- 17 Mar, 2021
- 0 Comments
- 5 Mins Read
Book Review of Equiano, The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings
Write a review of Equiano’s book of 500 to 750 words (2–3 typewritten pages).
Since you will be turning in this assignment online, it should be in Microsoft Word for Windows (.doc or .docx) or in a portable document file (.pdf), double-spaced, in 12-point type, with a one-inch margin on all sides.
please note:
Please turn in book reviews / essays electronically through Canvas > Assignments > Book Review of Equiano. On the due date, we will have a class discussion of the book.
You are welcome to turn in book reviews / essays early, before the due date.
When a student turns in a book review / essay on the due date, but does not participate in the class discussion, the book review / essay will be considered late. The reason for this is that class participation in the discussion of the book is important! So if you have a scheduling conflict on the date of a class discussion, just turn in the book review / essay at least a day before the assignment is due, and it will count as on time.
No more than one late assignment (book review / essay) or makeup quiz / examination will be allowed to any student.
After the due date, you may transmit a book review / essay electronically through Canvas > Assignments > Book Review of Equiano for full credit but subject to the abovementioned limit of one late assignment (book review / essay) or makeup quiz / examination per student.
If you have an ongoing condition that may prevent you from completing assignments on time, please talk to me about it.
A late assignment will receive a grade of zero (0) as a place marker on Canvas until it has been received and graded.
structure: At the head of the review, give the review your own original title, and your name, followed by the bibliographical information on the book as follows:
Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings. Edited by Vincent Carretta. New York: Penguin Books, 2003.
accuracy of the bibliographical description
If you read and review a different edition, be sure to cite the edition you used (with full publication information) in your bibliographical description.
There are a several editions available—some are better than others.
I chose Vincent Carretta’s edition because of its excellence—and Carretta’s introduction will help you to understand the book’s context and background.
If you choose a different edition, clear it with me first.
Absolutely do not choose a century-old public-domain reprint edition, of which some are available, some of which have no introduction.
Beware that the e-books and editions available from Kindle and Nook are not this assigned edition.
content
Brevity and conciseness are harder to achieve than verbosity and vagueness.
Do not just turn in a first draft.
Proofread your writing. Do not just rely on spell check, which will not alert you when you are using a real word that is the wrong word in the context.
Write in complete sentences. A complete sentence has a subject and a verb.
Grammar, syntax, style, and accuracy are important and integral parts of content and will count heavily in or against your favor in the determination of your grade on this essay.
learning outcomes
The essential purpose of writing a book review is to enable the reviewer to summarize, evaluate, and communicate to the reader of the review the book that the reviewer has read.
You should not only summarize the contents of the book, but also critically evaluate the book.
For excellent general guidelines on how to write a book review, see Writing Book Reviews, from Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University–Bloomington.
A review of any book (or any historical document) should ask and answer the following questions:
What was the author’s (Equiano’s) purpose in writing the book? To put it another way: Where is the author coming from? Where is he going with this book?
How well did the author achieve that purpose?
What are the book’s strengths and weaknesses?
What audience did the author intend to reach with the book?
To what extent did the author set standards for accuracy in writing history? Please do not refer to this book as a “novel.” A novel is fiction; this is supposed to be nonfiction. You may if you wish address the issue of the extent to which the author blurs the distinction between fiction and nonfiction.
To what extent are the author’s expectations and standards of accuracy similar to or different from our own?
To what extent have our expectations and standards of accuracy changed since the author’s time?
How did the author deal with the challenges and dilemmas that he encountered?
the backstory on the book
Olaudah Equiano was born in Nigeria in 1745 (some records indicate that he may have been born in South Carolina in 1747), enslaved, and brought to Virginia and later to England.
By means of careful saving and business practice he was able to purchase his freedom in 1766.
The Interesting Narrative was first published in 1789 and went through nine editions during his lifetime.
It was translated into Dutch (Merkwaardige levensgevallen, Rotterdam, 1790) and German (Merkwürdige Lebensgeschichte, Göttingen, 1792).
Vincent Carretta’s introduction to the assigned edition provides the historical background.
In Lecture 07 The World of Olaudah Equiano I provide additional background.
As you read the book be alert to, and in your review address / answer the following questions that are specific to this book (your essay does not have to address all of them):
What devices did Equiano use to establish the credibility of his The Interesting Narrative?
What evidence does the book provide about Equiano’s role in the antislavery movement?
Equiano served in the Royal Navy during the Seven Years’ War (called the French and Indian War in America) under Admiral Edward Boscawen. He saw action including the siege of Louisbourg (1758) in Canada and the battle of Lagos Bay (1759) off the coast of Portugal. In 1773 as a civilian mariner he embarked on an Arctic voyage in search of a Northeast Passage to India. What insights does Equiano provide from his years at sea?
Equiano witnessed the early industrialization of England. What conclusions did he draw about the impact of the industrial revolution?
What evidence does the book provide about Equiano’s religion?
How did Equiano’s religion affect his actions, and his account of those actions, as he recorded them in his book?
_____________________