What Are The Similarities Between Frederick Douglass And Olaudah Equiano

If you know of great abolitionists, you may know of the names Frederick Douglass and Olaudah Equiano. These two men went beyond the odds, becoming famous writers even through slavery’s drastic conditions. Looking at their narratives, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” and “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African,” we learn how each of them were brought up through the pains of American Slavery. Frederick Douglass was born a slave and a master, quickly taken away from his mother to only know her as a stranger. Equiano, however, was stolen from his native country, forced to face a treacherous expedition to America. But these narratives reveal much more about their lives than just their
Frederick Douglass and Equiano shared horrifically traumatic experiences as children, witnessing violence in slavery, along with utter hopelessness and despair. Equiano and Frederick not only experienced extreme violence, but also watched that brutality on others. In Frederick’s Narrative, whilst detailing his master, he describes a common horrific event: I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin. I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. I was quite a child, but I remember well. I shall never forget it whilst I remember anything. It was the first of a long series of such outrages, of which I was doomed to be a witness and a
This display made him realize how he too was going to share that same horrific violence. Along with Frederick, Equiano also watched as people around him were beaten mercilessly. Equiano has a similar take as a result: I had never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruelty; and this not only shewn towards us blacks, but also to some of the whites themselves. One white man in particular I saw, when we were permitted to be on deck, flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast, that he died in consequence of it; and they tossed him over the side as they would have done a brute. This made me fear these people the more and I expected nothing less than to be treated in the same manner. (Equiano par. 4) Equiano’s view was not limited to only slaves being beaten. He watched white men be beaten to death on the ship. Being in lower power than them, this obviously would instill the idea that he would be treated the same by those above. Looking at both of these quotes, I noticed that they not only both shared the experience of witnessing violence with others, but they also expressed that they expected to be given that same