Olaudah Equiano Analysis

Many can question the qualities that make an American. The first things that typically come to mind are patriotism, fast food, sports, and the idea of freedom. With the events of Columbus treating enslaved Indians like they were nothing, Abigail in The Crucible accusing innocent people of witchcraft, along with Equiano being sold like a product instead of being treated like a human, it is obvious that Americans are more defined by personal gains of money and power, rather than being defined by their freedom. At first glance, the Letters from Columbus it could be thought that these were the stories of the “hero” Columbus’ history of “finding” the Americas. Taking a second look, the money hungry and oppressive actions of Columbus and his crew …show more content…
In this narrative, Equiano tells the sad narrative of how his life changed after his sister and himself were taken one night from his home in Nigeria, put into cloth sacks, separated from each other, put onto a ship, and sold into slavery in Barbados. Equiano’s descriptions of the ship told that it was very crowded with many people, all from different countries, speaking different languages. The men running the ship were white Europeans. The stench of all the people on the ship was so horrendous that it made people physically sick, and many died. “The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any length of time” (Equiano, 10). The European crew was very cruel towards the slaves, and floggings were frequent. In result of some slaves stealing food because they were starving, “The crew procured them some very severe floggings” (Equiano, 12). The accounts of Olaudah Equiano adds to the prompt “What is an American?” because the kidnapping of Africans and bringing them over to the Americas against their will shaped America as we know it. As a result, the second largest ethnic group descended from slavery. Equiano’s personal story gives an intimate view of how white Europeans took unwilling humans from their home and treated them like products in order to receive money and power for personal

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