In his autobiography The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass recounts his life from the time he was born into slavery to the time of his escape to freedom in the North. In Chapter 10 of the novel, Douglass begins by giving an account of his master Mr. Covey’s character, how he is a harsh slave owner who breaks Douglass’s spirit. Frederick Douglass explains that Mr. Covey’s farm is only a few yards away from the Chesapeake Bay, where large white ships that sail taunt him and remind him of his captivity. In the following excerpt from the beginning of the chapter, the repeated use of antithesis, apostrophe, and religious appeal highlights Douglass’s realization that of how different his enslavement is from freedom and also emphasizes how desperate is he is for liberty. This is important …show more content…
Douglass describes the ships he sees on the Chesapeake Bay as moving “merrily before the gentle gale” and himself as “[sad] before the bloody whip.” By juxtaposing “merrily” and “sadly,” two completely opposing concepts, he displays that he is coming to a better understanding of how horrible his plight is in the context of the rest of society. The imagery of “the gentle gale,” a seemingly comforting concept, stands in stark contrast to “the bloody whip,” with its connotation of pain and great suffering, which further demonstrates Douglass’ recognition that his situation is different. Towards the end of the passage, Douglass contrasts his “misery in slavery” to “happiness when [he becomes] free.” By associating misery with his current state of captivity and placing it in close proximity to the happiness he would feel if he were liberated, a sense of desperation from Douglass to escape from slavery becomes evident. By repeatedly comparing his imprisonment to more hopeful imagery, it forces the reader to accept and take note of the horror that is