Lives and Labors: An Introduction to the Character Equiano and his Analogous Writer

This thesis investigates family, labor, literacy, and religion as represented in Olaudah Equiano’s movements in the once renowned and once disruptive text, The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, written by Gustavus Vassa. Initially this thesis focuses on the narrative’s construction of family and the effects on labor. The focus then shifts to the role of Christianity and Anglo-Christian narrative conventions in plot and character development. This thesis concludes by examining the complex position this text holds in relationship to slavery, Britishness, and social mobility.