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Power Of Speech By Frederick Douglass And Marie Fatayi-Williams

1223 Words5 Pages

The Power of Speech Speeches have been used to inspire people for thousands of years. From President Kennedy’s inauguration address, to Winston Churchill’s speech in the House of Commons, to Martin Luther King Junior’s speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, speeches have been used by many to inspire, as well as call listeners to take action. Therefore, the speeches made by Frederick Douglass and Marie Fatayi-Williams, which were intended to encourage an emotional response, were two successful examples of a moving speech that has left a lasting legacy in history. In these two speeches, Frederick Douglass and Marie Fatayi-Williams make powerful statements that are meant to strike the hearts of the listeners. The speeches are similar to one another in that they both encourage the …show more content…

It is an excellent example of the power of language because the speech is very emotionally moving, and it also states many of the harsh facts about life as a slave. When delivering this speech, Frederick Douglass uses carefully chosen words to properly deliver his ideas. The speech was obviously deeply thought-out and carefully crafted. This can be seen in the passionate, yet carefully worded sentences that are developed in such a way as to have the greatest impact on the audience. The speech’s careful word choices demonstrate the example of the power of language. If Douglass had chosen less intelligent, less moving word choices, then his speech would not have held the same emotional weight. Therefore, this speech is an excellent example of the importance and power that language can hold. A carefully crafted speech can have a great impact on the emotions and opinions of individuals. In the case of What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, this speech was intricately designed to encourage the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society to continue in the fight against the institution of

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He questions his audience of the significance of Independence Day to slaves, and he answers it in an extremely contrasting way: “your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; … your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery,” that the celebration is “a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.” Douglass dismisses the national pride, characterizing it as a mere expression of people’s ignorance. The antithesis, with “greatness” being “vanity,” “sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless,” and “shouts of liberty and equality” being “hollow mockery,” provokes shock and anger from the audience, who have just been part of it and are now degraded as “savages.” However, Douglass was not trying to be inflammatory but provocative, witnessing the pathetic enthusiasm in the anniversary, that people feel exuberant about themselves while ignoring the saddening

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Throughout Douglass's speech, he exceeds expectations by adding excellent examples of ethos, pathos, and unique tone. These examples help the audience see his viewpoints and helps him connect with them. The literary devices used in his speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, aided in his fight against

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Slavery is equally a mental and a physical prison. Frederick Douglass realized this follow-ing his time as both a slave and a fugitive slave. Douglass was born into slavery because of his mother’s status as a slave. He had little to go off regarding his age and lineage. In the excerpt of the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

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The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.

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Frederick Douglass was a great writer, but he wasn’t always. He was an escaped slave who used that in his speeches as a topic to gain the attention of his audience. His audience was a seemingly sympathetic one and got to them through rhetorical questions. Douglass wanted to convey the message that there are many changes that need to be made.

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