Equiano's Purpose

 In Equiano’s narrative, I think there is a combination of a slavery abolition movement and a movement to make it more tolerable. I think that Equiano, having spent most of his adult life in slavery, sees no other way of the world. In other words, slavery seems to be a part of the world he knows. In this sense, how can we expect him to think of abolishing it? It is like a disease, like cancer. It is present in the world, afflicting many many people. We can try to find ways to diminish it and make it more manageable, but a cure seems intangible. This compares to slavery in the time Equiano is writing because to him, slavery will always be a part of the society he lives in. The primary thoughts he has are ways to make it more like things he has experienced in the real world (benevolent slave owners). Although he becomes a free man, there are still slaves and racism all around him. Though he is legally free, we see that he is still not treated as equal (an example of this is when Doctor Perkins beats him almost to death). I also think that the question of whether his purpose when writing was to abolish slavery or lessen its severity is not the most important question. Instead, we should be asking how we can further his work and message, regardless of the finite details. His book is a recollection of his life… who says it has to be anything more than educational, allowing the reader to make their own opinion?

Comments

  1. Avery PiersonFebruary 7, 2022 at 11:56 AM

    I totally agree with this; I think that to Equiano's main purpose was to spread his story. A better question might be "what should the reader's purpose be after reading his story."

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  2. John FredericksFebruary 7, 2022 at 6:57 PM

    I agree with your perspective on this topic. I also think Equiano knows that he alone does not have the power to invoke such change. It's a collective effort with the citizens of Britain to recognize this horror.

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  3. Bianca DuarteFebruary 7, 2022 at 7:47 PM

    I also agree with your blog post and would like to comment on how it took me a while to fully understand Equiano's take on slavery, but it is now apparent to me. Equiano does not fully push to abolish slavery, but he definitely wants slavery to be more humane and tolerable.

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  4. AnonymousFebruary 7, 2022 at 10:35 PM

    I like the thought that the narrative is more about giving the reader something to mull over. Certainly there are part and times when we think Equiano is trying to make a point but what if he wants to give 2 perspectives, one that helps but also opposes the other.

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  5. Abby MatsonFebruary 9, 2022 at 5:09 PM

    I don't completely agree with this, I feel like Equiano's ideal scenario would be to abolish slavery, he just recognized the implausibility of complete abolition and took the harm-reduction approach to allow for some positive change if not the most positive change.

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