Friday Jan 29

The two readings that I found interesting in their differences were Olaudah Equiano and Venture Smith narratives of their lives. Equiano narrative told more of his perspective from Africa and the middle passage that Smith did. In Equiano’s account I received more of the sense of different people and the way they were trying to survive. The people that took Equiano and his sister to try and sell them into slavery were not doing anything anyone else was not doing. The Africans had had slaves for many years before the White people came looking for a group of people that would become free labor. After Equiano is taken to Rhode Island and travels around with his master, he makes it seem like he likes his new life. He also writes like he feels a bit superior because his master gives him so much freedom.

Smith’s narrative was more about his being sold to different masters because of his ‘behavior problems’ and his fight for freedom. He writes a lot about how he tries to escape but then returns to his master because of a man stealing from them. Then he tries to do it the legal way and buy his freedom from his master. He works many odd jobs before he can finally buy his freedom from his master Smith. He later goes on to buy his children and wife with the money he gets from owning a farm. In both narratives there is struggle to achieve their goals and the people who support or hinder them from obtaining those goals.