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Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Argumentative Essay

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The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass was written by Frederick Douglass, in 1845. This was written to inform white people in the future, how atrocious slavery was. The argument of the book is that the impact of slavery is just as harmful to a slave as it is to slave owners. It may have not been the same type of effect, but the aftermath was just as bad. Throughout the book, Douglas consistently mentioned three things to support his claim. First, he describes the attitude and state of the slaveowners to ultimately describe the transition of their mentality toward slavery. Then, he uses several gruesome examples to shows the depth of slavery in the opinion of a slave. Lastly, he talks about the opinions of the slaves and slaveowners …show more content…

He depicts Captain Anthony using the quote: “No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose. The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin” (Douglass 948). Douglass shows the detail of slavery and the masters treatment toward them. He uses the method of pathos and appeals to their emotion throughout the quote and this book. This supports the claim of the terrible effect slavery has to the slaves meaning physical harm. Douglass used another quote to describe the harshness of slavery, and said, “I had been at my new home but one week before Mr. Covey gave me a very severe whipping, cutting my back, causing the blood to run, and raising ridges on my flesh as large as my little finger” (Douglass 971).This is more evidence that Douglass continually used the method of Pathos for the support of the audience. He used the cruelty of the quote to send a message to the audience. That message being that slavery is is problem and is in no way just. In these two quotes, Douglas tells the audience not only the truth of slavery, but truth about being physically owned and “cared for” like a piece of

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Douglass uses pathos and analogy to show slaveholders that they need to abolish slavery because their lives will always be dominated by fear. Mr. Douglass finds his way to freedom in the north and has to be careful of who he talks to because he never knows when a kidnapper is right around the corner. Douglass compares the “money loving kidnappers” to “ferocious beast” trying to catch the easy prey. Once the slaves fought and achieved their freedom they had to make sure they didn’t run into the “beast” or kidnappers. The way Mr. Douglass describes the slave as a “panting fugitive” makes the reader feel sympathy for the slave because he/she can never catch a break and for the rest of their lives they will always be looking over their shoulders which causes fear in their

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In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, in 1845, Douglass is reflecting on his experiences as a slave, as well as the known experiences of others, following his escape from bondage. He is making a plea to the Northerners who do not have a complete knowledge or understanding of the conditions of slavery in the South or are otherwise unopinionated in relation to it. In a later passage of the narrative, he focuses on the common beliefs of slave owners through a description of Mr. Hopkins, a former overseer he reported to. He reflects on this ideal that any problematic actions, or “misbehavior,” of slaves is awarded with abuse and punishment. Douglass includes concise and sarcastic rhetorical questions and responses in order to shed

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