Block Quote

When we blame in another man the excesses of love, of grief, of resentment, we not only consider the ruinous effects which they tend to produce, but the little occasion which was given for them. The merit of his favorite, we say, is not so great, his misfortune is not so dreadful, his provocation is not so extraordinary, as to justify so violent a passion. (Smith 71)

The line crosses between love, grief, and resentment, with all retaliating with strong emotions. The occasion of the strong emotions is either a combination of that hurt, or many other factors that others may not know about. When feeling a mixture of strong emotions that can be uncontrollable, unstoppable, and nonpreventable, causing unpredictability within a person. Meaning that other individuals may judge another for having such a strong emotional turmoil, which is natural human behavior. Concomitantly, the individual with strong emotions should not release those emotions in an erratic and/or violent behavior.

The reason I chose this block quote was that it relates to my final paper regarding The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. Though it is also relatable to us as readers, it is relatable to Equiano. Equiano demonstrates powerful emotions of love for his previous slave owners due to those slave owners being the parental figures he had in his childhood, since he was kidnapped. With the strong love present within Equiano for his slave owners, we, as readers, would judge him. According to Smith, the readers are entitled to feel those emotions, but even though we did dive deep into Equiano’s mind through his narrative and autobiography, there is an understanding, but no justification, to his strong emotions.