Essay Sample on Equiano's Narration

Introduction

Equiano brings to light his memories as bittersweet, especially the events that occurred in the early years of his life. He was kidnapped and sold. He traveled continuously across Africa until he reached Barbados. From one master to another, Equiano had various experience and treatment. Some masters treated him well while others treated him with brutality and cruelty that is unfathomable. Equiano describes the continuous journey across Africa, where they passed through various territories with different inhabitants with diverse cultures some he has never seen. Ships were used to carry the slaves across the Atlantic Ocean into the Americas. Equiano describes the slave ship as having a deplorable condition and was poorly ventilated. The ship had little space and was crowded despite the stench from poor hygiene on the ship. The crew was heartless and cruel with slaves falling sick and dying.

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The crew members of the ship viewed the slaves as ignorant, and they wanted to keep them ignorant so that they would not know how the vessel was run. The crew members were interested in keeping the slaves ignorant since they feared mutiny and it also interested them when the slaves are scared of them. Equiano even believed that the sailors were spirits and not human beings based on how they made the boat move. This show the level of ignorance the sailors kept the slaves.

The covetousness of the slave traders and the shipping screw made them get more slaves packed in small decks with poor conditions. They only cared about getting their 'goods' to the buyers not considering the state in which the slaves were put through. The crew members of the ship, therefore, protected the interest of their masters no matter what the slaves were going through. They induced pain through flogging the slaves in case of an attempt to escape. They considered the slaves their property. They even whipped Equiano and other slaves when they refused to eat. If a slave dies of starvation, the traders will lose so they had to do everything to make the slaves eat including whipping and flogging.

The crew also experienced some remarkable cruelty, and they had to work all through supervising, feeding the slaves and keeping watch on the slaves to avoid any escape. They were under tight supervision of the captain who was white. The ship crew members would see the cruelty towards the slaves, but they were serving their masters hence, they gave cold shoulder on such abhorred brutality.

The abolitionists believe the passage of slaves through the Atlantic Ocean was deadly for both slaves and crew members. The crewmen died more than slaves. The hellish environment and condition that the crew worked made their mortality rate higher than the slaves. The long journeys and hard labor they were put through shortened their lives. Despite them callously acting towards the slaves on behalf of their masters, the crew members passed through tormenting conditions mentally and the brutality of their seniors. Equiano sympathizes with the crewmen.

Conclusion

In conclusion, going through Equiano's narration, the slaves and the crew members passed through hellish conditions on their voyage across the Atlantic Ocean towards the Americas. The crewmen also experienced the mental and physical tortured meted towards the slaves. The crewmen on the slave ship experienced the evocation of grief, fetidness, despair, and fear of reprisal. The heartrending experiences of the crew members led to the deaths of many of them.