The Persuasiveness of the Captivity Narrative - 955 Words

As the most influential black American author of his time, in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African, Written by Himself, Olaudah Equiano illuminated for the masses many of the inhumanities and atrocities associated with the slave trade that previously had been known only to those more intimately involved with it and began an entire new genre known as the slave narrative. Part of the success of Equiano’s narrative must be ascribed to the familiar themes of capture, captivity, and restoration that he experienced and many had read in one of the many â€Å"captivity narratives† that were so popular in early Colonial times. One such captivity narrative that has many similarities to Equiano’s slave†¦show more content†¦Before Equiano’s narrative, slaves were a faceless mass with no individuality or humanity to speak of. His slave narrative put an individual, educated, Christian face to the ongoing bruta lity. Although both Rowlandson and Equiano’s narratives were the first and most influential narratives at the time they were written, the differences between the two are much more significant than their similarities. The most noticeable difference between the two narratives is the portrayal of the captors. While Rowlandson demonized her captors and dwelled on every slight that she received, and even though Equiano received much worse from some of the white-men that he encountered, he often wrote of his admiration for them, their education, and the friendship that was bestowed upon him. Equiano even wrote of one boy who was particularly nice to him, â€Å"I regarded [him] ... as ... my friend, whom I loved, and grieved for, as a brother† (691). The differences in this portrayal can be directly ascribed to the different purposes with which the narratives were written. Rowlandson demonized the Indians partly because she was writing to the Colonialists in an attempt to strengthe n the Colonialists’ hatred of the Native Americans. In this case it would not have been logical to write of their virtues. Equiano, however, was trying to get his captors to sympathize with his cause. While it was