American Minority Literature
Example of minority narrative--compare & contrast with immigrant narrative
Olaudah
Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Gustavus Vassa, or Olaudah
Equiano, The African (London, 1789)
Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745-1797)
frontispiece to Narrative
[In
United States literature this
text is widely acknowledged as the first “slave narrative”--an
autobiographical genre popular in the generation before the Civil War concerning the life (and usually emancipation) of a
slave.
[Equiano’s
narrative is noteworthy as the only slave narrative to
describe Africa and the “Middle Passage” to America.
Its authenticity has been challenged, but its passages speak with authority about the
experience of slavery for those born in Africa. This narrative influenced the development of the slave narrative by later
writers like Frederick Douglass (1818-1895).
[The background to passages that follow is that Olaudah Equiano, around 10 years old, is kidnapped from his home and passed through several hands as a slave.
[African slavery
conforms to “Old World slavery,” in
which slaves were treated as low-ranking members of an extended household of
similar ethnicity. In “New World slavery” he finds such family and ethnic ties replaced by commercial decisions
and ethnic divisions.]
Questions for discussion--refer to objectives:
Compare and contrast Equiano's journey and American experience with that described in Yezierska's Breadgivers.
Compare and contrast as minority vs. immigrant.
What similar issues or challenges rise in both narratives?
What differs about these issues?
How do the resulting stories differ?
What is difference between the Immigrant / American Dream narrative and the Minority Narrative are modeled?
Chapter
2
V. All the nations and people I had hitherto passed through resembled our
own in their manners, customs, and language: but I came at length to a country,
the inhabitants of which differed from us in all these particulars. I was very
much struck with this difference, especially when I came among a people who did
not circumcise, and who ate without washing their hands. They cooked their
provisions also .in iron pots, and had European cutlasses and cross bows, which
were unknown to us; and fought with their fists among themselves. Their women
were not so modest as ours, for they ate, drank, and slept with their men. But,
above all, I was amazed to see no sacrifices or offerings among them.
. . . At last I came to the
banks of a large river, covered with canoes, in which the people appeared to
live, with their household utensils, and provisions of all kinds. I was beyond
measure astonished at this, as I had never before seen any water larger than a
pond or a rivulet: and my surprise was mingled with no small fear when I was put
into one of these canoes, and we began to paddle and move along the river. . . .
Thus I continued to travel, both by land and by water, through different
countries and various nations, till at the end of six or seven I months after I
had been kidnapped, I arrived at the sea coast. . . .
The first object that saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast was the sea, and a slave ship, which was then riding at anchor, and waiting for its cargo. These filled me with astonishment, that was soon converted into terror, which I am yet at a loss to describe, and much more the then feelings of my mind when I was carried on board. I was immediately handled and tossed up to see if I was sound by some of the crew; and I was now persuaded that I had got into a world of bad spirits, and that they were going to kill me. Their complexions too, differing so much from ours, their long hair, and the language they spoke, which was very different from any I had ever heard, united to confirm me in this belief. Indeed such were the horrors of my views and fears at the moment; that if ten thousand worlds had been my own, I would have freely parted with them all to have exchanged my condition with the meanest slave in my own country. When I looked round the ship too, and saw a large furnace or copper boiling and a multitude of black people, of every description, chained together, every one of their countenances expressing dejection and sorrow, I no longer doubted of my fate; and, quite overpowered with horror and anguish, I fell motionless on the deck, and fainted. When I recovered a little, I found some black people about me, who I believed were some of those who brought me on board, and had been receiving their pay: they talked to me in order to cheer me, but all in vain. I asked them if we were not to be eaten by those white men with horrible looks, red faces, and long hair. They told me I was not: and one of the crew brought me a small portion of spirituous liquor in a wine glass; but, being afraid of him, I would not take it out of his hand. One of the blacks therefore took it from him and gave it to me, and I took a little down my palate, which, instead of reviving me, as they thought it would, threw me into the greatest consternation at the strange feeling it produced, having never tasted any such liquor before.
Soon after this the blacks who brought me on board went off, and left me abandoned to despair. I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native country, or even the least glimpse of gaining the shore, which I now considered as friendly; and I even wished for my former slavery, in preference to my present situation, which was filled with horrors of every kind, still heightened by my ignorance of what I was to undergo. I was not long suffered to indulge my grief. I was soon put down under the decks, and there I received such a salutation in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life: so that, with the loathsomeness of the stench, and with my crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat, nor had I the least desire to taste any thing.
