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Similarities Between Martin Luther King Jr And Frederick Douglass

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Connor Smith Mrs. DiCiaula 2nd period Fredrick Douglas Essay "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope" (Martin Luther King Junior). A man before Martin Luther King’s time, Fredrick Douglas, exemplifies this quote immensely; through many trials Douglas faced in slavery, he overcame them and sought out his freedom. In the narrative of Fredrick Douglas and “What is Your Fourth of July to Me? ,” the two texts share commonalities and differences. Both texts share the same purpose in which to inform and persuade the audience while maintaining the same subject of freedom. The two texts differentiate by the form of text he uses; in his speech he talks in a speech form while in his narrative he speaks in the form of the memories of his …show more content…

Douglas says in his speech, “They succeeded; and to-day you reap the fruits of their success. The freedom gained is yours; and you, therefore, may properly celebrate this anniversary” (Paragraph 17). In his speech he presents a constant idea of freedom, and he explains the greatness it holds while moving his audience to be joyful of obtaining it. Much like the speech, in the narrative of Fredrick Douglas, it states; “At times I would rise up, a flash of energetic freedom would dart through my soul, accompanied with a faint beam of hope, that flickered for a moment, and then vanished” (page 63). Fredrick Douglas holds on to the thought of freedom and illustrates how influenced he is by achieving his ambition of being free. He speaks to the audience about how important it is to have freedom and influences them to believe such, in both …show more content…

Douglas spoke to the audience and considered them in his speech, to make it more relatable; “but, your fathers, who had not adopted the fashionable idea of this day...” (paragraph 4). While in his narrative he spoke on his personal life/accounts to give the audience more knowledge of the life of a slave. For instance, he states, “My sufferings on this plantation seem now like a dream rather than a stern reality” (page 64). He maintains the idea of freedom in both texts while informing/persuading them at on that topic. He illustrates the importance of freedom in the two texts, and in his narrative, he illustrates why such freedom is important through his

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Frederick Douglass's awakening in “The Battle with Mr. Covey,” serves as a catalyst for freedom. When Douglass finally stops succumbing to Covey’s abuse, the first taste of freedom begins to fill his unquenchable thirst for independence. Douglas writes on page 125, “It recalled the departed self-confidence, and inspired me again with a determination to be free.” Douglass comes to the realization that standing up to adversity, no matter the opponent, will always be a step closer for true personal freedom. Frederick Douglass calls and challenges us all to seek out the path of truly knowing yourself, as well as your limits.

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304 Words | 2 Pages

In “The Hypocrisy of America Slavery,” Frederick Douglas asserts that the American people are hypocritical to be celebrating the 4th of July, a day to celebrate freedom, yet they still imprison nearly four million humans in slavery. Douglas uses an abundant amount of rhetorical devices to defend his claim which are highly effective. He begins his speech which a series of rhetorical questions asking the people to consider why he was asked to speak today about independence when the majority of his race does not have this benefit. This is used to create pathos. It guilts the audience and forces them to reflect on how a day they celebrate freedom and there are still people in bondage.

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291 Words | 2 Pages

Fredrick Douglas gave an extremely moving and impactful speech which includes many rhetorical devices and appeals.   Douglas uses rehetoical devices such as irony and rhetorical questions.   Douglas uses irony when saying, "America vis false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future", Douglas explains that America is false to its foundation of freedom, as slaves in America have to fight for their freedom.   Douglas shows the irony of America being built on freedom while slaves within America now have to fight for their freedom, effectively showing Americans that the premise that the country was built on is being denied to African Americans.   Douglas also uses rhetorical questions to effectively show

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152 Words | 1 Pages

A quote from Frederick Douglass’s speech, “This Fourth July is yours, not. You may rejoice, I must mourn”. Douglass points out that Fourth of July reminds the blacks of what they do not have, the whites get to celebrate but the black have nothing to celebrate. The fourth of July has no meaning to the slaves. Douglass passionately argues how unfair it was for people to celebrate their freedom when some are held captive and how the celebration of independence while allowing slavery is shameful.

