Frederick Douglass Kate Chopin Analysis

Every book is different because every writer will have their own unique style of presenting their thoughts and ideas. These differences can be seen in the different stylistic elements that an author will employ and how they utilize them. In the Narrative of Frederick Douglass, Douglass attempts to demonstrate the horrors of slavery. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin demonstrates how the main character Edna is unpleased with the standard roles of women. When developing their purposes Frederick Douglas and Kate Chopin utilized various stylistic elements in mostly different manners. Kate Chopin and Frederick Douglass present their stories from different point of views in order to present the theme that the characters situations are miserable. Douglass

Douglass’s and Chopin’s rhetoric are mainly similar in their use of pathos to develop the idea that the situation the characters are facing are terrible. For example, Douglass uses pathos in the lines, “ The head, neck, and shoulders of Mary were literally cut to pieces. I have frequently felt her head, and found it nearly covered with festering sores, caused by the lash of her cruel mistress… (Douglass, VI)” Douglass uses this crude description of the slave Mary to appeal to the audience’s emotions and to express how slavery was an abomination. Chopin also uses pathos in the lines, “The tears came so fast to Mrs. Pontellier’s eyes that the damp sleeve of her peignoir no longer served to dry them… she could not have told why she was crying. Such experiences as the foregoing were not uncommon in her married life. (Chopin III)” Chopin uses the super detailed description of Edna crying to appeal to the audience and demonstrate how Edna’s current situation is exceedingly unpleasant. In both situations the authors use pathos to appeal to the audience and show the characters in dark and unpleasant situations to display how horrendous their situations

Douglass presents his piece from a first person viewpoint while Chopin uses a third-person omniscient viewpoint. Douglass has a dark and sickened tone which creates a sympathetic mood while Chopin uses a progressive tone that creates an accepting mood. The two authors’ styles are different they are similar in regards to their use of rhetoric. They both use pathos to appeal to the audience’s emotions and show the horrors of the characters situations. In conclusion, Frederick Douglass and Kate Chopin utilize various stylistic devices in completely different ways to convey their themes and