The Complex Nature Of Equiano s Identity Crisis - 1411 Words

Daniel Miret HUM3306 29 September 2014 Option Three The complex nature of Equiano’s identity crisis Equiano presents himself as an African, who is embattled with a myriad of issues enroute to a foreign land. He starts off as a normal African boy that takes pride in the family unit. His life changes as he is exposed to a life of slavery that makes him wonder just how far he would go to regain his freedom. Equaino is celebrated due to his anti-slave trade achievements, but rather criticized for a lack of authenticity in his plight to free the world of slavery. He begins his narrative with a brief insight into the person he was before being captured. We discover a identity that is in the norm for African society. He presents himself as an African from Essaka, which is in Eboe, and what is currently referred to as Nigeria. Equiano was born in 1745 and was a member of the royal family. Moreover, he presents himself as a common African boy but his family and origins state otherwise. Equiano is engaged in a family that from the onset practiced its form of slavery through ownership of serv ants. His father gives the audience a sense of hypocrisy on Equiano’s part when he rebukes slave trade. The identity of the character Equiano is immediately casted into doubt (Olaudah, 111). In retrospect, the African boy understood the dangers of abduction and was protected and aware of the incessant threat of capture. The fact remains that Equiano had his roots entrenched in a