Frederick Douglass Use Of Personification

For its nearly 90-year long span, slavery was the sole root of nearly all black pain and trauma, still having effects on our world 157 years after it was outlawed. It was cruel and while freedom was attainable for some, it was a road that could lead to death. Frederick Douglass, a Baltimore-born black man who was a slave from birth, up until his escape from the U.S. in 1838 and subsequent legal freedom in 1846, was a key figure at this time. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass documents Douglass’ experience and escape from the south. While free, he was surrounded by a world that saw slavery as a necessity. A slave abolitionist, Douglass would have to write his narrative such that it would force the reader to confront slavery. This

Frederick Douglass highlights the horrors of slavery through the use of personification, metaphor, and imagery.

Firstly, Frederick Douglass utilizes personification to emphasize the horrors of slavery. Personification is the attribution of human-like traits to objects/concepts to represent a greater concept. Douglass’ usage of it can be seen in chapter 10, where he documents his experience on Edward Covey’s Plantation. “Douglass was then sent to work for Edward Covey, who was known as a ‘slave-breaker.’” (The Abolitionists: Frederick Douglass). Douglass, discontent with his situation, considers seeking freedom, stating “On the one hand, there stood slavery, a stern reality, glaring frightfully upon us,—its robes already crimsoned with the blood of millions, and even now feasting itself greedily upon our own flesh” (85). Douglass employs personification to symbolize slavery as a barbaric client of cruelty. By personifying slavery, the reader must envision slavery as inhumane, despite its human description. Personification is used again in chapter 15, where Douglass refutes the idea of slaves singing to be a sign of happiness. He states, "I have often sung to drown my sorrow, but seldom to express my happiness" (15). Here, Douglass applies

Imagery is defined as the use of descriptive and figurative language that gives the reader a visual for the text. Douglass uses imagery in chapter 1 when he describes his account of seeing his mother strung up and beaten. “The punishments took many forms, including whippings, torture, mutilation, imprisonment, and being sold away from the plantation” (PBS, Conditions of Antebellum Slavery). Douglass, when his grandmother became the recipient of such punishment, states “He commenced to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood (amid heart-rending shrieks from her, and horrid oaths from him) came dripping to the floor” (6). This quote uses imagery to paint the visual of Douglass’ grandmother getting whipped. By using imagery, Douglass conjures a violent scene that forces the reader to see what Douglass saw as a kid, making slavery seem almost hellish. He uses this technique again in chapter 5. As a child, Douglass was forced to sleep outside on the ground throughout all seasons of the month, with the worst conditions being in the winter. Douglass says, “I used to steal a bag which was used for carrying corn to the mill. I would crawl into this bag, and there sleep on the cold, damp, clay floor, with my head in and feet out. My feet have been so cracked with the frost, that the pen with which I am writing might be laid in the gashes'' (23). Here, Douglass utilizes imagery to describe the cold