If anyone else out there is like me, you thought the "Interesting Narrative" of Olaudah Equiano was a bit difficult to follow at times...and so, I found a timeline of his life (HERE`,)
After discussion in class yesterday, I appreciate the fact that Equiano felt the need to include a lot of details in his narrative. The readers have little problem imagining the sights, the sounds, and even the smells in the different scenes he paints for us. And yet, was it completely necessary to go into AS MUCH detail as he did in the second half of his narrative? What purpose was he serving, retelling sea battle after sea battle?
I suppose this depends on the purpose of his narrative, of course. If he was advocating abolitionism or the horrors of slavery, then I especially don't understand the inclusion of his sea adventures. But if, truly, Equiano was just retelling his life's story, then maybe he thought that'd be of interest.
I still don't feel like we came to a conclusion on his purpose for writing this narrative...which makes me think: is there anyway for anyone to really know why he wrote it? Is there an exact answer to this question?
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