Equiano sees many things that he is unfamiliar with on his journey, including a telescope and men on horseback.

how does he first explain these new sights in his narrative?

he worries that he has already died.
he thinks that he has been cursed by a rival tribe member.
he worries that he has caught a terrible disease that is affecting what he sees.
he thinks that he is in a different world that is full of magic and evil spirits.

Look at the painting the lictors bring to brutus the bodies of his sons by jacques-louis david (1789). the most likely message this painting sends to french citizens is that one must be prepared to sacrifice their own children to preserve france. loyalty to one’s country stops short of sacrificing one’s own children. brutality is an integral part of revolution and the reign of terror. no one is immune to death, not even the leaders of the revolution.