How Equiano Is Appealing to His Audience - Essay Example

The character tried to appeal to moral philosophy by using appropriate language to the audience, fair minded presentation and clear articulation in his words. The use of English word ethics shows trustworthiness in his character and gives the audience an emotionally charged reasoning. Equiano used some words to express various emotional responses such as happiness and sadness.

In one instance, Equiano shows a desire for freedom and education for his people. He longs for education to be free as he goes beyond boundaries and picks new dialects and languages to educate people. In his slave narrative, the writer revealed how he traded small quantities of imported goods to get money to buy his freedom. This instance brought a good feeling to his audience attitudes who are longing for economic success in the society.

Equianos narrative emphasized on antislavery cause and created an enormous impact on the antislavery movement. He spoke powerfully about exploited and disenfranchised workers that fueled mercantilism. This greatly appealed to his audience especially those who were overwhelmed by the challenges he faced and transformations he experienced. In some of his narratives, the audience compared his character to that of Benjamin Franklin because both aimed at giving hope for improving interests of humanity. He vividly described the violence of slavery such as beating and gave more stories giving more information about the impacts of slavery on humankind. This appealed to the audiences emotion especially Christian audience in the way of direct address.

Moreover, real success stories inspired many of his audience. Equiano described series of sexual abuse especially for innocent females and went on to explain the separation of families and disregard of slave slavery which contradicted the racial stereotypes of that era. Another appealing factor is playing a key role in the transition from oral culture to literature culture despite living under the oppressive custom of the slave trade. In his own words, he said that I had strong desire to learn and improve my mind in reading despite in captivity. This shows a man determined to condemn slave even under unfavorable conditions thus giving his audience a picture of a self-made man.

Equianos personality showed a highly thoughtful and intelligent man who is prone of explaining his state of mind without double standards. The readers appreciated this values because through his passion for the end of the slave trade; he managed to be abolitionist in his later life. His expression of religion was personal as observed in the case where he almost commits suicide out of despair because of being onboard a ship with men who practice blasphemy and carousal. This and other acts made him rebranded as the Benjamin Franklin version of Africa.

The audience expressed Equianos narratives as the active force that resulted in the abolition of African slave trade in the British Empire. Equiano earned praises for being a spokesman for the majority of black slaves who lacked the opportunity to write down or speak out their experiences. He successfully managed to change his audience attitudes thus leading to great movements of people from different public sectors who were united in abolishing slave trade during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Through his narratives, people were satisfied with his political potential of literacy as it was viewed by the audience as a tool to challenge the institution of slavery and reclaiming the image of Africans.