As a student in New York City, who was born in Ecuador, I tend to look at the readings from two different lenses. Both cultures have shaped me into the human being I am today, therefore I have two different perspectives from which I look at these eighteenth-century readings. Especially, as I read Oroonoko by Aphra Behn, I realized that slavery is not only something physical. You are not only enslaved when you are deprived from your liberty, but also when your thoughts are not free. As a student in New York City, I can relate to this feeling. You may wonder how or why? Well, as I said before I moved here when I was eleven, and since then my life has been divided into two worlds. Therefore, like Oroonoko I live here, but I am from somewhere else. Oroonoko was forced to move into slavery (into a different country) and such experience shaped him into the human being he became; his life was divided into two different worlds, his life in his home country and his new life as a slave. I was not forced to move, but my life is made up of two different worlds now. Moreover, it is not only two different worlds; but, by living in New York City it is now made up of multiple cultures and worlds. Sometimes, I feel enslaved in my own thoughts. Sometimes, I wish I was there instead of here; and the times I have gone back home I wish I was here instead of there. Also, readings like The Interesting Narrative by Equiano remind me of the racist struggle, we as Hispanics have had to face. Now days, we have to prove ourselves to be worthy of freedom, just like Equiano did in his narrative. Also, Phyllis Wheatley had to obtain validity from white people in Boston. However, why do we have to do this? Aren’t we all human beings that deserve to be treated with respect? Equiano’s narrative reminds me of the incident in which the New York City lawyer, Aaron Schlossberg said that he would call ICE to two employees who were speaking Spanish. Equiano and Oroonoko have been forced to move to a new place, where new ideas and traditions start taking over theirs. I know my roots and I know some of my ancestors were brought from Africa to Ecuador to labor for the Spaniards. Also, I know that my ancestors were forced to leave their customs behind and were forced to follow the traditions and religions of the Spaniards. However, among our differences we can all respect and learn from one another becoming better human beings. The mockery of enslavement that Equiano mentions is the same mockery of freedom Hispanics receive now. Also, the lack of opportunities because of race is a big issue. Now days, even to get into a school the first thing to be considered is your race, starting with your last name. New York City is a melting pot of cultures; however, there still exists people who lack respect for others. In the books Oroonoko as well as The Interesting Narrative, they were forced into the institution of slavery, later on de jure segregation was an institution supported by law and now days we don’t have neither one of those; but we have de facto segregation in which people are segregated due to social class or status. In our society today, certain people live in certain neighborhoods. As a result, Oroonoko, Equiano and myself are not from here, not from there.  

Works Cited 

Behn, Aphran. Oroonoko. Penguin Books, 2016.

Equiano, Olaudah, and Vincent Carretta. The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings. Penguin Books, 2003.