I enjoyed the way that Equiano concluded his novel! I thought that the inclusion of letters throughout the book and at the end made the narrative have a full-circle feeling. This helps the story take, once again, a personal feel. His letters contribute to his mission of humanizing his experience as an enslaved person. By attaching a name and face to his story, the general public is more inclined to face the atrocities of slavery and make change to fix the harmful system in place. Following the letters, his inclusion of a final argument helps restate the purpose of his book. I thought it was interesting how he makes sure his argument is targeted towards his audience. The inclusion of economic benefits for the audience was strategic and impactful. It was interesting to learn in class about how previous attempts to draw light to the issues of slavery were mainly done by targeting the audience's sympathy. Overall, I thought the ending was suitable for the tone of the novel and gave me the closure as a reader that I was looking for.
Hi Audrey! I agree! Equiano's use of letters was a unique way to add a personal touch to his story. It's interesting to see how he crafted his argument to appeal to his audience's interests and how he addressed the moral issue and economic benefits. It's impressive to see how he was able to humanize himself and his experience as an enslaved person to make a significant impact on society. I'm glad we were able to learn about this in class and gain a better understanding of the history of slavery and its impacts on society.
ReplyDeleteHi Audrey! I like how you mentioned the letters at the beginning and then at the end making for a full-circle moment. In my opinion, the letters allow for Equiano's true voice and passion in relation to his feelings on the slave trade to show. It also adds to his credibility. I also liked the more analytical side that he gave in his persuasive argument at the end. It's obvious that he's appealing to a white audience, and I think his reasoning is very smart and strategic.
ReplyDeleteHey Audrey, I completely agree with you. The full circle ending was much needed because it provides his audience, parliament, feeling much more connected with what he has to say. Since most of his story he was disconnected with the audience and more retelling accounts of his life, but by bringing in the audience in the end again he was able to make them relate to his appeal for abolition. And make them feel as if it is almost personal and not a disconnected issue.
ReplyDeleteHey, Audrey! I completely agree with your examination of Equiano's novel and the importance of the letters in making his experience more personal to his audience. It's amazing how he was able to use his own story to not only shed light on the horrors of slavery but also make a compelling argument for its abolition. I also found it interesting how he targeted his audience by appealing to their economic interests. It's sad to see that even as far back as Equiano's world, social justice issues often need to be framed in a way that appeals to people's self-interest before they'll take action.
ReplyDeleteHi Audrey, the inclusion of letters definitely gave it a full-circle feeling, especially since he opened the narrative with a list of people who pre-ordered/helped him with the book. He started with an appeal to ethos and is ending with one as well. I was really glad the ending was the way it was too. It appealed to logic rather than emotion which Equiano had done a lot of in the previous chapters and the other letters. I still wonder why it was so short, and why he did not make more appeals to logic throughout the narrative.
ReplyDeleteHi Audrey! I also enjoyed the way Equiano concluded the novel! I think it's super interesting to see how strategic Equiano is when writing. He knew he had to establish credibility in order to appeal to a larger audience and have his book become relevant.
ReplyDeleteHey Audrey, I also think that Equiano did a fantastic job concluding his narrative. I agree that his letters allow him to express his voice and humanize his experience as an enslaved captive. At the same time, I also think that his letters help him establish ethos with his largely-British audience. Including the economic benefits of abolishing slavery were definitely more appealing arguments to his audience.
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