Farming and building houses on plantations in extreme heat from the beating sun without water does not seem attractive to anyone with the modern technological equipment available in the world today. However, slaves around the world were subjected to harsh treatment and grueling tasks like these throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. In order to spread stories of these miserable lifestyles, slaves Frederick Douglass and Olaudah Equiano documented their horrific experiences and published accounts of them. The account of the life of Frederick Douglass and the interesting account of the life of Olaudah Equiano highlight the cruelty towards slaves in the era of realism. Although these autobiographies have many similarities in their manner of composition, including abolitionist motivations and a focus on the separation of families, the different lives of Equiano and Douglass expose readers to the brutality of slavery in a multitude of situations. Equiano and Douglass were strong advocates for the abolition of slavery throughout their lives. Although these slaves lived in different parts of the world, they both suffered inhumane treatment at the hands of white people. As a result, they both knew that servitude must end or whites would take absolute control of black society in the future. Equiano forcefully develops the argument that abolition would be a global benefit. He states: “The abolition of slavery would in reality be a universal good. Torture, murder and every other barbarity and iniquity imaginable are practiced [sic] on the poor slaves with complete impunity” (156). These statements present his view of slavery, but also explain the anguish that slaves experienced at the time. Fre...... middle of paper ...... their works depict both the tortures of slavery and their support for the abolition of slavery. At sea and on land, these writers faced countless extreme conditions throughout their lives. Equiano states in his account: “I had planned. . . future hopes of freedom” (79). Through dreams of independence like this, Douglass and Equiano worked tirelessly in the Age of Realism to ensure that everyone living in today's world would experience freedom. Works Cited Douglass, Frederick. Account of the life of Frederick Douglass. Cornhill: Anti-Slavery Bureau, 1845. iBook file. Equiano, Olaudah. The interesting account of the life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. London: Union-Street, 1797. iBook file. Longo, Julianne. “Frederick Douglass vs. Olaudah Equiano.” Salesianum School. Department of English, Wilmington, DE. February 6, 2014. Conference.