Olaudah Equiano

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

Biography:

Equiano was born in Esakka, what is now Nigeria, around 1745. At age 11, he was sold to the British as a slave and sent to Barbados in the West Indies; this well-known trip was referred to as “The Middle Passage.” From there, he was transferred to Virginia. For this reason, some writers claim he was born in South Carolina. Along Equiano’s journey, he learns English and studies the word of God.

Themes:

·         The destructive nature of slave trade: This is a theme seen throughout Equiano’s journey because we are invited as readers to relive what it was like for Equiano to be traded into slavery as a child. Equiano and many others that were traded as slaves were uprooted, losing their traditions and their identities.

·         Identity: Since Equiano is taken as a slave so early on in his life, he lacks a sense of self and identity. What is inspiring about Equiano is though he lacked identity early on, in spite of his short comings and the ways of the world, he is able to find one. Once Equiano was freed he was able to make his own decisions about his work and his beliefs including his belief to become a Christian, which helps him discover and identify himself.

·         Christianity: The narrative is an exploration of Christianity and its many forms. Equiano distinguishes between “slaveholder’s” Christianity verses “true” Christianity that he practiced with his Methodist and Quaker acquaintances. Slave traders according to Equiano did not live up to the word of the Bible.

Discussion Questions:

1.      What do you think was Equioano’s purpose in writing his slave narrative?

2.      Why was the second separation from his sister the hardest?

3.      Early in the selection, what did Equiano say about his people’s relations with neighboring communities? How did his people handle encounters with outsiders?

4.      How does Equiano describe the conditions in the hold of the slave ship? What does he identify as the reason for such treatment?

5.      In what ways do the Africans who deliver Equiano to the coast differ from the others he has encountered?

6.      How does Equiano portray the horrors of slavery?

7.      How important to Equiano’s story is his experience with Christianity? How does religion influence his life as a slave?

8.      How does Equiano’s religious experiences compare with that of Martha Carrier?

The Pennsylvania Gazette

The New York Weekly Journal

Containing the Freshest Advices, Foreign, and Domestick

December 22^nd, 1735

From the Pennsylvania Gazette

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/HistArchive/?p_product=EANX&p_theme=ahnp&p_nbid=L64W61QXMTM0NzQ4NDg1MS41MjA1NDI6MToxNToxMzguMjM3LjExMy4yMTk&p_action=doc&f_mode=multipagePDF&f_db=EAN-LIVE&f_release=release_0012&f_issue=1062A3DFCC933A6C&f_page=1062A3DFD8DE88F1

            I loved this letter-like entry in the New York Weekly Journal from the Pennsylvania Gazette. The article discusses the amount of time people have to live, compared to that of eternity. Obviously most people are vain and would want nothing more than to live eternally. Many people fear the unknown, death being one of those unknowns. Simply put, we all have an allotted amount of time here on earth, everyone will die and others will be born and the life cycle will continue. How our allotted time is spent is what is most significant.

            The article quotes a passage of Natural History by Aristotle, that discusses a species of insects that live on a river and their lives are a matter of hours. I could not imagine my lifespan being that of less than 24 hours. To die the same day you were born but to still have lived and learned and experienced a lifetime is beyond baffling to me. Talk about impressive time management skills. The passage quoted goes on to describe an “elder” of this insect species and the advice he gives to the newer generation, only hours younger than himself. This newer generation respects him and regards him as all knowing. When it is time for this elder insect’s life to end, he summons his friends to give his last bits of advice and to admonish them if necessary.

There was a specific quote that this insect said that really resonated with me. The insect began, “Friends and fellow citizens, I perceive that even the longest life must have an end; the period of mine is now at hand: Neither do I repine at my fate, since my great age is become a burthen to me; and there is nothing new to me under the sun, the changes and revolutions I have seen in my country, the manifold private misfortunes to which we are liable, and the fatal diseases incident to our race have abundantly taught me this lesson, that no happiness can be secure or lasting which is placed in things that are out of our power. Great is the uncertainty of life!” I want to live the way this insect has lived. I want to grow old and die knowing that I lived, I learned, and I experienced all that I could in the time allotted to me. I want to live knowing that I did not stress over the things that are not in my power. I love when he discusses that so many things are out of our control and that the uncertainty of life is great and is what can lead us to happiness. I have always struggled with wanting to control things and plan things before they happen. Just recently I have given up my planning; I no longer want to plan out my whole future. I believe that God has a plan for me, and a path for me to follow, and his plan and path are far better than any I could come up with on my own. I have become a much happier person since I stopped planning and started living in the moment and enjoying every experience of every day.

This insect story reminded me of a quote I saw today. The anonymous quote stated: “Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course? Each of us has such a bank. Its name is time. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest in a good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against “tomorrow”. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost health, happiness, and success. The clock is running. Make the most of today.” I love this quote because it discusses, like the insects, that life is short and that we should invest in our own lives, invest in every second to attain happiness and success. Reading this article and this quote, I worry about the time I have lost doing things that don’t matter or worrying about the little things that all seem to have a way of working themselves out.

