Based on the articles by Vincent Caretta and Paul Lovejoy, it is clear that both men are well educated and have researched the life of Olaudah Equiano. Mr. Carretta teaches English and specializes in 18th century British literature and Mr. Lovejoy teaches history and is a historian of the slave trade. It is apparent how their work influences the interpretation of text and how they utilize the support gained from their research. Mr. Carretta argues that Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative an autobiography, does nothing but contradict the claim that Equiano was born in Africa. The way Mr. Carretta supports this claim is by providing evidence through documents published by newspapers, journals, and churches. He finds the dates do not coincide with Equiano’s record of events thus bringing to question the credibility of Equiano as a writer himself, his ethos. This process is efficient in which we examine Equiano as a writer alone. Mr. Lovejoy’s article covers more than Equiano the writer but the time period itself. The evidence he provides to support that Equiano’s birthplace is Africa, is acquired not only from the time stamp of documents but the way he could interpret those documents. Mr. Lovejoy takes into account Equiano’s description of events that occur and correlates to the culture of that point in history. Both Carretta and Lovejoy acknowledge a discrepancy in documented evidence. Mr. Carretta believes that Equiano uses his writing to manipulate facts to support his “own pocketbook.” Mr. Lovejoy believes that Equiano’s words have contradictions just as many autobiographies do, but they are Equiano’s interpretations of his own life.
References:
Vincent Carretta (1999): Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa? New light on an eighteenth‐century question of identity, Slavery & Abolition: A Journal of Slave and Post-Slave Studies, 20:3, 96-105
Paul Lovejoy (2006): Autobiography and Memory:Gustavus Vassa, alias Olaudah Equiano, the African, Slavery and Abolition, 27:3, p. 317–347
Hello Ms Adams,
ReplyDeleteRead your blog and enjoyed your thoughtful critique, and liked the fashion you cited your evaluation. The picture you supplied was also very nice of your to find! I displays far more character than those rather staid prints.I thought your descriptions of the two academic disciplines were concise and accurate. I wonder how you expanded your evaluation of Equiano especially the monetary issue, for I felt a a bright guy like Equiano could have become rich if he abandoned his ideals, and say became an agent or merchant in the Middle East etc.
Thanks
Mark
What I found interesting as well was that Caretta even included examples of where Vassa had contradicted himself. From what I gathered in Caretta’s piece was that on all official documents such as logs on ships and Baptism records, Vassa gave his place of birth as South Carolina which on all unofficial documents he gave his place of birth as Africa. Lovejoy, while having a decent argument, must have thought in the back of his head that there was no plausible explanation for these contradictions because he said on numerous times “If Equiano/Vassa had lied, then…” and he’d give an example of why Vassa may have lied about his place of birth. But Lovejoy is definitely correct when he says that autobiographies have contradictions.
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