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756 Words | 4 Pages

Frederick Douglass’ speech titled “What, to the slave, is the fourth of July” perfectly works to change the audiences viewpoints on the nationwide issue of slavery. Set into the Northern town of Rochester, the abolitionist appeals to the senses of the pro emancipation group of white people gathered before him. Achieved through varied shifts in tone and different rhetorical devices, Douglass perfectly explains the pure irony that the town is conveying, exposing their hypocritical standpoint on the nation’s most freedom based holiday, the Fourth of July. Douglas opens his speech by uniting himself with the audience, making them feel as though they are part of the same social class, and almost immediately segregating them in the same breath. Douglas writes “Fellow Citizens; above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions” revealing to

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526 Words | 3 Pages

Frederick Douglass was an African American abolitionist, who fought to end slavery after he escaped slavery in Maryland. He became a national leader against slavery, whose writing still inspires people today. In a letter written to the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society, Douglas questions why they are celebrating freedom on Independece Day whilst there are still people enslaved in America. He uses logical reasoning, diction, and syntax to assert his argument.

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873 Words | 4 Pages

Although a century apart, Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and Frederick Douglass’s What to a Slave is the fourth of July are kindred spirits. Notwithstanding the many differences in their respective writing styles, deep down the essence of the message conveyed is still very much the same. Both Martin Luther King Junior and Frederick Douglas had similar beliefs and concepts related to the treatment of the African American community. They both describe a tough yet heart breaking situation that makes them question their moral values and doubt the system and its ability to change for better.

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464 Words | 2 Pages

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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1833 Words | 8 Pages

Douglas refused to give his speech on July 4th of that year, stating that was not a free time for his people (Douglas). Speaking of the African American community, Douglas felt the heartfelt terms used when referring to America’s Independence Day, did not correctly describe the emotions and struggles faced by the black people of this period. Terms used that would relate directly to The Fourth of July, such as happiness, freedom, citizenship, and liberty were terms that held no value towards African Americans, at all. The African American people of this time were not free, they were not citizens, they did not portray and emotions of happiness, and did not reflect any nature of liberty towards their country. These were all tones and moods set in motion by the institution of slavery, Douglas being an abolitionist believed, that institution needed to be abolished so the country as a whole, could properly flourish (Douglas).

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2333 Words | 10 Pages

Douglass establishes his credibility and authority on the issue of slavery and inequality in the United States by drawing on his own experience and expertise. He begins the speech by introducing himself as a former slave and expressing his sadness and disappointment at the Fourth of July festivities which celebrate the nation’s independence while ignoring the ongoing oppression of African Americans. He says, “I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us.” By acknowledging his own identity as a former slave, Douglass gives himself immediate credibility on the issue of slavery and inequality.

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636 Words | 3 Pages

Freedom is the primary ideal upon which America was founded. It is the tenet most cherished by the original colonists; it is a pillar upon which they built the new government. However, freedom was denied to a large part of America's citizens for a long time. Frederick Douglas was one of the greatest activists for African-American freedom of the 19th century; he used literary works and speeches, instead of violence, to achieve his goals. In his piece "What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?"

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762 Words | 4 Pages

For white men, this is a day of gratification and happiness as All men(according to the Declaration of Independence) could escape the oppressive British control and live freely on new land, but for many African-Americans, including Douglass, this is a day of exile, pain, anguish, isolation, and deprivation. For the millions of white Americans, this “anniversary” is for them, not for African-Americans according to Douglass. I believe that there should not be any desire to celebrate this day because this day does not celebrate and/or symbolize the moment my ancestors gained freedom. Rather, this day serves as a rejuvenation of the white-hegemonic racial institution that continues to hinder the social, intellectual, economic, physical, and spiritual well-being of black and brown individuals. To further display the hypocrisy of this celebration, Douglas goes on to say “Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions!

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480 Words | 2 Pages

Wayne Dyer once said, “Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery.” Freedom is a big thing in every society and culture there isn’t a single person that feels absolutely free of everything, authors like to show their discontentment for this feeling in their writing. Mark Twain is one of those authors, in his novel, Huckleberry Finn the theme of freedom can be seen throughout. This novel is about a young boy, Huck who is about twelve years old and a slave named, Jim who through the course of the book becomes Huck’s best friend and father figure.

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589 Words | 3 Pages

In the Frederick douglass speech (douglass) says “fellow-citizens,pardon me ,allow ,w to ask, why i am called upon to speak today?What have i ,or those i represent,to do with your national independence ,are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice,embodied in “the Declaration of

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1572 Words | 7 Pages

For him, being free is being left alone by all other agents to do as he desires, free from external agents. However, having the sole autonomous opportunity to chose is not the same as making legitimate choices. The elimination of external obstacles is a negative liberty: it removes obstacles to the liberated act of the individual, but does not construct it. Freedom and the expression of the individual take place in the procedure of choosing and subsequently following one’s choices.

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