After studying the chart by Carey about the actual birthplace of Equiano, I am tending to believe that he was born in South Carolina. My main reason for holding this belief comes from the fact that the story Equiano told is far more interesting and supports his goals much better than being from South Carolina. A story told by a person who had actually experienced an event is far more moving and one can create a higher amount of empathy from them. I feel as though Equiano, with his goals to abolish the slave trade, would know that he would have to rely on emotion to reach his goals, and he could create more emotion from readers and listeners is they believed the horror stories are events he had actually experienced. My belief that Equiano was actually born in South Carolina is backed up further by the fact he claimed to be from there before he had any type of motivation to not be from there, such as his goals in the abolitionist movement. Good stories get attention, and it would make sense for Equiano to compile experiences from others to create a story that would best support his cause.
I completely buy what Equiano says in The Interesting Narrative; although I think what is said was compiled from accounts of others he heard throughout his life. He gives reasonably descriptive accounts of his time aboard ships, but I was somewhat surprised there were no names of other captives aboard the ship, perhaps because listing incorrect names could draw up a discrepancy later. Like I said above, Equiano tells a good story, whether it is his or not, though, still remains in question.
In response to the arguments that Equiano was truly born in Africa and his story in completely accurate, I think one must look at the entire picture. It is imperative to look at the end result first, then how the result came to be. In Equiano’s case, the end result was a huge contribution to the abolishment of the slave trade; this huge contribution came in the form of his Narrative. Now, with the end result so incredibly dependent on his Narrative, could Equiano take any chances on his story not being interesting enough to gain attention?
Equiano fabricated a story to achieve a goal. His story was not necessarily a lie, but a compilation to produce the masterpiece that is The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano.
Hi Ben. I really enjoyed your argument and agree with you that it is more likely that Equiano was born in 'Carolina' rather than Africa. The description he provided of his African childhood, in my opinion, was vague. I do agree with you that he most likely compiled stories he heard from other slaves to form an artificial African inheritance. As you mentioned, Equiano's main goal was to end the slave trade - he even mentioned it at the beginning of his narrative, ". . . the chief design of which is to excite in your august assemblies a sense of compassion for the miseries which the Slave-Trade has entailed on my unfortunate countrymen. May the God of heaven inspire your hearts with peculiar benevolence on that important day when the question of Abolition is to be discussed. . ." (41). His argument for abolition is stronger if he stated he was born in Africa, kidnapped and torn away from his family, and encountered the horrors of the Middle Passage. I believe it is also important to mention that in Carey's table, two documents were mentioned that stated Equiano was born in 'Carolina.' I am more apt to believe in the validity of two independent documents rather than a personal Narrative written to evoke emotion and sympathy for the abolition cause. Also - I just wanted to mention that though your argument is well written - I believe it could have been strengthened by citing Equiano's Narrative and Carey's table. Either way, you brought up some great points.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that he could have been aiming for a good story in order to push for the abolition of slavery, I do think he would have had a hard time getting away with it if for no other reason than that the opposition would not have stood for it and would have done all they could to denounce him and his claims.(1) As to his failure to recollect names, I do think that could have been because the journey was from his actual memories as opposed to the vivid pictures he uses for his childhood thanks to the research he would have been able to do to assist vague childhood memories.(2) If he could research all of the stories for his childhood, could he not have done the same for the ship logs to add names to the account if he had wanted to?
ReplyDelete(1) The Realities of Equiano's Life. Brycchan Carey 2003-2010. http://www.brycchancarey.com/equiano/nativity.htm
(2) Circumstantial Biographical Evidence. Brycchan Carey 2003-2010. http://www.brycchancarey.com/equiano/nativity.htm