Olaudah Equiano

Comprehension Check Questions:
1.For what crimes were slaves punished? And what was the punishment?
One of the crimes that the slaves where punished for was running away as mentioned in the excerpt. When ever the slaves had the chance to run away, the would do so even if it meant throwing themselves in the water. As a result, the slave traders would stop the boat and go after the fugitives. Some would then die from suffocation, hunger and illnesses.

Critical Thinking Questions:
2.Interpret: Why does Equiano blame the illness aboard the ship on the “improvident avarice” of the traders?
Equiano blames the illness aboard the ship on the "improvident avarice" of the traders because if it weren't for the traders ambition to have money than the Slave Trade would have been unnecessary. That is why he says "This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers" knowing that it all has to so with money.

Support from the text:
3.How can you tell that Equiano has a great zest for life despite his assertion that he wanted to die?
Despite all the harships that exist in life, you could tell that Equiano has great zest for life when he describe what he saw in Barbadoes whit great excitement such as the horses. His excitement shows the reader how optimistic he is about life.
4.Infer: What does this passage reveal about the author?
This passage could probably refer that the author was a slave who was going through all of this, as he is telling the story. This passage could also refer to the negativity that exists in slavery.
5.Draw conclusion: Explain what a variety of languages indicates about the slave trade.
The fact that there are so many languages spoken in one country or that the community is very diverse in the physical sense, indictaes that the Slave Trade had a great part in this. Because of the Slave Trade, many people from different cultures migrated and thus stayed at this new place. Therefore the diversity we may see in our community is due to the Slave Trade. A great example of this is the Carribean, where ancestry goes as far as Africa.

Thematic Focus:
6.When one culture dominates another, what troubles might society face?
When one culture dominates another it creates tension and cruelty. The dominant country we be overflowed by it's power and will soon become corrupt. This could even lead to rebellion as seen in the past in Haiti, the greatest Slave Rebellion ever.