Olaudah Equiano

Author Quote: 

“Hitherto I had thought only slavery dreadful; but the state of a free negro appeared to me now equally so at least, and in some respects even worse, for they live in constant alarm for their liberty; and even this is but nominal, for they are universally insulted and plundered without the possibility of redress; for such is the equity of the West Indian laws, that no free negro's evidence will be admitted in their courts of justice. In this situation is it surprising that slaves, when mildly treated, should prefer even the misery of slavery to such a mockery of freedom?

Outside Quote: 

King often traded in “live cargo,” or slaves, and Equiano saw much that made him grateful for his Quaker master’s treatment of him.

Summary of Author's Quote: 

Equiano, after recounting a story of how a freed man got “captured” and returned back into slavery (or worse), provides us with a look into his true feeling

Response:

I found this quote very interesting, because it was the first time that I had ever really thought about the difficulties that a freed slave would have to endure.  Granted, I never believed that freed slaves got off easy and were now safe to live among the population without fear, but his story really hit home in portraying that at a moment’s notice, that freedom can be taken away and you be returned to the life of a slave once again.

Equiano, however, is mistaken in the second part of this quote when he talks about how slaves should prefer the “misery of slavery to such a mockery of freedom” because for the most part, slaves were not mildly treated. Compared to the other slave narratives that we have read, Equiano’s life has been relatively easy going.  Separated from his sister, but he receives no punishment for running away.  He is bought and sold, but always between masters that treat him well and teach him, both to read and Christianity.  Throughout his life, I am sure that he witnessed slaves being beaten and treated in the most inhuman of way, therefore I find it surprising that he would make such a hyperbolic statement. The story he recounts, while not an isolated incident, was no different than what was happening to many of the non-freed slaves. 

I think that his personal connection to the “victim” and his fear of being recaptured are very real, but also show a hint of being self-centered.  This goes against the rest of his writing.  Even in the beginning, Equiano is very humble going through the history of his own country, even going so far to apologize to the reader at the beginning of Chapter 2 in case he “trespassed on his patience.”  I feel like his humility was given to him by his home country, and as time progressed and the longer he spent learning from his masters the more and more like them he became.  Then it finally came to a head here and although no man should be forced to suffer what Joseph Clipson suffered, it was happening constantly to slaves everywhere and to say that people should prefer that to even a glimpse of hope that they could be free is ludicrous.