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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When he decides to buy his freedom, how much money has Equiano saved?

2. What other new skills does Equiano study in England?

3. What does Equiano's experience on Mulgrave's expedition make him worry about?

4. What does Equiano see in Philadelphia that pleases him?

5. When Equiano sees King again, what does he find out has happened to King?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the trip to the North Pole develop Equiano's characterization?

2. Why does the episode with John Annis affect Equiano's quest for a religion?

3. Does the manumission of Equiano seem like a high point to this autobiography?

4. How does the episode in which Phillips's crew see a flock of flamingos characterize the crew?

5. Why does Equiano choose to go with Dr. Irving to start a plantation in Jamaica?

6. What are the possible conclusions about Equiano's prophetic dream about finding a boat on the return trip from Cadiz?

7. Describe Equiano's trip to New York and Philadelphia in 1784.

8. How are Equiano and Farmer each characterized by the incident with the bulls and the turkeys?

9. Describe and comment on Equiano's experiences with the Sierra Leone settlement.

10. Is Equiano's encounter with Pascal when he returns to England the way you expected it to be?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The word "interesting" as used in the title of The Interesting Narrative would have had at least two meanings for eighteenth-century readers. "Interesting" would have meant, as it still does today, something like "entertaining" or at least "not boring." In addition, "interesting" would have meant something like "sympathetic." In other words, it would have meant that the narrative was likely to make the readers "interested in" or sympathetic to Equiano. Based on the title, then, the autobiography has the dual goals of entertaining the reader and making the reader sympathize with the author. How well does the book achieve these two goals?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast John Annis's life with Equiano's. Could Equiano have met a fate like Annis's? What enables Equiano to avoid a sad end like Annis's? Be sure to identify the turning points during Equiano's life when things might have gone differently and set him on a course more like Annis's, and explain how Equiano avoided those dangers.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast any three locations that Equiano travels to or describes in The Interesting Narrative. What conclusions can readers draw from the information Equiano presents about these three different locations?

(see the answer keys)

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