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Equiano's narrative Ch. 1-3

For me, reading the first three chapters was a little difficult. I am not used to this style of writing or language. However, I think Equiano's narrative gives a unique and personal account of his experiences. The reader feels personally connected directly to Equiano because of the way he writes. I think part of this is him using words like "we" and "our" in the beginning when talking about his homeland and past, then words like "I" throughout the rest of the chapters. This makes his experiences feel more realistic—less something we are reading about and more something we can begin to experience with Equinao, just from an outside point of view. Most history books feel like they are explaining something that happened (and, of course, they are), but this disconnects the reader from the narrative. Equiano makes us feel like we are following him in real time. 

This type of writing works especially well for this book. A key aspect of slavery was the dehumanization of slaves. The treatment they endured could only begin to be justified by the slave owners of they believed the slaves were less than people. This narrative personally shows the reader who Equiano is. It humanizes him. Due to the way it's written, we feel as if we know Equiano. And we can connect with him on a personal level. This is a really uniquely written book, and once I grasped the format, it became a very powerful writing style that portrayed its message well.

Comments

  1. Eloise DanielloFebruary 5, 2023 at 9:02 PM

    Hi Noah! Your perspective on this style of writing is really insightful and I totally agree. I think it is hard to imagine slavery in a world like today, therefore making it hard for us to empathize, especially because of how some textbooks write about it. Reading this makes everything seem much more real and allows readers like me to empathize more. I wish we were educated about slavery through primary sources like this one from the beginning.

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  2. HeatherLFebruary 5, 2023 at 11:09 PM

    Hey Noah! You make a good point about the pronouns Equiano uses in his autobiography. After being treated like an 'it' for much of his life, he intentionally asserts his humanity with 'we' and 'us'. The plural of these pronouns serve to include the readers as one with his story. British government officials are subtly called to feel Equiano's pain, his joy, his desires, and I would agree that it is a good choice considering the advocacy-centered nature of the book.

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  3. Andrew BautistaFebruary 5, 2023 at 11:41 PM

    Hi Noah-- great catch on the difference of point of view and how it humanizes Equiano in the face of so much dehumanization. I found that the style of the book is less of an author setting up a world and slowly progressing the story than someone just telling you about their life, jumping from scene to scene very hastily. That does help in keeping up with Equiano himself and getting immersed in his life since those details are all we have to go on.

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  4. CassiFebruary 6, 2023 at 11:03 AM

    Hi Noah! I totally did not even think about these details. I think you are so right in the fact that it humanizes and makes the narrative feel a lot less distant. I wonder if this was a conscious choice by Equiano or not. Something else I wonder is what other small details in the language are unconsciously changing how we experience and process the text.

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