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How Does Frederick Douglass Use Rhetorical Devices

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This article discusses how Frederick Douglass uses irony, rhetorical devices, and facts to argue that slavery is not sanctioned by the Constitution. - Frederick Douglass was an American slave born in Maryland in 1817. He escaped slavery at the age of twenty and became an impressive orator. His work is a prime example of what can be accomplished when using rhetorical devices effectively. In his narrative, Douglass cites examples from the Constitution that support his argument against slavery. He also uses text citations to refer to the works of authors such as Gregory Stephens. As an example, a full citation using the CSE Citation Sequence would look like this: Stephens, G., & Douglass, F., (1852). Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc. Frederick Douglass was born a slave in 1818 and had very little knowledge of his own life and the world around him. He was brought up …show more content…

He was able to identify and comprehend these slave songs, which he encountered while listening to the singing of his fellow slaves. The depth and complexity of the lyrics, along with supernatural powers and prayers expressed in the songs, gave Douglass a greater understanding of the slave experience. In his autobiography, he tells his readers how he heard some African-American slaves singing about certain plants that had special sympathy for their plight. He soon realized that these songs were a form of solidarity among slaves and he was immensely inspired by them. As a young boy, Fredrick Douglass worked as a house servant and was treated harshly by his master's wife. He also recounts how he was sent to Edward Covey, a “sabbath breaker” who specialized in breaking the spirit of slaves. Despite his harsh treatment, Douglass found strength in the knowledge that his fellow slave had been through similar experiences and this discourages the slave

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This can be most certainly identified through Douglass’s through use of “I”. He explains that he was able to gain the possession of a book, called “The Columbian Orator.” He goes into further detail that he was deeply enjoyed and impassioned when reading this books. He explains would read the book every single chance that he had. He describes that out of much other interesting matter he found a dialogue between a master and his slave to be his favorite.

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For example, Frederick was taken from his mother at a very young age and never allowed to have a relationship with her.   The language Douglass used in the narrative was direct.  Direct language convinces the audience that slavery is evil.   One important rhetoric theme Douglass conveyed in his message is pathos.

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Rhetorical Analysis for ‘The Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass’ Fredrick Douglass’s influential experiences recorded in ‘The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass’, reveals his woeful hardships as a slave, which he overcomes with his unfaltering desire to become an educated and ultimately free man. He apprises readers of the monstrous realities of slavery whilst providing a silver lining of hope to light the path to freedom. Throughout the entirety of the book, FD’s riveting diction accentuates his forthright opinions and detestation toward the vicious, pitiless, and blood-thirsty slaveholders with words such as “wicked”, “horrid” and “cowardly”. To slaveholders, education was a threat; to FD it was a sanctuary.

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In the first three paragraphs, Douglass’ writes about some of the difficulties he faced as a slave, although his leisurely tone conveys little emotion. In these paragraphs, Douglass writes long, winding sentences, containing many details and a great deal of imagery. He mentions slave-breaker Mr. Covey, who was extremely

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Frederick Douglass’s Hope for Freedom Hope and fear, two contradictory emotions that influence us all, convicted Frederick Douglass to choose life over death, light over darkness, and freedom over sin. Douglass, in Chapter ten, pages thirty-seven through thirty-nine, of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, utilizes various rhetorical techniques and tone shifts to convey his desperation to find hope in this time of misery and suffering. Mr. Covey, who Douglass has been sent to by his master to be broken, has succeeded in nearly tearing all of Douglass’s dreams of freedom away from him. To expound on his desires to escape, Douglass presents boats as something that induces joy to most but compels slaves to feel terror. Given the multiple uses of repetition, antithesis, indirect tone shifts, and various other rhetorical techniques, we can see Douglass relaying to his audience the hardships of slavery through ethos, the disheartening times that slavery brings, and his breakthrough of determination to obtain freedom.

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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Rhetorical Analysis By Migion Booth Social reformer, Frederick Douglass was an African American man who decamped from slavery. He has drafted several books including Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. In his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Mr. Douglass writes about his perspicacity as a slave. Mr. Douglass repeatedly uses paradox, imagery, and parallelism to display how slavery was inhuman and heartbroken.

