p. 1

Name: ______Period: ______Date: ______

From “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano”

Before you read:

Inference: an educated guess based on what you already know and what you learn from reading. To make an inference, look beyond what’s being stated directly in a text and think about what is being hinted at. You will be making inferences as you read this text, but overall be thinking about what you think are Equiano’s philosophical or fundamental beliefs about human cruelty.

As you read:

1)Comprehension: Describe the situation in which Equiano was taken from his home.

2)Making inferences: 1st column, p. 54: What does Equiano suggest is one of the cruelest aspects of slavery?

3)Comprehension: What has happened to Equiano’s sister? How does he feel about it?

4)Making inferences: Who are the “destroyers of human rights”? What point is the writer making in saying this?

5)Predict: By the end of p. 55, what has happened to Equiano? What do you think will happen to his next, and why?

6)Clarify: On p. 56, who/what is the “last friend” that Equiano wishes to relieve him?

7)Cause & Effect:Why were the prisoners whipped for refusing to eat?

8)Clarify: in the first column on p. 57, what event confirms Equiano’s idea that white men are brutal?

9)Clarify: Equiano thinks the boat is stopped by “magic.” What is this “magic” that stops the boat?

10)Interpret: Why didn’t the crew want the slaves to see how they managed the ship?

11)Cause & Effect: What makes the conditions on this second ship even worse than before?

12)Making Inferences: What does Equiano mean when he refers to the sailors’ “improvident avarice”?

13)Making Inferences: On p. 58, who does Equiano envy, and why does he envy them?

14)Cause & Effect: In your own words, restate the events that Equiano describes in the second column on p. 58. How do these events cause the white men to treat the slaves?

15)Making Inferences: What do you learn about Equiano’s beliefs from his words, “O, ye nominal Christians! Might not an African ask you, Learned you this from your God who says unto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you?”

16)Persuasive techniques: In the last column on p. 59, what is Equiano trying to persuade his reader to think or to do?

17)Paraphrase: Rewrite the last sentence of the narrative in your own words to help you understand it.