Hypocrisy Of Slavery In The Life Of Olaudah Equiano

Slaves of the 18th century were treated horribly, however most writing from this time period does not reflect this because the slave owners were doing the writing. One piece that did acknowledge the suffering of slaves was written by Olaudah Equiano, who recounts horrors from his past as a slave in his book, “The Life of Olaudah Equiano”. Equiano seeks to remind readers of slaves’ humanity by showcasing the hypocrisy of the dehumanizing treatment of the slaves and by placing an emphasis on families.
The degrading treatment of the slaves is obvious from the beginning of Equiano’s story, when he and his sister are kidnapped from their home and forced into slavery. When first brought onto the ship Equiano sees other Africans who are all chained together. This implies that the slave owners had no
Equiano mentions that when he refused to eat, one white man “held me fast by the hands, and laid me across I think the windlass, and tied my feet, while the other flogged me severely” (Equiano 47). Being punished for not eating further proves that the people on the ships did not care about the humanity of the slaves. They wanted the slaves for the specific purpose of doing work and would do whatever necessary to keep the slaves in working condition. By establishing the lack of respect the slave owners had for the slaves, Equiano gains sympathy from readers who see the hypocrisy in treating humans so inhumanely. One of the biggest instances of dehumanization is when the slaves are put on display and sold. Equiano describes the situation as being “pent up together like so many sheep in a fold”, and he relates the slaves being sold to the plantation owners choosing “that parcel they like best” (Equiano 48). Equiano’s phrasing encapsulates the inhumane treatment caused by the slave owner’s belief that the slaves were not humans. He points out the