Finally, the author uses diction to present slaveholders cowardice by dramatizing his daily situation when preparing his escape “advise me to complete thoughtlessness of the future, and taught me to depend solely upon him for happiness.” pg.106. By appealing to pathos and exaggerating slaves situation, Douglass intents to show the fear of slaveholders through connotation. Slaveholders have nothing in their lives without slaves, so they used manipulated their slaves to satisfy themselves. Slaveholders control every aspect in the life of a slave to prevent progress in slaves lives to block decay in slavery which would be a disaster for slaveholders. In conclusion this illuminates slaveholders selfishness to show their success to a biased community …show more content…
Douglas uses diction and detail in the conclusion of his book and assures, “Faithfully relying upon the power of truth, love and justice, for success in my humble efforts- and solemnly pledging myself anew to the sacred cause,- I subscribe myself” pg.126. In passage the author is referring to freedom, and characterizes freedom as something obtained by self determination, and full devotion through the use of diction. Using denotation, Douglass characterizes freedom for all slaves as his main goal in life. In this sentence, the author is giving hope to other slaves, implying freedom is possible. In addition Douglass uses connotation to send a message to slaveholders saying they are living in a fantasy, and warning them of the consequences when slavery ends. With this, Douglas encourages other slaves to find strength to look and fight for freedom and to create a human chain to promote the abolitionist movement. In addition, Douglas extends on the complexity of freedom by projecting, “The wretchedness of slavery, and the blessedness of freedom, were perpetually before me.” Pg. 110. By appealing to ethos through diction, the author exhibits the
After about nine chapters detailing his slave life, he says, “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” (Douglass, 75) He then goes on to describe the turning point for him that sparked his quest for freedom. By structuring his narrative this way, he reveals both sides- how slavery broke him “in body, soul, and spirit” (Douglass, 73) and how it eventually “rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom” within him (Douglass, 80). In doing so, he gives the reader an insight into how he became himself, and reinforces the evils of slavery in the way it shapes a man’s life. Douglass’ use of diction and structure effectively persuades the reader of the barbarity and inhumanity that comes as a result of slavery.
One of the strongest pieces of evidence the author uses in support of their argument is, “At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed… For is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder… The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled… and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced.” What Douglass tries to accomplish is to tell the citizens that words will not make a difference if they want change. Only violence can make an impact because the slaves’ voices are not really being heard. This evidence is strong because Douglass attempts to use the rhetorical appeal of pathos in
For a man that was brought up not knowing his birthday, beaten for wanting to learn, and tortured for not perfectly completing the task asked by his master, he; Frederick Douglass had the ability to write an articulate novel explaining in detail, the hardships of being a slave. In the novel, it is prevalent that Douglass came from nothing and reinvented himself into an affluent abolitionist and writer. Rhetorical devices furthered Douglass’s argument by making it known that the way he writes and speaks has no effect on the torture and violence he endured. Also the rhetorical devices added emphasis that the subject of slavery matters.
This is true happiness, excitement, and freedom expressed by Douglass in the form of his writing. He is victorious in this personal fight against the evil of slavery. This passage provides a turning point for Douglass as a character. It really stands out among the remainder of Douglass’ story as being “ultra-positive.”
Frederick Douglass was a great author who used a variety of literary devices to contribute to his overall writing. One of his main literary elements that he uses is diction. What is diction? According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary diction is the way in which words are used in speech or writing. Douglass’ use of diction helps emphasize key point about slavery that writes about. Also, diction helps to convey the message that Douglass is writing about. Douglass uses diction is to describe the struggles and experiences of his life. Lastly, through his use of diction, Douglass was able to reveal what truly happened to slaves in the south, as well as the corruption of the slaveholders.
In this selection from Frederick Douglass' 1845 autobiography, the third paragraph stands out from the rest of the passage due to differences in construction. Douglass' use of syntax and figurative language set this paragraph apart and reinforce Douglass' demonstration that despite the fact that slavery would leave the reader "behold a man transformed into a brute" (16-17), slaves were not animals but men with thoughts and desires of their own. First off, Douglass' syntax undergoes a major shift between the second and third paragraphs. The first part of the passage is characterized by sentences of similar length, but the sentences in the third paragraph are mostly quite short and concise. This movement of sentence length emphasizes the shift between a description of daily life and Douglass' inner thoughts.
