A Comparison of the Life Accounts of Two Slaves Essay Example

their capture even more devastating. Equiano traveled through various regions of Africa before being transported to North America. Throughout this journey, he was enslaved by different masters, including a chieftain (Equiano 51) and a wealthy widow in Tinmah town (Equiano 62). He briefly had the opportunity to reunite with his sister, but they were parted again and never saw each other again (Equiano 50). Eventually, traders sold him and took him through multiple nations and countries until he reached the sea coast.

Equiano experienced the sale to the owner of a slave ship going to the West Indies, which marked his entry into the cruel treatment of slaves (Equiano 69, 73). He then arrived in Virginia as a slave and was assigned to household and field work on a plantation (Equiano 85). In contrast, Douglass was born into slavery in Tuckahoe, Maryland, not knowing his father's identity. He referred to himself as The American Slave, emphasizing his birth in bondage.

According to rumors, there were claims that Douglass's master was his father, but he was uncertain about the truth of this assertion (Douglass 1). He endured separation from his mother during his youth. Douglass describes how it was customary for slave children to be taken away from their parents and kept in ignorance about their parentage and ages by their masters (Douglass 1). Consequently, both Douglass and Equiano found themselves enslaved. It can be assumed that most slaves during that time were either captured in Africa and sold to slave traders or born into slavery. Both Douglass and Equiano suffered significant pain and hardship as slaves, which reflected the struggles faced by typical slaves of that era.

For example, Equiano had to leave behind his family at a young age when he and his sister were abducted (Equiano 35).

The narrator went through a traumatic event when he was young, which deeply affected him emotionally. It was his first experience with such a situation, and he had to endure the pain of being separated from his sister while in captivity. During his journey from Africa to the Americas, he faced many desperate situations and extreme hardships. The treatment of slaves and exposure to European culture were so overwhelming that he fainted during his initial encounter (Equiano 72).

During his enslavement, Equiano experienced multiple sales, even by masters he had developed strong connections with. One such instance occurred when Michael Henry Pascal sold him to James Doran. Equiano had grown so fond of Pascal that he believed he would not be sold again and was disheartened to learn otherwise. These transitions in ownership were particularly distressing for him as he had no knowledge of who his new owners would be.

Both Equiano and Douglass recount the cruel treatment they experienced as slaves. Equiano describes the harshness of Montserrat, where he faced "bondage…misery, stripes, and chains" (Equiano 190) and dreaded going there. In addition to this, he encountered insults and setbacks from white buyers who refused to pay for his merchandise, used counterfeit money, or claimed false refunds (Equiano 250). Similarly, Douglass states that he was born into slavery and had minimal contact with his mother, seeing her only "four or five times in his life" (Douglass 2) and being separated from her before fully realizing their relationship (Douglass 2). He further explains that the separation of

mothers from children and the deliberate ignorance regarding parentage and age were common practices enforced by most slaveholders (Douglass 1). As a young boy, Douglass witnessed the brutal whippings of slaves, irrespective of their age or gender.

According to Douglass, his personal experience as a slave child closely mirrored that of his fellow slaves. He slept on a cold, damp clay floor with his head in a corn sack and his feet exposed (Douglass 26). In doing so, Douglass explicitly connects himself to the other slaves, who all had to endure laying side by side on the same cold and damp floor, using meager blankets for cover, regardless of their marital status, age, or gender (Douglass 10-11). These were undoubtedly challenging times for everyone involved. Similar to Equiano, Douglass also experienced a change in ownership and began working as a ship carpenter in Baltimore at the age of seven. It was there that he first experienced a taste of freedom, as life as a city slave was relatively easier (Douglass 34).

Eight years later, he was returned to servitude in Colonel Edward Lloyd’s plantations and despised the change in circumstances. He developed resistance to cruelty and eventually escaped slavery (Douglass 107). Therefore, the experiences of Douglass and Equiano illustrate that a typical slave's life involved transitioning from one owner to another, along with enduring severe hardships. Another similarity in their narratives is that both protagonists achieved freedom from servitude and actively campaigned for the emancipation of other slaves. Obtaining liberation was a privilege that only a few enslaved individuals had the opportunity to envy at that time.

Both Douglass and Equiano relied on their religious beliefs to endure

their hardships. Their writings show the influence of this faith as they questioned the hypocrisy of Christian slave owners. Equiano specifically criticizes the separation of slave families and asks, “O, ye nominal Christians! …Learned you this from your God…?” (Equiano 72). The last part of his narrative focuses on his rediscovery of Christianity. Equiano eventually gained his freedom and published his memoirs to expose the cruel treatment of slaves in British colonies, hoping to bring an end to it.

He portrays himself as a modest Christian crusader, striving to alleviate the plight of his fellow brethren by exposing the horrors of the trade to the world. He urges society to recognize him and his fellow black individuals as human beings rather than animals. Conversely, Douglass fled from his owner and penned his personal account for the same goal as Equiano: to bring attention to the hardships endured by slaves, including the unspeakable atrocities. His memoir, specifically, was crafted with fervor and a sense of immediacy, likely designed to sway the emotions of abolitionists, who were his primary intended audience.

The author's aim appeared to be that individuals would experience the suffering of slavery as he did and despise those who enslave, while believing that slavery represented the degradation of human beings and was dividing the nation. He deliberately omitted the specifics of his escape to prevent slave owners from using that information to recapture or confuse future runaways. The author describes his initial sense of freedom as one of the most significant moments in his life, akin to someone who had eluded starving lions (Douglass 107). He concludes his account by starting his first public speech

to a group of abolitionists, declaring his commitment to advocating for his fellow brothers and envisioning a future full of hopeful possibilities (Douglass 117). Douglass's narrative provided the abolitionists with the essential weapon they needed to advocate for their cause.

In summary, the life stories of Douglass and Equiano not only provide a personal account but also give a broader understanding of the experience of being a slave during that time. These individuals were captured in Africa, sold to slave traders, and transported to the Americas. Their children faced the same fate, although some were able to gain freedom. Despite the hardship, suffering, and despair that came with slavery, it was eventually abolished, granting all slaves their freedom in the end.

Works Cited

• Douglass, Frederick. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself. Minnesota: Filiquarian Publishing, LLC., 2007. Print.
• Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Written by Himself.

Edited by Robert J. Allison, this book was published in 2006 by Bedford/St. Martin's in New York.

Print.