The
Interesting
Narrative of
the Life of
Olaudah
Equiano
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Chapter 1, Grade 11
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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California Standards
Reading Standard 2.5
• Analyze an author’s implicit and explicit
philosophical assumptions and beliefs about
a subject.
Reading Standard 3.1
• Analyze characteristics of subgenres
that are used in prose.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Before You Read
More About the Writer
Background
– In 1762, four years before
Equiano finally bought
his freedom, he thought
he was about to become
a free man.
– The British naval officer
he had served with during
the Seven Years’ War
had promised to free
Equiano after the war.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Before You Read
Literary Focus
Autobiography
– But, he sold him to a ship captain, who
brought Equiano to the West Indies:
» “Thus, at the moment I expected all my toils
to end, was I plunged….in a new slavery:
in comparison of which all my service
hitherto had been perfect freedom…”
– The name Olaudah means “one favored,”
especially with the ability to speak well.
» Equiano spoke out through his autobiography, which
is one of the classic slave narratives of all times.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Before You Read
Make the Connection
Quickwrite
– The first Africans
in the Americas
were unwilling
immigrants
who arrived
on slave ships
before 1600.
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Before You Read
Make the Connection
Quickwrite
– Between the 17th
and 19th centuries,
about 10,000,000
people were captured
in Africa and shipped
to North and South
America and the islands
of the West Indies,
where they were sold
as slaves.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Before You Read
Make the Connection
Quickwrite
– Before you read,
fill out the first
two columns
regarding the
slave trade
in the eighteenth
century.
– Leave the third
column blank.
Download this graphic organizer
at www.curriculumcompanion.org
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Before You Read
Literary Focus
Autobiography
– Equiano’s
autobiography was one
of the first of a number
of slave narratives.
– The publication
of these narratives
was encouraged by
abolitionists in the 19th
century to fuel the
crusade against slavery.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Before You Read
Reading Skills
Making Inferences About an Author’s Beliefs
– An inference is an educated guess based
on what you already know and what you
learn from reading a text.
– To make an inference,
look beyond what’s being
stated directly in a text
and think about what
is implicit, or hinted at.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Before You Read
Reading Skills
Making Inferences About
an Author’s Beliefs
– As you read, be alert for
phrases or passages
that give you insight into
an author’s beliefs about
a subject.
– What do you think are
Equiano’s philosophical or
fundamental beliefs about
human cruelty?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Before You Read
Vocabulary Development
• assailant
• commodious
• distraction
• consternation
• apprehensions
• improvident
• alleviate
• avarice
• interspersed
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Direct Teaching
Content-Area Connections
History: Slavery in Africa
– You may be surprised
to know that Africans
enslaved one another.
– According to historian
Herbert S. Klein, slavery
existed in Africa from
recorded times, but it was a relatively
minor institution before the emergence
of the Atlantic slave trade in the early
sixteenth century.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Content-Area Connections
History: The Slave Trade
– You may also be shocked to
learn that the slave catchers,
or kidnappers, were other
Africans.
– According to Herbert S. Klein,
“all African slaves were
purchased from local African
owners…European buyers were
totally dependent on African
sellers for the delivery of slaves.”
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Finding the
Sequence of Events
• Find the sequence phrases
in the text such as “the next
morning.”
• Use these sequencing clues
to create a timeline of the
events in the autobiography.
– This will help you track
Equiano’s movements
west.
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Direct Teaching
Reading Skills
Making Inferences
– Why do you
think Equiano
and his sister
refused
the food?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Reading Skills
Making Inferences
About the Author’s Beliefs
– Equiano suggests his belief that one of the
cruelest aspects of slavery is the way it often
tears apart families.
– Today most people are horrified by the idea
of slavery, so you may be surprised by
Equiano’s matter of fact attitude.
» Although he is grief stricken at being separated
from his sister, he seems to accept being a slave.
» Why might he react this way?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Reading Skills
• Interpreting
– Why do you think
the slavers carried
Equiano?
• Making inferences
about an author’s beliefs.
– What can we infer
about Equiano’s beliefs
from his use of the
phrase “sable destroyers
of human rights”?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Content-Area Connections
History: Slavery in Africa
– You may be
surprised at the
physical closeness
between slaves
and owners.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Literary Focus
GRADE LEVEL STANDARD
Autobiography
– Equiano’s autobiography is not simply
an account of the hardship he endured.
– He also includes descriptions of the
people, places, and customs he
experiences.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Reading Skills
Speculating
– Why do you think
the widow and
her son treated
Equiano so well?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Literary Focus
GRADE LEVEL STANDARD - Autobiography
– According to Vincent Carretta, Equiano’s
book falls within the genre of the “spiritual
autobiography”.
» Equiano places his tale within a JudeoChristian context, often drawing analogies
between Africans and Jews.
– According to Carretta, he uses the
“contemptuous label” uncircumcised
“to distinguish other races from his own”
and to “remind his readers of the JewishAfrican” relationship he sees.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Literary Focus
REVIEW STANDARD - Irony
– Why was Equiano afraid of the crew?
– Why might Equiano’s readers (white readers)
have found his reaction to the crew ironic?
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Direct Teaching
Reading Skills
• Making Inferences
– Why did Equiano faint?
• Comparing and Contrasting
– This is the beginning of the section that
describes the conditions of the captives
in the hold, the area below the decks.
– Refer to the “Viewing the Art” on p. 52
to compare and contrast Equiano’s
description with the painting.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Reading Skills
Making Inferences
– Why were Equiano
and the other
prisoners whipped for
refusing to eat?
– The nettings Equiano
refers to were placed
along the sides of the
boat specifically to
prevent the slaves
from jumping
overboard.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Content-Area Connections
History: The Crew
– Slave ship captains
were so brutal toward
their crews that
abolitionists (hoping to
convince white people
of the evils of slavery)
often argued that
the slave trade was
deadlier for the crew
than for the slaves.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Reading Skills
Speculating
– Why didn’t the
crew want the
slaves to see
how they
managed
the ship?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Content-Area Connections
History: The Middle Passage
– Each captain on a slave ship
had about six feet by sixteen
inches of space.
– Captives were wedged
together horizontally and
were unable to stand up
or even turn over.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Content-Area Connections
History: The Middle Passage
– The men were
shackled to one another
or to the deck to prevent mutiny
or suicide (by jumping overboard).
– The main causes of death were
gastrointestinal disorders, like dysentery.
– The mortality rates during the Middle
Passage have been estimated
at 15 to 30 percent.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Reading Skills
• Interpreting
– What does Equiano mean when he refers
to the slavers’ “improvement avarice”?
• Recognizing
the Author’s Purpose
– Why does Equiano
include this anecdote
about the sailors
and the fish?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Direct Teaching
Literary Focus
GRADE-LEVEL STANDARD - Autobiography
– Once again, Equiano includes
details about the new things he
sees and learns.
– His autobiography often reads
like a travel or adventure book.
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Direct Teaching
Learners Having Difficulty
Breaking Down Difficult Text
– Paraphrase this
complicated sentence,
breaking it down into
several simpler
sentences, and
replacing the pronoun
this with the noun
phrase it refers to.
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