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It has been suggested that Olaudah Equiano may not have been born in Africa, but in South Carolina. If this were true, does his birthplace change...

This question points to a significant difference between how we read fiction and nonfiction. Much of the interest in this narrative is due to its being an "authentic" account of the life a member of an African tribe sold into slavery and then eventually freed. The initial reception of the work and its contribution to the abolitionist movement are based on the premise of a reliable narrator. The problem here is that if the narrator...

This question points to a significant difference between how we read fiction and nonfiction. Much of the interest in this narrative is due to its being an "authentic" account of the life a member of an African tribe sold into slavery and then eventually freed. The initial reception of the work and its contribution to the abolitionist movement are based on the premise of a reliable narrator. The problem here is that if the narrator proves unreliable in one factual detail, we begin to doubt his credibility on other details. 


While Equiano's work would still be worth reading as a semi-fictional portrait of slavery even if the details of the narrator's life are fictional, just as Black Beauty is a fictional but moving portrait of cruelty to animals, as readers we tend to distrust writers who claim to be telling a true story but alter crucial details. If the story of Equiano's birth is a deliberate fiction to engage the reader's sympathy, we begin to suspect him of being more of a con man and less of a victim. 

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