I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me; but soon, to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables; and, on my refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by the hands, and laid me across, I think, the windlass, and tied my feet, while the other flogged me severely. I had never experienced any thing of this kind before, and although, not being used to the water, I naturally feared that element the first time I saw it, yet nevertheless, could I have got over the nettings, I would have jumped over the side, but I could not; and besides the crew used to watch us very closely, who were not chained down to the decks, lest we should leap into the water. I have seen some of these poor African prisoners most severely cut for attempting to do so, and hourly whipped for not eating. This indeed was often the case with myself.
In a little time after, amongst the poor chained men, I found some of my own nation, which in a small degree gave ease to my mind. I inquired of these what was to be done with us. They gave me to understand we were to be carried to these white people's country to work for them. I was then a little revived, and thought if it were no worse than working, my situation was not so desperate. But still I feared I should be put to death, the white people looked and acted, as I thought, in so savage a manner; for I had never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruelty: and this is not only shewn towards us blacks, but also to some of the whites themselves. One white man in particular I saw, when we were permitted to be on deck, flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast, that he died in consequence of it; and they tossed him over the side as they would have done a brute. This made me fear these people the more; and I expected nothing less than to be treated in the same manner.
I could not help expressing my fearful apprehensions to some of my countrymen; I asked them if these people had no country, but lived in this hollow place, the ship. They told me they did not, but came from a distant one. 'Then,' said I, 'how comes it, that in all our country we never heard of them? They told me, because they lived so very far off. I then asked, where their women were: had they any like themselves. I was told they had. 'And why,' said I, 'do we not see them? They answered, because they were left behind. I asked how the vessel could go. They told me they could not tell; but that there was cloth put upon the masts by the help of the ropes I saw, and then the vessel went on; and the white men had some spell or magic they put in the water, when they liked, in order to stop the vessel. I was exceedingly amazed at this account, and really thought they were spirits. I therefore wished much to be from amongst them, for, I expected they would sacrifice me; but my wishes were in vain, for we were so quartered that it was impossible for any of us to make our escape.
VI. While we stayed on the coast I was mostly on deck; and one day, to my
great astonishment, I saw one of these vessels coming in with the sails up. As
soon as the whites saw it, they gave a great shout, at which we were amazed; and
the more so as the vessel appeared larger by approaching nearer. At last she
came to an anchor in my sight, and when the anchor was let go, I and my
countrymen who saw it, were lost in astonishment to observe the vessel stop, and
were now convinced it was done by magic. . . .
One
day, when we had a smooth sea and moderate wind, two of my wearied countrymen,
who were chained together, (I was near them at the time) preferring death to
such a life of misery, somehow made through the nettings and into the sea:
immediately another quite dejected fellow, who on account of his illness was
suffered to be out of irons also followed their example; and I believe many more
would very soon have done the same, if they had not been prevented by the ship's
crew, who were instantly alarmed. Those of us who were the most active were in a
moment put down under the deck; and there was such a noise and confusion amongst
the people of the ship as I never heard before, to stop her and get the boat
out to go after the slaves. However, two of the wretches were drowned; but they
got the other, and afterward flogged him unmercifully, for thus attempting to
prefer death to slavery. In this manner we continued to undergo more hardships
than I can now relate, hardships which are inseparable from this accursed trade.
Many a time we were near suffocation from the want of fresh air, being deprived
thereof for days together. This, and the stench of the necessary tubs, carried
off many.
VII. During our passage I first saw flying fishes, which surprised me
very much: they used frequently to fly across the ship, and many of them fell on
the deck. I also now first saw the use of the quadrant. I had often with
astonishment seen the mariners make observations with it, and I could not think
what it meant. They at last took notice of my surprise: and one of them, willing
to increase it, as well as to gratify my curiosity, made me one day look through
it. The clouds appeared to me to be land, which disappeared as they passed
along. This heightened my wonder; and I was now more persuaded than ever that
I was in another world, and that every thing about me was magic. At last we
came in sight of the island of Barbadoes,
at which the whites on board gave a great shout, and made many signs of joy to
us. We did not know what to think of this, but as the vessel drew nearer we
plainly saw the harbour, and other ships of different kinds and sizes; and we
soon anchored amongst them off Bridge Town. Many merchants and planters now came
on board, though it was in the evening. They put us in separate parcels, and
examined us attentively. They also made us jump, and pointed to the land,
signifying we were to go there. We thought by this we should be eaten by these
ugly men, as they appeared to us; and, when soon after we were all put down
under the deck again, there was much dread and trembling among us, and nothing
but bitter cries to be heard all the night from apprehensions, insomuch that at
last the white people got some old slaves from the land to pacify us. They told
us we were not to be eaten, but to work, and were soon to go on land, where we
should see many of our country people. This report eased us much; and, sure
enough, soon after we landed, there came to us Africans of all languages.
