The Life of Olaudah Equiano
by Olaudah Equiano

The Life of Olaudah Equiano: Genre 1 key example

Key Examples in The Life of Olaudah Equiano

Genre
Explanation and Analysis:

Equiano's book is considered a quintessential example of an enslaved person's narrative because it is one of the first commercially successful accounts of an enslaved person's life from childhood to adulthood. But this genre didn't really exist yet when Equiano was writing, and it is important to note that Equiano draws on several other genres. One of these genres is spiritual autobiography. Equiano structures his narrative in part around his own religious development. He learns to read the Bible and visits many religious teachers as he attempts to understand his own relationship to Christianity. Some of the later chapters contain complex meditations on religious doctrine that seem to be modeled on other spiritual autobiographies, especially Saint Augustine's Confessions.