The article continues on to state that it is of great stupidity to ignore the fact that the happiness of rational natures is indefinitely connected with immortality. “Creatures only endue with sense, may in low sense, be reputed happy so long as their sensations are pleasing, and if these pleasing sensations are commensurate to the time of their existence, their measure of happiness is compleat.” Though this quote is true many are endued in thought and reflection and cannot be made happy by any limited term of happiness. The more exquisite and endearing their enjoyments are, the harder and sadder it is to come to terms with the fact that it is all going to end. I can see how the end of a good thing is sad, but rather than dwell on the sadness of the end; reflect more on the happiness that brought by these experiences, sensations and the enjoyment.

So here is to living in the moment. Here is to taking in every experience, letting the little things go and focusing on the right now. Here’s to trusting in the path that is set for us knowing that it has an end and when that end comes we will be ready and we will remember the happiness our life has given us. All good things must come to an end, but the memories and experiences are evermore.

Anne Bradstreet Poetry P6. 106-114

Anne Bradstreet

1612-1672

I was intrigued by Anne Bradstreet’s poem “Before the Birth of One of Her Children” because she blended the concepts of new life and death. In the poem, Anne is about to give birth to one of her children and as she thinks about the bond between mother and child she contemplates the idea of her children’s lives when she is no longer alive. Anne is true when she says in lines 3-4 “No ties so strong, no friends so dear and sweet, But with death’s parting blow is sure to meet” implying that there is no bond like that of a mother and her child and impending death makes losing such loved ones difficult, if not impossible to bear. For mother and child are so close they are one, in line 11 Anne says, “That when that knot’s untied that made us one, I may seem thine, who in effect am none”. This line referring to the knot’s untied made us one, I picture the umbilical cord that connects mother to child in the womb and how with that life support connection they are in fact one.

  Anne goes on to say that she wants to have her faults buried with her in her grave and her worth and virtue to be solely remembered. I agree with Anne for when we die, it is important to focus on our good qualities and the admirable qualities that we possessed as opposed to focusing on our negative attributes and our faults. Other lines that really struck me were lines 21-22, “And when thy loss shall be repaid with gains Look to my little babes, my dear remains.” When she passes, there will be grief over her loss but what she leaves behind (her children) is beloved and cherished. Perhaps giving the world the gift of her children is the most admirable and respected thing she has done in her life.  

·      Why do you think Anne chose the time during her pregnancy to contemplate her children’s life if she were to die?

·      What is it about the circle of life that makes life and death seem like on in the same? There cannot be new life if there is not death.

It is evident in Anne Bradstreet’s writings that she is a woman of faith and spirit. In her letter “To My Dear Children” she seems to be writing a farewell letter to her children for when she is gone and no longer able to teach them the word and the ways of God. On pg. 111 she states her purpose for writing to her children, “I have not studied in this you read to show my skill, but to declare the truth, not to set forth myself, but the glory of God.” She is not writing to her kids to show her skill but to give them the word of God and to show them how God has influenced her life in everyway. Anne continues to discuss how God helped her through times of sickness. Her writing proves her ideas that God is in ultimate control and power when she states “It pleased God to keep me a long time without a child, which was a great grief to me and cost me many prayers and tears before I obtained one,” (p.111). She believes it is God that kept her without child for so long and that our plan for our lives and for ourselves may not always match up with his plan and his timing for us.

Anne seems to believe that everything happens for a reason and God is always testing us and trying our faith. For example, on pg. 112 she states “ sometimes He hath smote a child with sickness, sometimes chastened by losses in estate, and these times (through His great mercy) have been the times of my greatest getting and advantage; yea, I have found them the times when the Lord hath manifested the most love to me.” There are times in God’s plan that bring sadness or stress or disappointment, and it is in these times that one must further seek Him and his word for God will cast his love on you and help you through. It is the challenges that life brings through God’s plans that shape us into who we are or who we want to become.

·      Do you believe Anne when she says she is writing this just to speak the truth and not to show off her talents in writing? Why or Why not?

·      Do you agree with her beliefs in God and that everything in life is set in his hands and according to his plans? Explain.

What is an American?

What is an American?

I got some interesting answers when I asked four of my friends "What is an American?" Some of the answers overlapped and some were in a category of their own.

The first person I asked responded: "An American is a free person that has the right to pursue any goal or dream that they have."

The second person I asked stated: "An American is someone that has the freedom to be an individual yet still be part of a whole."

The third person I asked gave me a bunch of adjectives and nouns stating what being an American is including: "prom, hot dogs, fire works, beer, BBQ, the red white & blue, and freedom." (Kind of sounds like Texas to me!)

The fourth person I asked said: "An American is someone who lives in America and has ancestors who came to America many years ago. In the near future being American won't only be a nationality but also a heritage. For example, I am a little Scottish, Irish, English, German, and Polish but in future generations they will say they are Americans." (I found this last response to be the most interesting!)