ipl-logo

Rhetorical Analysis Of Frederick Douglass

637 Words3 Pages

Kyla Valentine DiCiaula AP Lang III 2/24/23 Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis Slavery in the United States was truly a horrific time to be a “negro”; beatings almost every day, scarcity of food and clothing, constant demeaning, belittling, hypocrisy, and much more unfathomable circumstances. In both Frederick Douglass’s self-written narrative and his speech titled, “What is Your Fourth of July to Me?”, he explains, in depth, the negative effects of these aspects of slavery, by using metaphors and biblical/religious allusions. However, while Douglass discusses his own experiences with slavery in his narrative, he acts as a representative for his people and discusses the universal Black experience in his speech, separating himself …show more content…

Douglass believes Christianity has too frequently been used as “a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages” (Speech). He utilizes this metaphor to showcase how even the most uncivilized savages would find slaveowners crimes and use of religion to cover up their crimes totally inhumane and disgraceful because of the complete lack of shame they have. To further criticize slaveowners, Douglass makes the connection between an auctioneer’s bell and the church’s bells, saying that they “chime within each other, and the bitter cries of the heart-broken slave are drowned in the religious shouts of his pious master” (Narrative). This connection describes how “Christianity of this land” (Narrative) somewhat blinds slaveowners into not being completely aware of the severity of their immoral behavior towards their slaves because it has taught them that it is okay as long as no one brings up what goes on behind closed doors. Both the Speech and the Narrative discuss the heavy topics surrounding slavery because Douglass recognized the impact they had on African Americans then, and he believed it was important to draw attention to them so that their rule could

Show More
Related
521 Words | 3 Pages

Caleb’s Rhetorical Analysis From a very young age as a slave, all Frederick Douglass could dream and look forward to was the day he became a free man. After being betrayed and caught the day he and his friends were planning to escape and later successfully escaping to the North, he is assaulted by a barrage of unexpected emotions considering he has just accomplished his life dream. In Douglass’ poignant piece, he expresses that first high excitement then extreme insecurity through powerful analogies, connotative diction to convey the immense emotional distress of his loneliness, and irony using strong parallelism to present the controversy that came with living in a new place with no friends or family, only enemies. Douglass

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

Christianity was, to the slaves of America, (something with a double meaning). In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave, Frederick Douglass, the author, argues about how Christianity can mean one thing to a free white man and something completely different to a black slave. The slave owners follow the ‘Christianity of the Land’ while the slaves follow the ‘Christianity of Christ.’ Frederick begins to build his credibility to a, white, northern, audience by including documents from trustworthy writers and by getting into personal experiences through his writing. Throughout the narrative, he is articulate in how he writes, and it shows the reader that he is well educated.

Read More
138 Words | 1 Pages

Frederick Douglass was able to persuade his audience that the institution of slavery was not only morally reprehensible but also detrimental to the well-being of both slaves and slaveholders. Douglass uses rhetoric and compelling arguments. Frederick Douglass was an influential figure who highlighted the physical and psychological abuse suffered by slaves. He showed that this abuse left them with emotional and physical scars that lasted a lifetime. At the same time, Douglass argued that slaveholders were morally corrupted by owning other human beings.

Read More
743 Words | 3 Pages

Many of us take education for granted and don’t learn to our fullest potential, but Fredrick Douglass soaked in every piece of information up because he knew it was his way out. “Learning to Read and Write” is a famous article based on what Fredrick Douglass went through to earn a valuable education while being enslaved. Author Fredrick Douglass, wrote “Learning to Read and Write”, published in 1845. Throughout the article, he takes us through different events he goes through while being enslaved. Douglass begins building his credibility with personal facts and successfully demonstrating logic and pathos appeal.

Read More
1323 Words | 6 Pages

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave: Written by Himself, the author suggests that no one can be enslaved if he or she has the ability to read, write, and think. Douglass supports his claim by first beginning the book with saying he does not know dates and can not read or write and secondly, when his master forbade his wife from teaching Douglass to read. Douglass's purpose is to show that slaves are treated unrightfully and to get the prominent leaders in America's society to acknowledge the book and make changes by abolishing slavery. Based on this autobiography, Douglass is writing the leaders of America that have the power to make changes.

Read More
828 Words | 4 Pages

Frederick Douglass, born a slave and later the most influential African American leader of the 1800s, addresses the hypocrisy of the US of maintaining slavery with its upheld ideals being freedom and independence on July 4th, 1852. Douglass builds his argument by using surprising contrasts, plain facts, and provocative antithesis. Introducing his subject, Douglass reminds his audience about the dark side of America for slaves, in sharp, surprising contrasts with the apparent progressivity within the nation. He first notices “the disparity,” that “the sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and deaths to me,” as an African-American former slave. It is surprising for the audience to hear that the Sun does not bring him any prosperity, that the Sun, the source of life on earth, brings him destruction.

Read More
1127 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
648 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
958 Words | 4 Pages

In the autobiography Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, the author details the horrors and dehumanization of slavery in the south. Douglass utilizes paradox and powerful diction to illustrate his transformation from slave to man in mind, body, and spirit. After overcoming his oppressor, Mr. Covey, Douglass declares, “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” Douglass captures the reader’s attention with use of word play and allusion, he clearly indicates the turning point of the memoir and his transformation from slave to man. Douglass uses an allusion to the Bible, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away

Read More
1657 Words | 7 Pages

“The Hypocrisy of American Slavery: Slavery at its best” Frederick Douglass an activist for anti racism and also an abolitionist’s speech “The Hypocrisy of Slavery” was given on the occasion of celebrating the independence day. Here, in this speech he actually brought out some questions like why we should celebrate Independence Day while almost four million people were kept chained as a slave. He actually mocked the fact of the people of America’s double standards which is that they are singing out the song of liberty, on the other hand holding the chain of slavery. Frederick Douglass, a former American-African slave who managed to escape from his slavery and later on became an abolitionist gave this speech on Fourth of July,

Read More
864 Words | 4 Pages

The autobiography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written in 1845 in Massachusetts, narrates the evils of slavery through the point of view of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass is a slave who focuses his attention into escaping the horrors of slavery. He articulates his mournful story to anyone and everyone, in hopes of disclosing the crimes that come with slavery. In doing so, Douglass uses many rhetorical strategies to make effective arguments against slavery. Frederick Douglass makes a point to demonstrate the deterioration slavery yields from moral, benevolent people into ruthless, cold-hearted people.

Read More
1110 Words | 5 Pages

One of the strategies Douglass uses to convince his audience slavery should be abolished is by “calling out American hypocrisy in his Fourth of July oration” (Mercieca 1). He shames them with no remorse. He speaks on the opposite treatments that enable whites to live in a state of freedom and liberty, while the blacks are living in a state of bondage. As the audience listens, he reminds them, there are men, women and children still held hostages to the chains of

Read More
935 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
1196 Words | 5 Pages

Midterm Essay Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and accomplished orator, provides in his autobiography, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, a definitive and first-hand account of slavery in America in the mid-Nineteenth Century. This short piece of American literature is filled with rhetorical knowledge, and Douglass uses his remarkable sense of rhetoric and subtle literary techniques, with plenty of ethos, logos, and pathos, to bring his message of hope for change to an entire nation pitted against him. Combining his unfortunately intimate knowledge of slavery and his literary abilities, Douglass does what all slaves wanted: exposing a nation’s great sin and providing the evidence for its salvation. To begin with, Douglass’s

Read More
631 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

More about Rhetorical Analysis Of Frederick Douglass

Open Document