Leah Johnney

ENG 302

Period Recap

During this semester there were several works that were introduced in ENG 302. Within each text there were specific themes that aligned with other works as well. Three works that covered similar themes were The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano, Oroonooko; or, The Royal Slave by Aphra Behn and the Phyllis Wheatley poems, specifically, On Being Brought From Africa To America. Themes such as Transatlantic enslavement, Formations of class, race, and gender can be seen in all three works. Each story falls into a different period which makes it interesting to connect.

In The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, written in 1789, illustrates the main character Equiano narrative of his life as slave. Historically content regarding the transatlantic statement is seen through his journey. The beginning opens with some background information of Equiano and his country. There is also a dive into class where Equiano mentions his father as “one of those elders or chiefs”. When it came to class, no matter who you were if there was a punishable act one was “condemned to make recompense by a man or woman slave.” (Equiano, Olaudah) As the story is being narrated, Equiano states, “I have often seen slaves, particularly those who were meagre, in different islands, put into scales and weighed; and then sold from three pence to six pence or nine pence a pound.” (Equiano, Olaudah) The things he saw around him played a huge roll in the historical context of the story.  As a black man who was a slave in this time, the treatment he faced, forced to fight for his freedom can even be connected to our time, which is unfortunate. It allows the reader to analyze how history can be rewritten with similar context. One should not have to fight for their freedom but like in today’s America just like Equiano it may feel as though races have to work hard to buy their own freedom. In the end it does not necessarily work out the way they want it. It is interesting to connect the reading to relative issues in our time, if possible.  

Even though Oroonooko was written before the story of Equiano, in 1688, they both have very similar ideas when it comes themes of enslavement, race, class, and gender. While The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano is straight from the source, Oroonooko is written through the eyes of a white woman. This adds to the story shining light on themes of race class and gender, with race being the number one factor. As in Equiano, the definition of a person’s class did not separate them from there punishment or much at all. Oroonoko came from a family of power and still ended up being a slave. Even the woman that he loved was sent off to become a slave. After trying to escape, Oroonoko knew his wife; Imoinda, would receive punishment just as he would if they got caught. The narrator states, “he left his lovely Imoinda a prey, or at best a slave to the enraged multitude; his great heart could not endure that thought. “Perhaps,” said he, “she may be first ravaged by every brute; exposed first to their nasty lusts, and then a shameful death.” (Behn, Aphra) As graphic as Oroonooko is, it allows the reader to fully visualize what it may have been like during that time. Acts of punishment where brutal on both sides, while being different at the same time. It is important to remember throughout the story who the narrator is. It is giving an insight into a world from a specific lens and a reader should always be mindful of that.

In the Phyllis Wheatley poem, On Being Brought From Africa To America, there is much content for such a short poem. There are terms within the poem that should be reviewed in order to accurately dissect this poem. From the first line, “Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land”, the reader can assume there are references to the slave trade. (Wheatley, Phyllis) The author, like the previous authors, is telling a story of the experience as a slave. Wheatley’s use of language can be further analyzed after having a complete understanding of certain words she prefers to use. One word that stands out is “sable”. The author chooses this word over simply saying black which leaves and emphasis to the race factor.  The author also references race as she states, “Their colour is a diabolic die.” Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain,” (Wheatley, Phyllis) This is a strong reference that she uses, as she also refers to the Bible as a form of understanding race. It also combines classes of religion and race together and connects it all to one. Like the other words, it all boils done to one common connection. There is such a powerful structure within Phyllis Wheatley poems that such be read more in classes like these.

All three works are significant in their own way. They talk about issues that many students today should understand. It is unfortunate that many students may have never even heard of these words until now in college and it is great to study. When it comes to vocabulary, it is a good idea to dedicate some time to review what certain things mean. It is easy to read something and not fully understand a word and bypass it. Without the critical annotation assignment there would have been small words that would have been passed. Those words, which one may not realize, plays a huge role in understanding the text. Overall, the content, while being a part of different time periods, surprisingly has similar ideas. An emphasis on the time, like a timeline would open the mind of an individual in an interesting way. To visually see where these stories where placed, can help the reader understand why it was written in the way it was. I am happy I got the opportunity to study these texts that I never knew about and I wish we had gone over more, but there is only so much one can do in a semester.

Works Cited

Behn, Aphra. Oroonoko. Canning, 1688.

Equiano, Olaudah, and Vincent Carretta. The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings. Point Par

Point, 2007.

Wheatley, Phyllis. On Being Brought From Africa To America. 1773.

Leah Johnney

ENG 302

Critical Annotations

1. I have chosen a work from Selected Poems by Phyllis Wheatley (1773). The poem I selected was On being brought from Africa to America and the line, “Some view our sable race with scornful eye,”. I choose those this sentence because I was unsure what the word “sable” meant. According to a 19^th Century British Poetry student at Marymount University, sable is “just another world that means the color black, it is important because it creates alliteration with the world scornful.” This is interesting to me because when this word is used to describe a carnivorous mammal.

