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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. Why does Equiano feel uncomfortable with his shipmates after October 6?

2. What happens to John Annis on the boat to Turkey?

3. When Equiano finds Pascal in England, how does Pascal react?

4. What boring job does Equiano hold before returning to the sea in 1784?

5. On the ship Nancy in 1766, where does Equiano go and make a lot of money?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain Equiano's economic argument for ending slavery.

2. When Equiano decides he needs to find a religion to commit to (after his trip to the North Pole), how does he begin his search?

3. Why do you think Equiano goes back and forth so much between going to sea and other ways of making a living, like hairdressing?

4. Why does Equiano want to become ordained?

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

6. What three elements of Equiano's visit with the fisherman help him decide to become a Christian?

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

8. How does his experience of being "born again" change Equiano's attitude toward life?

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

10. Is there an implicit argument being made in Equiano's description of the time he spent in Turkey?

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

Equiano's life story exposed him to many different cultures. His book explores African culture, English culture, plantation culture, maritime culture, military culture, and religious culture, among others. Select three different cultural or subcultural groups that Equiano describes and compare and contrast them.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the role of Miss Guerins in the book, including both (a) her role in Equiano's life and (b) the effect of the presence of this figure in the book on the white eighteenth-century reader.

(see the answer keys)

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