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The most fascinating issues in Equiano's Interesting Narrative are his portrayal of his homeland and his primary cultural values. Why does Equiano's Igbo heritage follow him throughout his vast experiences of other lands and cultures? Equiano's idealization of his tribe and their culture dominates his memories and actions. Equiano's acceptance of Christianity and an English lifestyle is possible only due to the integrity of Christian values to the primordial culture of his childhood. The Igbo culture seems the stronger of the two influences, having been an integral part of his consciousness at the time his worldview formed. From the beginning of the book, Equiano's description of his African homeland takes on a rather factual tone, Of these the most considerable is the kingdom of Benin, both as to extent and wealth, the richness and cultivation of the soil, the power of its king, and the number and warlike disposition of the inhabitants (32).
The tone alters from encyclopedia-like and general to personal and specific, the narrative voice being doubtlessly that of an adult. This narrative tone was common at the time and resembles Swifts Gulliver's Travels. This confident tone, however, doesnt take away from the authenticity of the narrative, but rather highlights the importance of the experiences and culture Equiano's African childhood provide, these being vital to his worldview and self image. His land is a rich nation of dancers, musicians and poets (34) and yet the people of Essaka live in a simple manner, their art replicating real life.
The aspirations, which are exemplified in Igbo life are cleanliness and convenience, the qualities exemplified in its people, hardiness, intelligence, integrity and zeal (38), both bear a resemblance to western ideals as well. Equianos slightly idealizes the brilliant memories of his homeland and his people, in hindsight. Nevertheless the Igbo cultural values he takes from them are very real. These principles become his own, idealized or not.
Equianos holds on to his original values throughout his experiences, because the cultural values of the Igbo are easily integrated. Both Igbo's and westerners were competitive, individualistic, status-conscious, and practical. Thus, Equianos can keep his native ideals even after he meets the Christian world. The values of freedom and religion are compatible in both cultures, whereas the idea of slavery is not.
The first images of freedom we get are from the Igbo world, which consists of two types of people, the freeborn and slaves. Equiano's pride reminds him that he was the freeborn son of a prominent tribe leader. This cultural value he does not forget, as desires to regain his freedom throughout the entire novel. It was primarily his Igbo culture that taught him to pursue his freedom, however great the cost, in order to achieve his destiny. This idea of destiny was also a deep part of his tribal religion. This religion itself maybe the reason he wrote the narrative, Equianos believing it to be a homage to his Igbo ancestors in whose concepts his experience of a personal God of destiny was rooted.
Equiano's religion is able to tolerate Christian beliefs, because of their common declaration of a single Creator. Equianos thus establishes the Christian ethics, by which his later adult worldview judges the civilization around him. The main incongruity between Equiano's converging western and African cultural values was slavery. Equiano's Igbo memories of slavery seem mild in comparison with the harsh images of slavery he experienced in the new world.
His point of view also varies considerably due to his position: in the Africa he was free and in the new world he was enslaved. Later he judges both cultures through Christian perspective. Equianos claims that the Anglo Christian version of slavery was an abomination. He questions its unrelenting cruelty, learned you this from your God, who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you (61)? Throughout the narrative brutal images of beatings, rape, displacement and abuse are numerous. He witnesses no such malice in Igbo culture.
Equianos writes, that the slaves were treated equals, With us they do no more work than other members of the community, even their masters; their food, clothing and lodging were nearly the same as theirs, and there was scarce any other difference between them (40). His original identification to the Igbo culture keeps this sentiment of his peoples compassion alive deep within him. He thinks of the slave system of Essaka as a humane exception, for how could the culture that named him free call others slave? How could a man taken slave turn and profit from slavery?
Equianos was on one hand culturally at liberty to maintain his integrity, as well as accept the integration of his values, and on the other hand, limited to a life of deep confusion, stemming from his roots and reaching out to the greater human society.
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