Night, too, began to approach, and aggravated all my fears. I had before entertained hopes of getting home, and had determined when it should be dark to make the attempt; but I was now convinced it was fruitless, and began to consider that, if possibly I could escape all other animals, I could not those of the human kind; and that, not knowing the way, I must perish in the woods. Thus was I like the hunted deer — This excerpt from Equiano's work best illustrates .

the brutality with which man treats his fellow man
the dehumanizing experience of slavery
the power of hope and the Christian faith
the untamed wilderness of the American south