Jessica Rodriguez Essay -- English Literature

Moton and ParadiseHistorical accuracy in Equianos NovelOlaudah Equianos autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the intentof Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written byHimself, has become a real important piece of literature. Equianoestablished a new type of literature with this novel. It was the starting signalautobiography/slave narrative ever written. Many other slaves, much(prenominal)as Fredrick Douglass, followed his example in writing autobiographiesor slave narratives. Equiano non only gives detailed descriptions ofhis homeland, of which we still know little about, he to a fault gives apowerful account of the Middle Passage. Despite these captivatingaccounts, many another(prenominal) critics have come to question the authenticity ofEquianos history. Many do not believe that he was the man he claimedto be. Although there is about evidence to suggest this, there is notenough to discredit Equianos accounts. Equianos autobiographyoffers a powerful an d truthful account of the writers history, andhis experiences with the slave trade and the Middle Passage. Despitethe critics accusations, Equianos novel is historically accurate.Olaudah Equiano was born in the southern part of Nigeria known asIsseke (or Essaka) in the year 1745. Equiano provides muchinformation on their customs and rituals. He explains in detail thedress, religion, dance, and customs of the Igbo people. One recurringtopic is cleanliness. Equiano states . . . our cleanliness on all occasions is extreme. . . (9). After his kidnapping, he is astonished at the want of cleanliness he encounters. He also describes how important dance is in his culture. Equiano claims, we ar almost a nation of dancers, musicians, and poets. Thus e... ...e to witness the fruits of his hard labor, and he did notquit fighting for what he believed in until the very end. OlaudahEquiano is a historically accurate novel worthy of being handle as aviable piece of literature. Works CitedCar retta, Vincent. Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa? sassy Light onan Eighteenth-century Question of Identity, Slavery and Abolition,20, 3 (December 1999), 96-105Costanzo, Angelo. move Narrative Olaudah Equiano and theBeginnings of Black Biography. New York Greenwood P, 1987.Equiano, Olaudah. Interesting Narrative of the Life of OlaudahEquiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself. New York.Modern Library. 1789.Slattery, Katherine. The Igbo People Origins and History. November 1999. Queens University of Belfast. April 2005.http//www.qub.ac.uk/en/imperial/nigeria/origins.htm.