We were conducted immediately to the merchants’ yard, where we were
all pent up together like so many sheep in a fold, without regard to sex or age.
As every object was new to me, every thing I saw filled me with surprise. What
struck me first was that the houses were built with bricks in stories and were
in every other respect different from those I had seen in Africa; but I was
still more astonished at seeing people on horseback. I did not know what this
could mean; and indeed I thought these people full of nothing but magical arts.
While I was in this astonishment one of my fellow prisoners spoke to a
countryman of his about the horses, who said they were the same kind they had in
their country. I understood them, though they were from a distant part of
Africa, and I thought it odd I had not seen any horses there; but afterwards,
when I came to converse with different Africans, I found they had many horses
amongst them, and much larger than those I then saw.
We were not many days in the merchants' custody before we were sold after
the usual manner, which is this:--On a signal given, such as the beat of a drum,
the buyers rush at once into the yard where the slaves are confined, and make
choice of that parcel they like best. The noise and clamour with which this is
attended, and the eagerness visible in the countenances of the buyers, serve not
a little to increase the apprehensions of the terrified Africans, who may
well be supposed to consider them the ministers of that destruction to which
they think themselves devoted. In this manner, without scruple, are relations
and friends separated, most of them never to see each other again. I
remember in the vessel in which I was brought over, in the man's apartment,
there were several brothers, who, in the sale, were sold in different lots; and
it was very moving on this occasion to see their distress and hear their cries
at parting. 0, ye nominal Christians! might not an African ask you,
"learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you
would men should do unto you? Is it not enough that we are torn from our country
and friends, to toil for your luxury and lust of gain? Must every tender feeling
be likewise sacrificed to your avarice? Are the dearest friends and relations
now rendered more dear by their separation from the rest of their kindred, still
to be parted from each other, and thus prevented from cheering the gloom of
slavery, with the small comfort of being together, and mingling their sufferings
and sorrows? Why are parents to lose their children, brothers their sisters,
or husbands their wives? Surely this is a new refinement in cruelty, which,
while it has no advantage to atone for it, thus aggravates distress, and adds
fresh horrors even to the wretchedness of slavery." . . .
Chapter
3
The
author is carried to Virginia.
His distress.
Surprise at seeing a
picture and a watch bought by Captain Pascal, and sets out for
England. . . .
I now totally lost the small remains of comfort I had enjoyed conversing
with my countrymen; the women, too, who used to wash and take care of me, were
all gone different ways, and I never saw one of them afterwards
I
stayed in this island for a few days . . . when I and some few more slaves, who
from very much fretting were not saleable among the rest, were shipped off in a
sloop for North America. On the passage we were better treated than when coming
from Africa, and we had plenty of rice and fat pork. We were landed up a river a
good way from the sea, about Virginia country, where we saw few of our native
Africans, and not one soul who could talk to me. I was a few weeks weeding grass
and gathering stones at a plantation; and at last my companions were distributed
different ways, and only myself was left. I was now exceedingly miserable, and
thought myself worse off than any of the rest of my companions; for they could
talk to each other, but I had no person to speak to that I could understand. In
this state I was constantly grieving and pining, and wishing for death rather
than any thing else. While I was in this plantation the gentleman to whom I
supposed the estate belonged being unwell, I was one day sent for to his
dwelling-house to fan him. When I came into the room where he was, I was
very much affrighted at things I saw, and the more so, as I had seen a black
woman slave as I came through the house, who was cooking the dinner, and the
poor creature was cruelly loaded with various kinds of iron machines; she had
one particularly on her head, which locked her mouth so fast that she could
scarcely speak, and could not eat or drink. I was much astonished and shocked at
this contrivance, which I afterwards learned was called the iron muzzle. Soon
after I had a fan put into my hand, to fan the gentleman while he slept; and so
I did indeed with great fear. While he was fast asleep I indulged myself a great
deal in looking about the room, which to me appeared very fine and curious. The
first object that engaged my attention was a watch, which hung on the chimney,
and was going. I was quite surprised at the noise it made, and was afraid it
would tell the gentleman any thing I might do amiss: and when I immediately
after observed a picture hanging in the room, which appeared constantly to look
at me, I was still more affrighted, having never seen such things as these
before. At one time I thought it was something relative to magic; and not
seeing it move, I thought it might be some way the whites had to keep their
great men when they died, and offer them libations, as we used to do to our
friendly spirits. In this state of anxiety I remained till my master awoke, when
I was dismissed out of the room, to my no small satisfaction and relief; for I
thought that these people were all made up of wonders. In this place I was
called JACOB; but on board the "African Snow'.'* I was called MICHAEL. . .
.