demonstrating his personal exceptionalism through his literacy to show that it is truly the white people who are backwards and barbaric through their own hypocrisy. This reversal that Equiano demonstrates in his slave narrative shows that the savagery of African people exists as a misconception and makes the reader fully grasp the need to abolish slavery and any inequality present. On page seventy-eight, Equiano uses first person pronouns like 'I', 'my', and 'me' to separate himself from the other African people and whites around him. This separation that Equiano creates demonstrates his exceptionalism as an African slave.

In reading, the exceedingly moving texts of Mary Rowlandson’s a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration and Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano ’s I cannot but become on how both share their individual stories of not only being enslaved but being kidnapped and how horrific it was to experience it.

The slave narratives is an integral part of African literature. The slave narratives is a type of literature that appeared in the middle of the seventeenth century and continued to the end of the nineteenth century and was written by the same slaves who lived in oppressive servitude. Indeed Olaudah Equiano is one of the most famous writers in Slave Narrative. The first work was written in 1789, entitled "Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano," by Gustavus Vassa, who is of African origin, who wrote it by himself in this narrative. In this narrative, Olaudah Equiano conveys his ordeal during his arrest in Africa, and then talks about his liberation and success in Europe.

Like distinctive Puritans of her day, the purpose for Mary Rowlandson’s narrative was to express God 's inspiration in her life. In this

Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is a text that describes the experiences of Mary Rowlandson during her captivity by the Native Americans in the King Phillips war. The details about the capture which took place in 1676 are recorded in her diary accounts which were written a few years after she was released. The captivity lasted about eleven weeks and is accounted in the diaries. Rowlandson specifically believes that her experiences were related to the Bible and that the capture was a trial from God which she had to endure in order to survive and remain a true Christian woman who is suitable for the then puritan society (Harris 12).

Captivity is defined as the state of being imprisoned or confined. A tragic experience is given a whole new perspective from Louise Erdrich 's poem, “Captivity”. Through descriptive imagery and a melancholic tone, we can see the poem and theme develop in her words. Erdrich takes a quote from Mary Rowlandson’s narrative about her imprisonment by the Native Americans and her response to this brings readers a different story based off of the epigraph. Louise Erdrich compiles various literary devices to convey her theme of sympathy, and her poem “Captivity” through specific and descriptive language brings a whole new meaning to Mary Rowlandson’s narrative.

The trade of African slaves in the 17th century was perceived as so commonplace that a good deal of the world's population gave it little or no thought. British involvement with slavery became unavoidable at the end of the 17th century, when abolitionist literature gained public attention. The first hand account of life as a slave in Olaudah Equiano's auto-biography was like no other piece of abolitionist literature at the time. The three methods of persuasion in his writing are ethical appealing ethos, logic engaging logos, and his most effective of emotional appealing pathos. Equiano's use of pathos in his auto-biography was effective in persuading the British that slavery is wrong, because of the emotional effects, such as misery, sympathy,

17.1 Captivity and Enslavement, Olaudah Equiano, the interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano written by himself 1. What are Equiano’s impressions of the white men on the ship and their treatment of the slaves? How does this treatment reflect the slave traders’ primary concerns? Equiano’s first impression of these white men is a feeling of uncertainty and sorrow for the future. As his story goes on Equiano is afraid of these white men, but also he is wishing to end it all because of the conditions and treatment of the slaves.

They are often labeled as uncivilized barbarians, which is a solely false accusation against them. This paper aims to address the similarities between Native American beliefs and the beliefs of other cultures based on The Iroquois Creation Story in order to defeat the stereotype that Natives are regularly defined by. Native Americans are commonly considered uncivilized, savage, and barbarian. Nevertheless, in reality the Natives are not characterized by any of those negative traits, but rather they inhabit positive characteristics such as being wise, polite, tolerant, civilized, harmonious with nature, etc. They have had a prodigious impact on the Puritans

An American Slave,” Douglass discusses the horrors of being enslaved and a fugitive slave. Through Douglass’s use of figurative language, diction and repetition he emphasizes the cruelty he experiences thus allowing readers to under-stand his feelings of happiness, fear and isolation upon escaping slavery. Figurative language allocates emotions such as excitement, dread and seclusion. As a slave you have no rights, identity or home. Escaping slavery is the only hope of establishing a sense of self and humanity.

Mary Rowlandson and Olaudah Equiano: Comparing Captivity Experiences Americans have been intrigued by captivity novels and works for centuries. It could be the sense of danger and unpredictability that makes them so interesting and popular. Or maybe the idea that captivity was quite possible for readers in previous centuries made captivity narratives popular in Colonial Times. Speaking of Colonial Times, two popular captivity narratives that took place in that era that have many similarities and differences are; A Narrative of the Captivity of Mary Rowlandson and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.

Analyzing Captivity Stories: How Different Tones Support Different Themes In A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Mary Rowlandson retells her story as a captive of the Wampanoag Indians. In Louise Erdrich’s poem “Captivity”, Erdrich responds to Rowlandson by telling a story about a captive of a Native American tribe through the eyes of the captive. Throughout their stories, both authors utilize diction to produce a specific tone that conveys their overall theme. Through analysis of both authors’ diction choice, it is evident that Rowlandson’s hopeful tone supports her theme of exclusive belief in God, whereas Erdrich’s desperate tone supports her message that beliefs are susceptible to change.

Megan Rochelle Professor Devin Pizzino English 10 November 2015 Title The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is a personal account, written by Mary Rowlandson in 1682. In her accounts, Rowlandson tells the readers of what life in captivity was truly like for her. Mary Rowlandson ultimately lost everything by an Indian attack on her town of Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1675.