Term Paper on "Equiano Multiple Personalities While Transitioning From Ship"

Term Paper 4 pages (1189 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Olaudah Equiano's changing occupations and residences throughout the novel, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, his self-perception remains constant. He never sees himself as a slave. From his early childhood abduction in Africa to his being the property of various owners throughout the novel, the text gives little indication that Olaudah Equiano ever truly thinks of himself as a slave. He is never overcome by the depression of the hopelessness of slavery. Rather, he sees the positive in every situation.

He manifests his sense of individuality, of self-possession in three ways. One, he shows no sign of feeling ostracized from his owners, but constantly visualizes himself as a functioning and integral part of every group he associates with throughout the course of the novel. To his mind, his fortunes are mixed with those of the people with which he resides. Two, he sees every change of owner and of situation as a chance for self-improvement. Three, he doesn't believe others are in control of his destiny. He continually refers to his personal choices. Though he certainly feels and reacts to the impact of being treated as a slave by others, his personality and self-image never are those of a slave.

Even in his earliest childhood, Olaudah Equiano displays characteristics of self-possession. Being taken from his family and torn from his home, Equiano does not despair at the disadvantage of his circumstance. He makes a complete assimilation into the new group. He says that the wife of his first owner "was something like [his] mother" (25). The association between his real mother and the wife of his new master shows Olaudah Equiano's compulsion to be and belief that he is an intrinsic part of the new group. Though in these early days Olaudah Equiano has thoughts of returning home, he does not consider himself inferior to his new owners. Indeed, he considers himself part of the family. If his master's wife is like "a mother," than certainly he is like a son. He displays this inclination toward equality in other periods of his life. He feels a familial bond with another of his owners who "was like a father" to him (79). Again, Equiano's placing himself on an equal par with his captors and owners shows his inability to consider himself inferior to them.

His attitude of equality to those around him persists so deeply that it invades his syntax. He includes himself within the groups he travels with through the use of the second person pronoun, we. Speaking of the ship on which he is a slave, Equiano says that "we staid" at dock because "we wanted some hands to complete our complement" (60). The use of the second person puts him on a level of equality with his owner. The desire to procure more shipmates isn't his master's desire alone. He does not go with his master because it was his obligation to submit, but rather because he shared in the desire to increase the crew: "we wanted." His language shows that he considers himself an equal part of the collective.

Instead of focusing on the dread and oppression of his situations, Equiano finds thrill and opportunity in each new encounter. During his initial voyage to the New World, Olaudah Equiano claims that "he saw flying fishes," that he often "with astonishment" watched his captors make measurements, and that "everything about [him] were [sic] magic" (40). He sees the world in a positive light. He is filled with awe and fascination by his new circumstances; he is not… READ MORE

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