Racism in Song of Solomon, Push and Life of Olaudah Equiano Essay

Although Olaudah Equiano was not directly involved in American slavery, several aspects of The Life of Olaudah Equiano can be used to understand why the institution lasted so long. A major part of the novel was dedicated to counter one of the major propagating ideas of slavery: the widespread myth that Africans were either not fully human or were of a less developed branch of humanity so enslaving them was moral. Equiano spends the first section of the book

The author, Olaudah Equiano, was born in African Providence of Eboe. Eboe was a small providence of the Kingdom of Benin. Up until 1756, Equiano had never encountered a white individual. In 1756 at the age of 11, Olaudah Equiano and his sister were kidnapped and taken to serve as slaves within Africa. After serving many years as a slave in Africa, he traveled across the continent to the African coast. He was packed into a large vessel with hundreds of other slaves and here his life changing journey out of Africa began.

Another detail that Equiano incorporated within his writing, is the meaning of his name. As he says in the text “I was named Olaudah, which, in our language, signifies vicissitude or fortune also, one favoured, and having a loud voice and well spoken” (Gates Jr. & Smith 121). Equiano was a man who was the youngest born son to village leaders who owned slaves, became a captive of slavery himself, briefly worked in the fields as a slave before following his master overseas and ultimately buying his own freedom. What’s most profound throughout that, is the fact that he used his voice to help others who are stuck where he was able to break free. PBS has an article where

Within the 17th century time period, the many slaves that were captured and forced to succumb to the enduring and arduous labor in plantations, often times integrated into European culture. However, Olaudah Equiano not only adopted European lifestyles, but fully embraced himself in this new found culture, essentially abandoning his values that he inherited from his African origin. Equiano’s newly found passion for the European religion allowed Equiano to become a different man, one who accomplished the almost impossible for a slave, freedom. His motivation, God, allowed himself to strive to accomplish more with his life, but at what cost? Consequently, at times it seemed as if religion blinded Equiano from seeking justice for his fellow slaves. Although an effort was implemented, Equiano still failed to convince the Queen of abolishing the slave trade. Ultimately, Equiano’s journey through cultural assimilation lead him to overpower and drown out his roots and at times showed his hypocrisy, when partaking in the commerce of the slave trade.

Equiano tells of two different types of slavery in his text. As he describes his family Equiano explains that “My father, besides many slaves, had a numerous family, of which seven lived to grow up, including myself and a sister, who was the only daughter.”(Pg. 2) This is the first mention of slavery in the text bringing in the idea that slavery did exist in Africa even before Europeans set foot on the continent. This concept is then revisited when Equiano is kidnapped and brought to another African country to become a domestic slave to a Chieftain. This slavery that he is first sold into seems to be civil and humanizing for the slaves, similar to an indentured servant, it is said that “This man had two wives and some children, and they all used me extremely well, and did all they could to

In both the past and modern times, black people in America have been in danger from our society, but not all agree upon the proper response to this danger. It is obvious that black people in America have faced racial discrimination from both authorities and regular people in the past, but this danger continues into the present. Although it is agreed that this danger exists and needs a response, not all black men agree upon the actions that should be taken in this response.

In the Bible, the book of Hebrews states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen” (King James Bible, Hebrews. 11.1).The spiritual tones of “things hoped for”, plays a significant role throughout Olaudah Equiano autobiography, “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano OR, Gustavus Vassa, The African”. Originally published in 1789, Equiano’s narrative went through a series of revisions throughout his lifetime, finally becoming a bestseller. Equiano’s treasured writing depicts his personal accounts from childhood, holding the status of an African aristocrat in Benin, West Africa, to being kidnapped and forced into slavery in the infamous Middle Passage slave trade. While slavery, attempts to divest Equiano of his hope for freedom, his narrative asserts that spirituality and literary works produce its own liberty and identity in the world.

Discrimination has afflicted the American society since its inception in 1776. The inferiority of the African American race – a notion embedded within the mindset of the white populace has difficult to eradicate – despite the efforts of civil rights activists and lawmakers alike. Many individuals are of the opinion that discrimination and racism no longer exist and that these issues have long since been resolved during the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. However such is not the case. Discrimination is a complex issue – one that encompasses many aspects of society. The impact of discrimination of the African American race is addressed from two diverse perspectives in the essays: “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King .

