Week 6: Equiano Final Chapter

    The way the final chapter of Equiano’s narrative is written can be tied back to the introductory letter found before the first chapter. It isn’t in every edition of the book, but we read it in class. The letter addresses Equiano’s main audience, who he assumes is mainly comprised of white Londoners that may already be in favor of slavery, or that may have a neutral stance on it. I immediately noticed how much he was prefacing his words, seeming as though he didn’t want to offend. Part of the intent of this book is to be a message against slavery, one that was written during the height of its existence. With that, Equiano needed to be cautious with his wording and his demands, especially since he himself is black. He can’t ask for too much or come on too strongly, denouncing not just slavery but everybody who perpetuates its existence. The final chapter is Equiano’s final plea to the humanity of the reader, hoping that if his narrative has done anything, it has appealed to that humanity by destroying the notion of dehumanization. I believe that Equiano includes his letters to let the audience witness concrete examples of his reach to the world around him. Equiano stated that his letter to the Queen was well received, which certainly instills hope in an abolitionist reader.

Comments

  1. Paulos HabtewoldFebruary 22, 2023 at 12:45 AM

    Hi Andrew, I liked the connection you made between the introductory letter and the final chapter. I did not read the final chapter, but I remember talking about the things you said in your blog post in class such as the audience. I agree that Equiano added the letters to show concrete examples of his story that are fact checkable and show the impact he could potentially have as he talked about sending Africans to Africa and sending letters of abolition to the Queen which were well received.

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