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What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July By Frederick Douglass

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In What to the Slave is the Fourth of July written by Frederick Douglass, Douglass speaks on the issue of the meaning of the Fourth of July in the eyes of an African American. Douglass was asked to propose a speech about the Fourth of July. In Douglass’ speech he voices that African Americans have no reason to celebrate this holiday, because they are not free; therefore, he Fourth of July has no meaning to them. He takes this opportunity to express the inequalities of African Americans in the United States. While doing so Douglass displays the use of Platonic Framework within his speech. Douglass exhibits excellent use of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful set forth by Plato. In comparison between Douglass’ speech and the text of Plato, the two correlate with the idea of which personal freedom is a prime example of what the true meaning of good is. “That, Socrates, which truly is the greatest good and the source, not only of personal freedom for …show more content…

He will not make it ‘pretty’, instead he will bluntly state how himself, and how others alike him feel. “I evince no elaborate preparation, nor grace my speech withy any high sounding exordium” (Douglass). Douglass doesn’t want his speech to be pretty, he wants it to be honest and truthful. He does not want his audience to go through his speech with a fine tooth comb to get behing the meaning of his speech. Socrates, however, wants to examine everything, “Let’s hold what we do have closer to the light so that we can see precisely the power of the are these things produce” (Phaedrus pg. 68). These two quotes are placed with the intention of truth. Socrates wants to examine a speech to study what the true meaning is. Douglass on the other hand, wants no confusion with what his speech entails: which is why he does not want to add anything, for the sole purpose of his audience not being able to intepret the wrong

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