In the novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison race plays a huge part in the book. So much so that three men of the same race can have such different ideals about what race is entirely. The three i'm referring too are Guitar Bains, Milkman’s friend. Macon dead, Milkman’s father and Solomon, Milkman’s great grandfather. All 3 men have had some sort of effect on Milkman, but each have a past that has affected them to make them who we see them as in the book. Guitar grew up without a father due to an accident. He had to sit by as a white sawmill owner came to his house to talk with his mother about what happened. The Owner got candy for guitar and his siblings while his mom got $40. Guitar was horrified by the news of how they were unable to put his father's body back together, so they laid both pieces next to each other in the coffin. This caused the young Guitar to throw away his candy in the outhouse furious. To this day mentioning sweets will make him vomit. Milkmans father Macon Dead jr is a much different story. Macon had a father and grew up with him, learning and living. That is until he signed his farm away to a white man and they were kicked out. From then on he swore to never be taken advantage of and to never lose his property, but to own it. This made him greedy, cold and selfish to the point of cruelty. The last, but not least important, is Solomon himself. He was a slave who had 12 children in america but flew

Meany people consider African Americans “inferior” today, without dressing up in robes and burning crosses. In fact, there are more of these modern racists than we think. According to a 2015 survey, 51 percent of people from the age of 17-34 say that African Americans are “lazier” than white people, and 43 percent rate them as less intelligent. This is very concerning, especially since the age group that was polled was younger, because this proves that racism is not going away. In fact, racism has not gone away since the 1800’s. These shocking results prove how the effects of slavery truly are hard to shake

Racism has been a substantial part of the black culture for an abounding number of years. Slavery ended only for another brutalized reality to come into fruition. White people killed, lynched, castrated and raped black people with no hesitation or remorse. Black people felt the abhor white people had for them. The system bigotry pushed the victimized black people to edge to the point of wanting revenge and risking their life for other.. Then, there were those black people who thought they were above the cruelty and racism, they were so out of touch with themselves. In the novel, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, the perspective of racism through the eyes of three black men is a crucial part of their characterization and understanding them as black men in the 1930’s.

Throughout Equiano's story he shows how over his lifetime he had gotten in touch with many religions and teachings. As Equiano was traveling he got in touch from the different cultures he was surrounded by .After Equiano was a freed slave he went to Europe where he converted to Christianity. Equiano uses religious appeal to make the reader aware of slavery's injustice by emphasizing how Africans and white people were not treated the same. In his writing Equiano quotes from the bible when he says, “ O, ye nominal Christians! Might not an african ask you , learned you this from God who says unto you , Do you unto all men as you would men should do unto you? “ This quote is implying that all men should be treated with equal respect, and you should treat others how you want to be treated. He is also implying how the white men were not living up to tenets in the bible, they allowed their greed to take over their professed faith. Most slave traders were of Christian faith but they were not following their own beliefs, that all men should be treated the same. This shows how cruel

Ever since the European colonists settled in what is now America, they have used exploitation as a means for their own advantage. Whether done so with the Native Americans who lived on the land before their arrival, or with the Africans who were uprooted and brought to the new colonies, the mistreatment of the “other,” that is, anyone different from the Europeans, was cruel and unjust as they persistently treated them as subhuman. As a result, many African Americans wrote against their mistreatment at the first chance they had. One such author was Olaudah Equiano who establishes his credibility at the beginning of and throughout the entirety of his argument against slavery by portraying his identity in a dual fashion to show his authority on the subject to his audiences.

The narrative by Olaudah Equiano gives an interesting perspective of slavery both within and outside of Africa in the eighteenth century. From these writings we can gain insight into the religion and customs of an African culture. We can also see how developed the system of trade was within Africa, and worldwide by this time. Finally, we hear an insider's view on being enslaved, how slaves were treated in Africa, and what the treatment of African slaves was like at the hands of the Europeans.

The word racism can be broken down into two things: hate and discrimination. These words bind this world together while they also tear it apart. Some may feel so much hatred that it slowly overpowers their inner thoughts and body. But not all deal with racism this way. Some choose to escape the overwhelming pressure and circumstances, others choose to fight. In the book Song of Solomon written by Torri Morrision, she examines characters that exhibit these characteristics. The choices will always come down to two, you either fight or fly.