P1:1 “Freedom,” written in English 363, analyzes (formalism approach), Frederick Douglass’, “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” that expresses Douglass’ human condition/need for freedom from slavery. Douglass writes about his wish for freedom from slavery during the 1800’s (Douglass Ch 1). Douglass has a good life with his first master, and he learns to read, but his second owner treats him cruelly and then he seeks freedom from slavery (Douglass Ch 1). Douglass in his poem to the ships reflects upon one Sunday afternoon (like many other Sundays) when he is off from work and near the water admiring the passing ships and wishing for his freedom from slavery (Douglass Ch 10). Douglass believes that all slaves wish for freedom from
The life of a slave is never easy; it is full of hurt, cruelty, and chains; there is no freedom. Naturally, one in such a condition would want to escape, but often that is an improbable option; there are too many limitations such as a lack of money and/or connections. Also, slaveowners will stop at nothing to keep their slaves in their possession and will use methods such as moving their slaves around or keeping their slaves too weak and uneducated to go anywhere else. Frederick Douglass employs religious diction, contrasts, and repetition in his memoir, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, to convey the longing despair for freedom that many slaves have, even if they can not necessarily escape.
“The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” is often told with a harsh and unemotional tone; it is this euphemistic style that gives the reader a keen insight into the writer's epoch as a slave in Maryland during the early 1800’s. Douglass never let us forget that his narrative was true, he wanted the readers to understand the truth that was Douglass's life, in addition the symbols and allusions that populate this book showing the intelligence and sophistication of the writer, while the detached writing also gives the reader another look into that time’s attitude and into Douglass’s own perception.
In the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave, written by himself, the author argues that slaves are treated no better than, sometimes worse, than livestock. Douglass supports his claim by demonstrating how the slaves were forced to eat out of a trough like pigs and second, shows how hard they were working, like animals. The author’s purpose is to show the lifestyle of an American slave in order to appeal to people’s emotions to show people, from a slave’s perspective, what slavery is really like. Based on the harsh descriptions of his life, Douglass is writing to abolitionist and other people that would sympathize and abolish slavery.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the
Slavery is a humongous topic involving both slaves and former slaves. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Story is one such story. Douglass suffered punishments, and watching others get punished, he uses those experiences to make his argument against slavery.Douglass’ tone in the narrative is sarcastic and dark. Frederick Douglass successfully uses vast quantities of rhetorical devices, illuminating the horror and viciousness of slavery, including the need to eliminate it.
Frederick Douglass, the author of the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass was a self-taught slave that was able to escape the brutality of slavery in the year of 1838. Frederick Douglass’s book is separated into 3 main sections, including, a beginning, middle, and end. The purpose of the narrative is to improve the audience's understanding of Douglass’s experience of being a slave, the horrible treatment slaves received, and how Douglass was able to overcome and escape slavery. All throughout the narrative, Douglass uses many rhetorical devices, including, diction, imagery, and syntax, which helps the audience understand, one of his main chapters, chapter 5. In this chapter Douglass implies that the overall purpose is to emphasize the animalistic, inhuman treatment slaves received, how Douglass felt about leaving Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, and his luck of being able to move to Mr. and Mrs. Auld's.
In the excerpt “Learning to Read and Write”, Frederick Douglass talks about his experiences in slavery living in his masters house and his struggle to learn how to read and write. Frederick Douglass was an African American social reformer, orator, writer, and statesman. Some of his other writings include “The Heroic Slave”, “My Bondage and My Freedom”, and “Life and Times of Frederick Douglass”. In this excerpt, Frederick Douglass uses an empathic tone, imagery, certain verb choice, contrast, and metaphors to inform African Americans of how important it is to learn to read and write and also to inform a white American audience of the evils of slavery. I find Frederick Douglass to
According to Douglass, “They went so far in their excitement as to pronounce the measures of government unjust, unreasonable, and oppressive, and altogether such as ought not to be quietly submitted to” (Douglass, 150). Douglass saw similarities between the struggles of the forefathers and black slaves, and he compelled his audience to recognize these similarities and follow the example of the forefathers.