Olaudah Equiano

Equiano is an interesting character.  He is very much about showing people what slavery was like and challenging their beliefs that they are "high and mighty" and "Christians."

I can see how some historians have come to think that he wasn't actually born in Africa and just wrote where he came from as a way to try to make his story a representative of the whole slave story. I can see this because he says that his country's customs were carefully implanted in him, which can give that illusion.

Once we get past the very beginning of his story, however, I believe it is too detailed to have been written as just a symbol for the collective slave narrative. I believe this was his actual life story with maybe a few points slightly exaggerated to make a point.

Either way, though, his story should've been a rude awakening for the white people of the Americas and of Europe who kept slaves.

Benjamin Franklin

Ben Franklin.  A man of many talents... a.k.a. - a Renaissance man.  He was pretty direct with his writing, in my opinion. His main point of "you can make yourself morally good/perfect yourself by doing certain things" got through in his writing.  I would have to agree with the theme that you can make yourself into what you want because, based on your choices and perseverance, you will either make it or break it.

I'd have to disagree with his description of what you should believe in terms of faith, however. His basic description of what religion is basically describes how I feel a lot of people are towards calling themselves "Christian."  However, it is my belief that true Christianity is about having a relationship with God/Jesus. You can't just say that you're saved because you go to church or because you believe that there is a God of some kind up above.