Ready Reference Treatise: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

By Raja Sharma

“The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” by Olaudah Equiano was first published in 1789. It is the autobiography of the author.

The book is often categorized differently. The scholars and critics have often argued the variety of styles of the narrative. It is generally said to be a slave narrative, travel narrative, and spiritual narrative.

Equiano was a former slave. The book describes his time that he had spent in enslavement. He had begun to study the Bible, attempting to free himself from the clutches of slavery. He was eventually successful in gaining independence and success in business.

Ready Reference Treatise: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Major Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Jan 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310601422

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

Book preview

Ready Reference Treatise: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

Copyright

Ready Reference Treatise: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved

Chapter One: Introduction

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano was first published in 1789. It is the autobiography of the author.

The book is often categorized differently. The scholars and critics have often argued the variety of styles of the narrative. It is generally said to be a slave narrative, travel narrative, and spiritual narrative.

Equiano was a former slave. The book describes his time that he had spent in enslavement. He had begun to study the Bible, attempting to free himself from the clutches of slavery. He was eventually successful in gaining independence and success in business.

Among the genre of the slave narratives, the present book is said to be one of the most widely read and admired. When the book was published for the first time, the author was already well known in English abolitionist circles.

The book has now found its place in several literary and historical anthologies. Since the time of its publication, the book has been able to garner a great amount of critical attention.

The book successfully mobilized the abolitionist sentiment that would secure the end of the slave trade in England in 1807.

In those days, slavery was not legal in the United Kingdom, however, the businessmen were allowed to conduct their slave trade.

According to the author, his main purpose in writing the novel was to abolish slavery. It proved to be successful.

Before the book was published, Equiano somehow convinced the buyers to buy the copies of the book, through subscription method. The number of subscribers continued to increase and when the 9th edition of the book was published in 1794 the subscribers had grown to more than one thousand.

The book continued to gain popularity, and it soon became one of the most widely read book of the time.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

The author begins the book with the introduction of several letters. It has first-person narrative. Through these letters, the author attests the veracity of his text and his good character. Having informed the readers about himself and the text, the author proceeds to the main narrative.

The author informs that he was born in the Eboe province of Africa. He describes the culture of the people living in that region. He reveals that he and his sister were kidnapped and they were sold to slave traders.

They were taken across Africa to the coast. From the coast, the author was sent to the West Indies via the horrific Middle Passage.

Michael Henry Pascal, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, bought the author immediately. Pascal had actually bought him as a gift for his friends in London, but he changed his mind and kept Equiano as an aid toward his naval endeavors during the Seven Years’ War.

It was during that period that Equiano came to know about the Christian God. He began to learn to read and write. He learned skills at sea and through his ability at sea, he proved that he was indispensible to his master Pascal.

For all that, he began to thinks about being a free man. He hoped that one day his master would free him.

To his misfortune, when Pascal learned about his ambition, he quickly and cruelly sold him to Captain Doran of the Charming Sally.

Equiano was shattered when he was sold for the second time; however, he continued to believe in God and resigned himself to God’s will.

Doran, his new master, sold him to Robert King, a rich and benevolent Quaker merchant who had his business in Philadelphia. Robert King proved to be a kind master to Equiano.

He began to work very diligently and happily for his new master. However, he continued to hope for his freedom. He began to think of buying his freedom one day. He was a man with high moral code, so he never thought of running away.

He travelled to America and the West Indies with Robert King. He witnessed the pitiable condition of the African slaves who worked there on the plantations.

He also noticed that the free blacks were somehow worse off than slaves, because they did not have any master to look after them and they did not have any legal opportunities to make their lives better.

Robert King began to allow his friend Captain Thomas Farmer to take Equiano as a sailor on many of his voyages. Equiano proved that he was a good sailor during such voyages and he distinguished himself.

One day, Robert King and Captain Farmer accused Equiano of planning an escape, but Equiano proved his loyalty to them and quashed their fears.

Robert King began to feel guilty, and he promised to give money to Equiano to