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Frederick Douglass Syntax Analysis

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Recommended: Analysis of the narrative of frederick douglass

In this except from the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass (1844), Douglass tells the story of the obstacles he faced as a runaway slave. Douglass speaks of the excitement he experienced after first escaping; he soon realizes that he will forever be bound to the paranoia caused by the idea of getting caught, and he challenges his audience to place themselves in his situation. Douglass’s purpose is to reveal the physical and emotional hardships faced by runaway slaves and to encourage the people to do something about it. He writes with tones of loneliness and paranoia to an audience who does not understand the trials runaway slaves face, in hopes that they will recognize the cruelness of slavery and make an attempt to end it. Douglass …show more content…

He begins by repeatedly using the pronoun “I” and continuously using strong nouns and modifiers, such as “life and death” or “slavery”. The nominal style is used to direct the focus on the treacherous obstacles Douglass faced after his escape from slavery. By repeatedly using the pronoun “I” the reader can infer that he ran away by himself and is protecting anyone who may have helped him by excluding their names. He then repeats the phrase “in the midst of 1000s”, uses the fragment “But the loneliness overcame me”, and continues to repetitively use the pronoun “I”. He continues using “I” and repeating “in the midst of 1000s” to reveal to the reader how lonely he is amongst everyone. The fragment Douglass uses foreshadows the change in tone that is about to occur and emphasizes how much the feeling of loneliness has affected him. Towards the end Douglass begins using the pronoun “him” instead of “I”, frequently uses commas, and finishes with a cumulative run on sentence. The run on sentence he uses shows that he is very passionate toward the subject he is speaking about; however, he includes commas to separate his ideas while still keeping the effect of a run on sentence. The pronoun transition is very significant because after focusing on himself for the majority of the passage, Douglass switches the focus onto the reader as he challenges them to place themselves in his position. Douglass has gone through the process of escaping slavery and has been a victim to the loneliness it produces; his life has been a continuous battle and he challenges the people to do something about

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