“The Spokesperson of Her Community.” The Power of Poetry, commons.marymount.edu/onbeingbroughtfromafricatoamerica/close-reading/.

• Another area I choose from Phyllis Wheatley was, “Remember, Christians, Negroes, black as Cain”. Wheatley reference in this biblical allusion comes from the book of Isaiah in the Bible. According to Scheick the use of Cain allows the reader to “remember that in a spiritual sense, both white and black people are the skin-darkened descendants of Cain.” (Scheick) Scheick continues to state that some individuals negate that thought and see Cain as the descendant only to the black race. The positioning of the comma is also significant. Scheick states the comma, “creates a trace of syntactic ambiguity that quietly instates both Christians and Negros as the mutual offspring of Cain who are subject to refinements by divine grace.” (Scheick)

Loving, MaryCatherine. “Uncovering Subversion in Phillis Wheatley’s Signature Poem: ‘On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA.’” Journal of African American Studies, vol. 20, no. 1, 2016, pp. 67–74.

Scheick, William J. “Phillis Wheatley’s Appropriation of Isaiah.” Early American Literature, vol. 27, no. 2, 1992, pp. 135–140. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25056895. Accessed 30 Apr. 2020.

• I choose another work from Selected Poems by Phyllis Wheatley (1773) entitled A farewel to America. To Mrs. S. W.From the beginning the writer is biding a farewell to her surroundings and in stanza five she mentions the name “Susanna”, who can be assumed to be Mrs. S.W. The writer states, “Not unregarding can I see, Her soul with grief opprest: But let no sighs, no groans for me, Steal from her pensive breast.” Susanna is portrayed as sad but the word “pensive” confuses me. After researching I saw it meant “musingly or dreamily thoughtful”. (Pensive) This still led some questions to why this specific word was used in this place.  

“Pensive.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam webster.com/dictionary/pensive.

• The book, The Interesting Narrative of The Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789) has several historical references to the slave trade. In this narrative the first stop was in Barbados as they stated, “At last we came in sight of the island of Barbadoes, at which the whites on board gave a great shout, and made many signs of joy to us.” I did more research and to find out information on the slave trade regarding areas on the Caribbean. According to Koot, “In addition to their exhortations for free trade, colonists pressed for the ability to control the local value of coin and to purchase slaves from private traders.”

Koot, Christian J. “A ‘dangerous principle’: free trade discourses in Barbados and the English Leeward Islands, 1650-1689.” Early American Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, 2007, p. 132+. Gale Academic OneFile,https://link-gale com.lehman.ezproxy.cuny.edu/apps/doc/A160592850/AONE?u=lehman_main&sid=AONE&xid=b2cecdc5. Accessed 1 May 2020.

• Lastly, I choose a word from Oroonoko by Aphra Behn in 1688. This slave narrative had many terms and words in it that I was not familiar with. One of the words I remembered not knowing was “rabble”. Oroonoko wanted a life of freedom and even after attempting to kill himself the slave owners keep him alive only to punish him. The gruesomeness on the scene is noticed by the daughter as she states, “My mother and sister were by him all the while, but not suffered to save him; so rude and wild were the rabble…” According to Webster, rabble can be defined as “the lowest class of people”. It is interesting to read it in this context.

“Rabble.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam webster.com/dictionary/rabble.

Leah Johnney

Professor Rumore

Archival Object Project

 In the 18^th century there was a rise in works such as slave narratives. These were stories which were writing about slaves and they live they lived. The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano is one of the few slave narratives that is well known, which was published in 1789. Within this narrative, Equiano’s story beings as a child in what is now modern-day Nigeria. He is taken from his home and forced into slavery around the age of eleven. During this time, his sister was also captured and kidnapped. In his life, Equiano was sold ten times before being owned by Robert King. Within his story Equiano refers to the conditions that were faced on the slave ships. His astonishment for the anchored ship quickly turned to terror as he discovered what was going on. The experience of being put under deck is one that can be referred back in history. He describes the stench and the closeness of people, in a very graphic way. His narrative is one of the few that actually describe the conditions that were faced within that time. The climate underdeck was harsh and stifling, which Equiano describes as being hard to even breath that resulted in people dying. Below is an example of the structure that individuals were but in. Because of this form, around 25% of people ended up dying on the long trips.

According to Thomas Lewis, “The Atlantic passage (or Middle Passage) was notorious for its brutality and for the overcrowded, unsanitary conditions on slave ships, in which hundreds of Africans were packed tightly into tiers below decks for a voyage of about 5,000 miles (8,000 km).” At this point of being in the slave ship, Equiano felt as many in his time may have felt. It was as if his faith was sealed as he saw black people being changed together, which was what typically happened. He knew death was near for him and at times felt that death was better than the life he was living. There were those who tried jumping overboard when they were on deck to escape the horrors of what they were experiencing. Some successfully drowned, while others lived and where captured back just to be tortured.  

