Critical Analysis of the Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano - Essay Example

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" 2006 Outline: A) The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano and its place inthe literature of the present and the past. B) The central thesis of the The Interesting Narrative C) The problems highlighted by the author. D) Methodology used in The Interesting Narrative E) Conclusions drawn by the author The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano first appeared in 1780s when the idea of African inferiority dominated the public opinion of ‘civilized world’. It was held that people of African descent were unable to perceive Western cultural ideas. Thus the color of the skin was a sign of intellectual inferiority. Equianos Narrative negated the idea of African inferiority marked by the color of the skin. Equianos The Interesting Narrative refers to anti-slavery literature. Equiano is among eighteenth century African authors such as James Albert Gronniosaw, Ottobah Cugoano, Ignatius Sancho, Francis Williams, John Marrant, and Phillis Wheatley. All of them wrote on the problems of on race, complexion, and intellectual capacity and fought for abolition of slavery. These writings resemble much the Indian captivity tales like those collected by Richard Van der Beets in Held Captive by Indians: Selected Narratives, 1642-1836. In the contemporary literature they can be compared with detective fiction or recently published narratives of the Iranian hostages. (Gates, 1985) Equianos Narrative can be a helpful source for those who study history as it describes historic events even though they are blended with personal experiences. One can also find important notices on the development of economic thought. The story would be interesting for psychologists who could track the process of self-construction. The Narrative can be used in political science study. But first of all the Narrative has certain literary value and can be used in cultural studies. In his work Equiano creates the image of himself which combines features of both African and European. This duality frees him from racial limits and allows claiming of the cultural and intellectual identify being superior over ethnic identity. Equiano did not believe in inherited inferiority of cultures which were not Anglo-American. He saw the acculturation of African society in social interaction between nations which would set new customs and shape new manners. Equiano also believed in commerce as a form of social interaction between nations that could acculturate African society. In this case the physical features like skin color would be irrelevant. Equiano stresses on the absurdity of racial ideology and association of one’s skin color and intellectual potential. It’s an offensive social practice to treat people with a different color of skin as inferior ones. Equiano reveals his position in a number of rhetoric questions. If Africans are really ignorant of the European language, religion, manners, and customs who is to blame if they were not taught these? Did not Europeans have uncivilized, and even barbarous ancestors? Who gives the right for white men to treat black men as inferiors? The other more acute problem which implies to the inferiority of African people is inhumanity and injustice of slavery. Describing the personal story of slavery the author wants to show the terror of slavery which implies to the African population. Equiano being an African and becoming a European suffers from duality or ambiguity of character. Through the life Equiano tries to gain self-empowerment struggling against outside control. Still he struggles against his dual identity all his life. So the central thesis of the Equiano’s narrative is slavery, racism and personal identity. The problems of the narrative are defined in an autobiographic story. The vision of the problems is influenced by personal experience of the author. The author tries to appeal to the reader by moral arguments against slavery. He opposes Christian religious values of compassion, mercy, justice and slavery. However on the other hand his position is compromised by his own participation in slave trade after his manumission. (Elrod, 2001) The duality of the author’s character gives him authority to be a credible source of information, an observer with possibility of a strategic maneuver as Equianos self-construction is ‘both an African and an English-speaking subject, an African and a Christian, and an African and a moral human.’ (Manchester, 2003) Equiano manipulates different discourses to argue slavery. Having experience as a slave and free man Equiano’s life story is at the center of the multiple debates within the British empire. Modern critics have a different interpretation of Equianos position as a writer with authoritative voice. (Manchester, 2003) Concerning Equianos discursive identities in self-construction, critics are not univocal in their interpretations. Chinosole says about "marginal and multiple identities," while Rust sees Equianos self as a black African "passing" for a white Englishman. Carl Plasa claims that Equiano uses different discourses to deconstruct his position as an object of colonial rule. (Manchester, 2003) Equiano holds a dual position. On one hand he condemns horrors of the slavery but on the other he admires the system which supports it. His position can be defined as a medium between anti-slavery and a pro-imperialist discourse. We see how the narrators position develops along the narration. Finally the author arrives at a ‘multiculturalist’ position which means neither condemning of white culture nor elevation of his own culture. Equiano sees the road to freedom for his people is in the cultural assimilation. His opinion of white people changes through the story and they are not ’bad spirits’ any more as on their first meeting but he gets ‘astonished at the wisdom of the white people’. Another point of interest is Equiano’s internal struggle between native ideological beliefs and Christian. He gave up his native beliefs to favor Christian doctrine. That’s was the first step in the assimilation process. In the end of the narration Equiano stands out as an English Evangelist. The events on the Mosquito Shore had a great impact on Equiano’s intellectual development and his political thinking. Here Equiano observes numerous barbarities and his aversion to slavery grows. On the Mosquito Shore the author realizes that Christian conversion is not enough to annihilate slavery. He becomes aware of the need of the political solution of that problem. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is an autobiographic story and we cannot say that this is a profound historical analysis with credible statistical data, ethnographic materials or diaries. The narrative is written from the personal experience of the author and events which we observe are highlighted in the light of the personal vision and position. The author uses his own experience and vision to judge the system which he lives in and problems he encounters. On one hand such approach is beneficial and appeals to the reader as the Narrative is written by a person at the juncture of two cultures and the one who was a participant of the events described. This gives credibility to the story. On the other hand the experience of one person as a source of historical information is rather limiting. The author brings in his own ideas and visions. Besides he starts his story with the period of his early childhood which means that some events are rather blurred. Some claim that the parts in which Equiano describes Africa bear too great resemblance to works of European or American authors. Marion Wilson Starling and S.E. Ogude claim that Equianos extensive borrowing from historical sources compromises the narratives accuracy. (Hall, 1999) However the value of the book is the conclusions Equiano brings the reader to. The message the author carries is that no one culture or religion is superior to other. None can be a representative of morality or superior views. Everything depends on individuals and their moral values. He believed that no one can value a person based on one’s reference to certain culture. Equiano recognized the morality of multiple world cultures. At the same time he recognized the universality of Bible moral principles. These principles can be found in many world cultures shared by people of different confessions. Confessing multiple cultural relations Equiano questions the Anglo-American cultural ideology and claims that acceptance of multicultural worldview is the only way to sustainable growth. References Davis, Charles T., and Henry Louis Gates Jr. The Slaves Narrative. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985. Elrod, Eileen Razzari. "Moses and the Egyptian: Religious Authority in Olaudah Equianos Interesting Narrative." African American Review Fall (2001). Sabino, Robin, and Jennifer Hall. "The Path Not Taken: Cultural Identity in the Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano." MELUS (1999). Read More