dea that the slaves are just a rebellious or uncivilized people. Anaphora was the perfect technique to stick the word "you" in because it requires repetition of a clause, phrase, or, in this case, word in one complete sentence. So Equiano could drill the fact that THEY are the ones that cause spirits of rebellion among the slaves into one complete sentence. And the audience has no choice but to acknowledge the truth of what Equiano's saying because he familiarized the word "you" with a specific common situation that every reader would be able to relate to. Had he simply asserted vaguely that "You are all wrong," the reader would quickly become insulted by this statement and as a result would opt to give a deaf ear to what Equiano is saying which would minimize the chance of slavery ending and ending quickly. Equiano's use of syntax was a very powerful way of remaining humble as he had done in other parts of the narrative; it's a great way of supporting the overall theme that slavery should end and the sub-theme that the Africans are a civilized group of individuals like any other culture.In conclusion, the fact that slavery should be abolished is the central theme of this entire narrative. It is essentially the reason for the narrative being written in the first place. However, the underlying reason or sub-theme of this passage and the narrative in general is that Africans are, in fact, a civilized society with traditions and customs of their own. Equiano uses the literary elements diction, tone, and syntax to indirectly persuade the audience and to strengthen his argument. Though these elements are powerful in themselves, the passage and the narrative in general are also crafted with a humble approach. Humility is needed for this audience because they hold the power of ending or continuing slavery. Overall, Equiano presents his argument, not only in the above passage, but in the whole narrative, in a fashion that is to be re...
