“Equiano”
by Jean-Jacques Vayssieres, was originally Published in Jamaica. It is a tale of the journey of an African
slave. Equiano was sold into slavery
when he was about ten years old. He was
a hardworking, intelligent, honest and loyal slave. He was given positions under his Masters of
great leadership and power. He
eventually earned enough money to buy his freedom and pursue his dream of being
a navigator on the seas. He also pursued
an education and became a writer.
I really
enjoyed this story because of how well it relates to historical events. I love reading books that could also be used
to teach American History. This source
gives the reader a first hand account as to what it would be like to go through
the slave trading system. Some of the
stories in the text did seem to be exaggerated a little, which I did not enjoy
about the book.
Since I
read this book in the middle of a busy season of life, I don’t think I was able
to appreciate it as much as I would have if I had more time to enjoy the
text. Since the book what longer than a
typical picture book, I got anxious in reading it and wanted the storytelling
to go quicker.
This book
reminded me of “Unlce Tom’s Cabin” because it gave a first hand account of the
life of a slave. Although this book was
simpler and geared towards children, it brought about many of the same ideas of
injustice of slavery. “Equiano” gave
more background information about what Equiano did after he was freed from
slavery than what most books do that are based on the topic of slavery.
As I was
reading this book, I learned that international children’s literature can be
used to help children and adults in the USA to learn the historical perspective
of how others were impacted by the actions of citizens in North America. Equiano’s story opened my eyes to the hardships
of slavery as well as what life would have been like before slavery. It broadened my perspective of slavery in
North America.
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