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Pathos
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Providence:
Equiano regularly depicts Providence, or God's spiritual protection and will, as a force with human-like whims. For instance, he personifies Providence in Chapter 7 when he reflects on Captain Farmer's death:
[H]ad it pleased Providence that he had died but five months before, I verily believe I should not have obtained my freedom when I did[...]
Earlier in the chapter, Farmer spoke up in favor of Equiano when Equiano sought to purchase his freedom from Mr. King. Equiano is keenly aware that the life-altering moment when he became legally free may never have happened without Farmer's intervention. He is thankful not only to Farmer, but also to Providence for not being "pleased" to kill Farmer off too soon. It was fairly standard at this time to use personification when writing about Providence. Still, Equiano's personification reveals some of the complexities in his relationship to Providence and the divine. The idea that Equiano owes his freedom to Providence's "pleasure" makes clear that he buys into Christianity and that he believes God's protection applies to him as well as to white people. White people habitually claimed that it was God's will for Black people to be enslaved, so claiming that it pleased Providence for him to be free is its own radical statement.
Still, the idea that everything comes down to the whims of Providence is a complicated worldview for Equiano. If God's plan dictates the way everything happens, why was he enslaved in the first place? If everyone is predestined to heaven or hell, what divine consequences are there for the cruelest enslavers? By emphasizing Providence's "pleasure" in the same sentence in which he emphasizes Farmer's role in freeing him, Equiano suggests that he believes in a more complex kind of divine will—one in which Providence and humans each do as they "please," contributing together to what happens in the world.
Related Themes:
