The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African
by Gustavas Vassa
- 1 Document
- 19 Members Following
Follow a topic to see new activity, such as homework help questions and answers, in your personal feed on the homepage.
At a glance:
- Author: Gustavas Vassa
- First Published: 1789
- Type of Work: Slave narrative
- Time of Work: c. 1750-1789
- Setting: West Africa; Virginia; the Atlantic Ocean
- Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography
- Subjects: Virginia, Freedom, Africa or Africans, Slavery or slaves, Religion, Friendship, Middle Passage, England or English people, Eighteenth century, Christianity, Ships, Reading, Sailing or sailors
- Locales: Virginia, Africa, United States, North America
Form and Content
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African is considered the first major slave autobiography in English literature. It served as the prototype for the numerous fugitive slave narratives used in the fight against slavery by the abolitionist groups during the period prior to the Civil War.
In the mid-1750’s in West Africa, the eleven-year-old Olaudah Equiano and his sister are kidnapped and sold into bondage. After serving for a short time as a slave in Africa and being separated from his sister, he...
(The entire page is 1917 words.)
Want to read the whole thing?
Subscribe now to read the rest of this article. Plus, get access to:
- 30,000+ literature study guides
- Critical essays on more than 30,000 works of literature from Salem on Literature (exclusive to eNotes)
- An unparalleled literary criticism section. 40,000 full-length or excerpted essays.
- Content from leading academic publishers, all easily citable with our "Cite this page" button.
- 100% satisfaction guarantee READ MORE
Popular Questions
See all »- The Interesting Narrative of Life of Olaudah Equiano 1) Why is Equiano allowed to be kept on deck rather than in the hold? 2) What...
- In the book, "The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano, the African," what is the significance of "written by himself?"
- How does Olaudah Equiano's "The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano" use language to demonstrate the author's purpose?
- What is the story of Olaudah Equiano?
- How did Olaudah Equiano respond to the conditions he experienced in the Middle Passage?
