Honest Equi:
After reading “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” and reviewing the information concerning his place of birth, I am convinced that Equiano was born in Africa. There are several reasons that have led me to this conclusion, but one that stands out more than the others is Equiano’s character, mainly his honesty.
Throughout the entire narrative, Equiano places his emphasis on integrity and honesty, especially his own. At one point Equiano contemplates the measures he would be willing to take in order to obtain his freedom, and finally concludes “… I always remember the old adage: and I trust it has been my ever ruling principle, that honesty is the best policy.”[1] Equiano’s innocence can hardly be debated.
Equiano’s good fortune as both a slave and a freedman is also a symbol of his character and trustworthiness. As a slave, Equiano enjoys a higher standard of living than many men and women in his position. He is able to gain the trust of each master he works for and even rises to the position of clerk. Following his emancipation, Equiano receives a document from his old master, Robert King, in which King vouches for Equiano’s character and specifically mentions how he, Equiano, “discharged his duty with honesty . . .”[2] Equiano then continues to find good fortune in his employment, where he works as a hairdresser for a former associate, Captain O’Hara, followed by service to a Dr. Irving, and with another man by the name of Captain Richard Strange. Equiano’s employers shared a close relationship with Equiano and deeply trusted him. While working elsewhere, for example, Equiano is approached by Dr. Irving, who had recently purchased a ship, and asks Equiano to accompany him to Jamaica to start up a plantation business. Equiano recalls what the doctor said to him: “he would trust me with his estate in preference to anyone.”[3] Another example, while working for Captain Strange, Equiano experiences an epiphany and is ready to take leave, but the captain himself insists Equiano stay on board and continue on their journey to Cadiz.[4] Equiano's honesty and ethics left his employers truly valuing and honoring this man.
Obviously a man in Equiano’s position is going to present himself as a humble and trustworthy individual in hopes of building rapport and gaining the reader’s empathy and support. Equiano’s honesty stems down deeper than the references he makes throughout the book, though. For one, Equiano knew the challenges he faced in writing a book of this proportion and the intense scrutiny it would undergo. Like Brycchan Carrey states on his website, “Readers in the eighteenth century were not fools, and demanded the same high level of honesty and veracity that we would now expect.”[5] A fabricated publication on Equiano’s behalf would surely have been found out, disputed, and resulted in literary suicide!
Equiano’s almost sickening innocence, the man believes he is destined for Hell because he cannot break his habit of swearing, and his close relationship with his employers shows the kind of character Equiano truly was. His deep regard for virtue and honesty does not point to a man willing to blatantly falsify information of this proportion.
Toni,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I can tell that you have thought long and hard about your conclusion. I do, however disagree with your assessment regarding Equiano's honesty. Given Caretta's new evidence that seems to indicate Equiano, at the very least, told people he was born in South Carolina, I find it hard to believe his story of African birth. On page 26 of his introduction to Equiano's narrative, Robert Allison suggests that a baptism record and ship manifestation from the Arctic mission list his birthplace as South Carolina. I couldn't identify any need for him to lie and there are no witness accounts of him being born in Africa or having even lived there, other than his own which was conducive to his own agenda. I think your argument is passionate and well constructed, but I personally had a hard time "trusting" Equiano as factual. I regarded him more as revolutionary. His life wasn't really the focus of the narrative so much as the lives of all Africans. Great job. I enjoyed it!
I agree that Equiano’s character is the key to interpreting the evidence that shows he may have been born in ‘Carolina’. Your use of King’s letter is a solid reference on his honest nature, as is the evidence that he held positions with his masters that required trust. To present an argument against that, one could say that as an autobiography, he had control over presenting himself in an honest light. And he did succumb to the call of fame when he enlisted for the Arctic Expedition, which could have skewed his morality temporarily. “I was roused by the sound of fame,” he said (Equiano, 162). I tell people that I am from San Francisco, but really that’s just the place I call home. I spent my first 30 years in Seattle. I simply feel that SF better represents who I am as a person. Does that make me a dishonest person?
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