“The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano”

by: Olaudah Equiano

English III

Page 68

4 Types of Early American Narratives:

1. Travel Narratives– European explorers’ accounts of their

journeys to the New World

4 Types of Early American Narratives

2. Tales of Life in North America– Describe the vast possibilities of living in N.

America– Promoted the idea of traveling to America

4 Types of Early American Narratives

3. Captivity Stories– Widely produced form of entertainment in N.

America– Contributed to declining relations between

American Indians and colonists

4 Types of Early American Narratives

4. Slave Narratives– Autobiographical account of the life of an

enslaved person– Supported abolitionist cause by revealing the

horrors of slavery

Question

• How does this narrative differ from an article written for a history textbook?

• It is written in the first person and is something that happened to the author.

Literary Focus

• inference – an educated guess based on what you already know and what you learn from reading a text.

– Look beyond what the author states directly.– Think about what is hinted, or implied.

Vocabulary

copious

avarice

render

nominal

copious

• Adj. More than enough; plentiful

• Synonyms: ample, bountiful, plentiful

• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/copious

avarice

• n. greed; desire for wealth

• Synonyms: greediness, covetousness, stinginess

• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/avarice

render

• v. cause to become; make

• Synonyms: make

• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/render

nominal

• adj.: existing in name only; not real

• Synonyms: honorary, professed

• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nominal

Quickwrite

Think about the last time you read or saw something—an article, a news report, or a documentary—that upset you and moved you. What made the message effective? If you wanted to bring about great change in the world, what would you write to spread the word and persuade others to act?

Reading FocusMaking Inferences

• Why do you think Equiano fainted?

• He thought he would be killed in the furnace. He says he “no longer doubted of [his] fate.”

Reading FocusMaking Inferences

• Why were Equiano and the other prisoners whipped for refusing to eat?

• They were considered property. If a captive died of starvation, the slave traders lost money because they could not sell him or her.

Reading FocusMaking Inferences

• Why might Equiano imagine that the slave traders have no country of their own?

• He thinks the traders live on the ship.

Literary FocusHistorical Narrative

• Why does Equiano call the ship “the hollow place”? What does this tell you about Equiano’s understanding of what is happening to him?

• He has never seen a ship and does not know what one is. He is not quite sure what is happening to him.

Reading FocusMaking Inferences

• Why might Equiano believe that his captors are spirits rather than human beings?

• They seem like spirits to him because of the “magic” they worked by making the boat move.

Literary FocusHistorical Narrative

• Why do you think Equiano included the detail that “the strangers also shook hands with us black people”?

• He wants to show that the strangers were kinder to them than the crew members were.

Literary FocusHistorical Narrative

• Why didn’t the crew want the slaves to see how they managed the ship? How does this detail add to your understanding of the way slave traders viewed slaves?

• It was in their interest to keep the slaves ignorant so that they would be scared of the sailors and afraid to mutiny.

Reading Focus, p. 87 Making Inferences

• What does Equiano mean when he says that he envies “the inhabitants of the deep”?

• The deceased “inhabitants of the deep” were free from the bonds and limitations of slavery, unlike the slaves on the ship.

Literary FocusHistorical Narrative

• Based on this selection, describe the conditions aboard an eighteenth-century slave ship.

• Conditions were crowded and filthy, with unclean air leading to the death of slaves. Cruelty reigned, and the slaves were hungry and scared.

Reading FocusMaking Inferences

• At first, Equiano is shocked to see men on horseback. How does his attitude change after he speaks to other Africans?

• He finds out that other Africans have seen and done this before, so it no longer seems strange to him.

Literary FocusHistorical Narrative

• Equiano writes, “we were all pent up together like so many sheep in a fold without regard to sex or age.” What does this comparison reveal about people’s perspectives toward Africans at the time?

• It reveals that the slavers believed that the Africans were no better than animals and treated them the same as animals.

Reading FocusMaking Inferences

• In the final paragraph, what do you think Equiano is trying to convince his readers to believe or do? How can you tell?

• He wants to persuade readers that slavery and the slave trade are unnecessarily cruel and contrary to the teachings of their religion.

Applying Your Skills

1. Who is Olaudah Equiano? From where does he come? To where is he taken?

2. What does Equiano see when he first looks around the ship? How does he react?

3. Why wasn’t Equiano chained up during the journey, as many of the other prisoners were?

Think

4. Which of Equiano’s reactions to his experiences as a slave did you find surprising or unexpected? Why?

5. While you read, you recorded major events in the narrative and Equiano’s reactions to them. Add another column to your chart, and write inferences about Equiano’s beliefs. Think about how inferring the author’s beliefs, thoughts, and emotions enhances your comprehension.

Think

7. Analyze Equiano uses the words amazed and astonishment several times. What effect do these words have on the mood of the narrative?

8. Interpret Paraphrase the last sentence of the selection, in which Equiano responds to the forced separation of enslaved families. What motive does he see in this cruel practice?

Think

8. Extend How did reading about historical events in the form of a personal narrative help you understand the events? What insights did you gain from Equiano’s perspective that you might not have gained from an encyclopedia article on the treatment of slaves? Explain.

Think

9. Analyze The process by which a writer reveals the personality of a character is characterization. Think about the character Equiano, not Equiano the writer, in the narrative. What do his actions and thoughts tell you about his perspective on life? What words would you use to describe him?

What Do You Think Now?• How do you think the slave trade shaped

the beliefs of those who were enslaved? How did it shape the beliefs of those who captured, bought, and sold slaves?