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As soon as Frederick Douglass began to read he began to understand the world around him. This is when he soon realizes what a slave means. Being a slave and just finding out that you were going to be a slave for life would be devastating for anyone. For Frederick Douglass, it was the same, devastating. He describes that the more knowledge he gained about his situation on slavery the more he went into depression.

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The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography written in 1845 on his account of the experiences as an African American slave and the prejudices experienced to demonstrate social influence for the abolitionist movement. His story accounts his involvement as a child on a plantation, and then his experiences moving into the city until attaining freedom within the North. These experiences were often used as social rhetoric by Douglass to appeal towards a southern society who are inherently prejudice and to gain movement for abolitionism, which was at its basis of infrastructure. As such, this essay analyzes the rhetoric through a specific passage on its word modulation which allows for structural composition open to various

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Most of his time was in the movement of the abolition of slavery. He did not want any other black person to face brutality, humiliation, and pain. His arguments became very useful in the anti-slavery movement. It is through his experiences of being a slave that he urged for the abolition of slavery (Douglass, 1845). Douglass’ style of narration makes the reader to be involved in the story emotionally.

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Douglass tells about his own childhood and how his father might have been a slaveholder. He explains

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Frederick Douglass was a highly respected abolitionist, reformist, as well as civil and women’s rights leader. Douglass was apparently born on plantation in Talbot County, Maryland around the years 1816-1818. He dies 77 years later due to a fatal heart attack. Throughout his journey beginning from a captive slave to a well-known and esteemed activist, Douglass also changes the way Americans viewed race, slavery, rights and America’s democracy. From the 1800s, Douglass’ life and captivity along with his escape as a slave has been a widespread foundation for inspiration, motivation, knowledge and hope for decades.

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The legendary abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass was one of the most important social reformers of the nineteenth century. Being born into slavery on a Maryland Eastern Shore plantation to his mother, Harriet Bailey, and a white man, most likely Douglass’s first master was the starting point of his rise against the enslavement of African-Americans. Nearly 200 years after Douglass’s birth and 122 years after his death, The social activist’s name and accomplishments continue to inspire the progression of African-American youth in modern society. Through his ability to overcome obstacles, his strive for a better life through education, and his success despite humble beginnings, Frederick Douglass’s aspirations stretched his influence through

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Although Frederick Douglass was not expected to be literate, he taught himself how because he believed that education should be for everyone, not just a few privileged children. Frederick Douglass was a slave for life in the southern United States before the Civil War. He had no regular teacher because, at that time, most slave owners did not believe that their slaves should be taught to read and write. White slave owners thought that if slaves knew how to read, they would go against their owners and fight against slavery.

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Douglass uses his Narrative to share his position is by telling his audience how unfairly Douglass is treated and how white men or slaveholders take control of the life of a slave because in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass on page 1 paragraph 1 it says, The nearest estimate I can give makes me now between twenty-seven and twenty-eight years of age. I come to this, from hearing my master say, some time during 1835, I was about seventeen years old.” What this piece of evidence is demonstrates is that Frederick Douglass did not even now his own birth and that he had to guess on what his master said and that his master knows more what Frederick knows about his life. Another way that Douglass’s uses his Narrative to share his position is by telling their audience how unfairly Frederick and many other slaves were treated because because in the Document “‘ Pro Slavery Arguments South’’ on paragraph 6 it says,”Southern slaveholders pro-slavery arguments defended the interest of the plantation owners against attempts by abolitionists, lower classes, and non-whites to institute a more equal social structure.”

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Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis Essay The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by Frederick Douglass himself, is a brutally honest portrayal of slavery’s dehumanizing capabilities. By clearly connecting with his audience’s emotions, Douglass uses numerous rhetorical devices, including anecdotes and irony, to argue the depravity of slavery. Douglass clearly uses anecdotes to support his argument against the immorality of slavery. He illustrates different aspects of slavery’s destructive nature by using accounts of not only his own life but others’ alsoas well.

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