“The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” is Equiano’s autobiography where he writes about essentially his entire life, from his upbringings in Africa to his life as an enslaved person to his life as a free man and anti-slavery advocate. He goes more specifically into detail about the transatlantic slave trade and the absolute horrors him and other enslaved people had to endure. In “The Dysfunctional and the Disappearing: Democracy, Race, and Imprisonment”, author Joy James constructively criticizes the American prison system from a standpoint of anti-racism, placing focus on the mass incarceration of Black Americans and the disproportionate number of Black people in American prisons.
Both authors dedicate a large portion to advocacy against the racial injustices highlighted in their respective pieces of writing. Equiano was an abolitionist and had the specific goal of putting a permanent end to transatlantic slave trade. Joy James is passionate about dismantling the racism within the prison and legal system. Both authors also use their writing to challenge the reader to rethink American societal and legal systems and aspects of the current climate of when the respective pieces of literature were released.
There are some relatively significant differences in the two stories. Equiano’s story is from the first person. It’s a personal account of his struggles through slavery and his mission after his supposed freedom. Meanwhile, James’ story is a third person view on a current issue which she wants to bring attention and awareness to in hopes of making a number of different changes in a long-term scope. While both pieces of writing are evidently about injustices for Black Americans, the extent to which both subjects are about injustice is quite different in scale between the two.
There is not necessarily anything to agree or disagree on regarding Equiano’s autobiography, as it is an objective account of his personal experience as a victim of slavery. However, while much of James’ article does include high objectivity, there are parts that are more opinionated and suggestions of what James thinks would be right or should be done. Overall, I do agree with the sentiments of James’ article and the overall goal of her writing and research. I feel that the prison and legal system in America should completely disregard race. The law, while of course being open to interpretation in essentially all instances, should not incorporate racial biases. There is no reason other than bias and forms of systemic racism as to why there is such a high disproportionate number of incarcerated Black Americans.
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