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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. When the crew think they see cannibals, what are they really looking at?

2. How does the crew of Mulgrave's expedition survive?

3. What sight does Equiano find strange in Turkey?

4. Why does Equiano decide to leave the plantation?

5. Where do Equiano and the rest of the rescue mission head to try to get help?

Short Essay Questions

1. Do you think it makes sense for Equiano to believe that he made the ship wreck by cursing it?

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

3. How does the episode with the silversmith parallel earlier events in The Interesting Narrative?

4. Why does Equiano decide to leave Dr. Irving's plantation?

5. Why does Equiano choose to go with Dr. Irving to start a plantation in Jamaica?

6. Describe and comment on Equiano's experiences with the Sierra Leone settlement.

7. Describe Equiano's trip to New York and Philadelphia in 1784.

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

9. How are Equiano and Farmer each characterized by the incident with the bulls and the turkeys?

10. Is Equiano's encounter with Pascal when he returns to England the way you expected it to be?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Historians are not certain that the details of Equiano's early life as described in the Narrative are completely accurate. In fact, many historians believe that Equiano was not born in Africa but was, instead, born a slave in North or South Carolina. Write an essay in which you explain what difference it would make to a reader's response to the book if Equiano fictionalized the details of his early life. Consider, as well, what Equiano's motivations for fictionalizing might have been.

Essay Topic 2

Equiano is not the only person in his life story who experiences disappointments and setbacks on a regular basis. Select two disappointments, difficulties, or setbacks experienced by two different people other than Equiano and compare them to at least one of Equiano's setbacks.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast any three locations that Equiano travels to or describes in The Interesting Narrative. What conclusions can readers draw from the information Equiano presents about these three different locations?

(see the answer keys)

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