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Essays on symbolism in frederick douglass
Themes Treated In The Novel Of Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglas
Essays about symbolism
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While Douglass was living with Mr. Freeland, he had taught some of the other slaves who lived there with him to read. Teaching any slave to read came with some very harsh consequences but Douglass wanted to help other slaves learn to read so that when they became free they are able to acquire a job and are also able to “fit into” society once they escape or are set free from the hold of slavery. