Due
Date: Mon., Sept. 23
Purpose
of the Assignment: The purpose of this writing
assignment is to give you practice in (1) interpreting a document (Equiano’s The
Life of Olaudah Equiano) to answer a historical question, and (2) to write
an organized and well-documented essay.
Requirements: Your paper should be 750 words (approx. 3 double-spaced
typewritten pages) long. Answer either
of the following two questions (don’t write on both):
I.
Eighteenth-century
Europe saw the emergence of a new spirit of individualism. In what way did Olaudah Equiano embody or
exemplify this new spirit? Why is it
paradoxical that someone like him should be a sort of “poster child” for this
new initiative?
II.
What was Olaudah Equiano’s attitude toward European civilization? By the end of his life, could he be
considered a European? Why, or why not?
III. What arguments does Equiano
put forward against the slave system?
Do these arguments suggest that he wants to overthrow European
dominance? Why, or why not?
Whichever
question you answer, your essay should be organized with an introductory
paragraph, in which you explain what you are going to write about, a body
of the essay (three or more paragraphs, each making a distinct point) in
which you lay out your argument, and a concluding paragraph in which you
sum up your findings and show how they answer the question or questions posed
in your introduction.
You
should draw the data for your essay from the book. When you quote material from the book, you should give a citation
for your quotation. In a one-source
paper like this one, you may do this by putting the page number(s) from
which you are quoting in parentheses after the quote, like this: Equiano begins his book by admitting that
“it is difficult for those who publish their own memoirs to escape the
imputation of vanity.” (p. 9). You
do not need to give a bibliography (unless you use other sources).
Yes,
grammar and spelling will count in grading your essay! Proofread carefully!
For further information on Olaudah Equiano and his
book, see Vincent Carretta, “Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa? New Light on an Eighteenth-Century Question
of Identity,” Slavery and Abolition v. 20 (1999), 96-105, which reviews
the evidence about his birthplace; James Walvin, An African’s Life: The Life and Times of Olaudah Equiano
(London: Cassell, 1998); and Angelo
Constanzo, Surprizing Narrative:
Olaudah Equiano and the Beginnings of Black Autobiography (Westport,
Ct.: Greenwood Press, 1987).