The ship first arrived in the Caribbean in Barbados. After proving they were healthy by jumping, they were all locked up together and the selling of slaves began. This act separated families and friends for no reason. After being sold to several individuals, Equiano ended up on another Caribbean island and was then sold to Robert King. During his time being owned by King, Equiano was allowed to trade small good such as fruits and other little objects. Equiano traded to places within the Caribbean and North America. Many slave voyages were organized in the Caribbean. According to David Eltis, “twice as many slave voyages were organized in ports in the Caribbean than in ports on the North American mainland, and fewer than 7 percent of all those slave voyages sailing to Africa from the Americas as a whole cleared out from ports located in the United States or what became the United States.” This would justify why Equiano would have passed through these areas as well. Two of the main ports that were slave trading centers in the Caribbean were Kingston, Jamaica and where Equiano passed through; Barbados. Eltis stated, “A comparison of colonial Caribbean voyages with colonial North American mainland ones reveals a fairly dramatic expansion of the mainland business. If there is no monograph on the U.S. slave trade, there is no literature at all on the slave trade based in the pre-1800 Caribbean—even though ships from British Caribbean took more slaves from Africa between 1691 and 1710 than did vessels from all French ports combined.”

Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

In 1767 Equiano was able to buy his own freedom with 40 pounds. Even after he purchased his freedom, it was still questioned by some. His life being a slave began at such a young age from being captured, to being sold several times, suffering through tough conditions and more made him who he was. It is horrifying to see what conditions individuals had to go through on the slave ships and it is surprising that anyone even survived. The process that was created to transfer slaves had a unique route that many may have not been familiar with. These places included Caribbean Islands that was in Equiano’s slave narrative. Equiano worked hard his whole life to claim something that he should have already had in the beginning. Even after he won, there were individuals who tried to capture him back. The fight never seemed to be over for him. After this Equiano meet individuals who supported the abolition movement to end slave trade. Equiano continued to promote the antislavery cause until his death in 1797.

Works Cited

Eltis, David. “The U.S. Transatlantic Slave Trade, 1644–1867: An Assessment.” Civil War

History, vol. 54 no. 4, 2008, p. 347-378. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/cwh.0.0033

Thomas Lewis. “Transatlantic Slave Trade.” Britannica Online Academic Edition, 2019, pp.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

As a New York City student, it is refreshing to read such works like Oroonoko. Not many literary works that I have read as a student portray slaves. Some parts of the history in Oroonoko can be related to the communities I can identify with. In the book Oroonoko, or the Royal Slave, by Aphra Behn, the main character starts off in his native land as a free man of royalty. He is tricked into slavery, and interestingly is treated different from other slaves. Oroonoko is described as someone who is extremely beautiful, which can be why is treated differently. There are many individuals who get treated differently because of the way they look in all communities. Some individuals are classified by just how they look and are treated unfairly because they may not have “beautiful features”. When it comes to people of color in my community, they may be treated differently because of how they look, but in the end, they still fall into one category that is considered lower than the masses.

The histories within the text can reflect issues within our communities. In low income areas, individuals can be seen as being enslaved by the system they live in. There is a form of oppression that is holding back certain individuals. For example, the prison system and be reflected to Oroonoko thinking, where he was stuck to be tortured or he can die. There did not seem to be anyway out, and opportunities were limited. It is unfortunate to think that in some way’s individuals do not see any way out of their problems and oppression other than death. Areas within the communities I live in offer housing for those who are in need of assistance, but it is made to keep individuals stagnant. There seems to be no way out of the areas they live in because the system is made to have a sense of control over people. Even though Oroonoko was treated differently and he even assisted with mistreatment of the other slaves, he did not move up in the scale. He always remained an enslaved person no matter what opportunity he was giving. Like many issues within this day, Oroonoko realized the suppression he was facing along with a group of other slaves. He began to fight the system and encourage other people to as well, but in the end, it did not work out the way he wanted. I see a lot of fighting for change and equality in my community and I have also been a part of this change as well. Sometimes I would admit that it may not work out the way it is expected to.

As I begin reading certain texts, I always think back to my history. I consider myself to be an individual with a Caribbean background. Most text that I read, like Oroonoko, encourages me to divulge into other histories. I must remember to think back on the history of America as a student and grasp and understanding for the time period the work is written in. This forms an understanding to what the text is supposed to be about. During the time this text was written the history within the location can also be compared to the history in New York. The New York area had been a Dutch Colony and the Suriname also became colonized by the Dutch. Both places were also known to have a slave trade area which gives them both similarities. Oroonoko can be compared to modern day New York and within the past. I enjoyed reading the book and will be excited to see what comes next.