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Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Religious Diction Essay

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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. Frederick Douglass uses positive …show more content…

His repeated use of “I” at the beginning of his sentences in the second and final paragraph of the text shows his determination to free himself: “I will run away. I will not stand it...I had as well die with ague as the fever. I have only one life to lose.” The anaphora in the writing also shows that he is different from others. Douglass is literate and he is smart, capable of thinking for himself. He does not accept that he is meant to be a slave and while most likely many other slaves have thought of escaping, he is the one actually escaping, be it with others of himself alone. The repetition shows his unsatisfied and strong attitude towards slavery. It also shows the extent of the awfulness of slavery; slaves would rather die with conviction than continue to be set in manacles. Primarily Douglass uses in his book contrasts, theological beliefs, and reiteration of certain words or phrases to bring home his main points. Douglass tries to show help the readers understand the terrible feelings of dread that slaves go through everyday of their lives and how much it pains them to stay enslaved. To slaves often death is preferable to continuing to be taken advantage of by slaveowners. Even after they are free, former slaves still will not be able to put down the trauma that came along with their

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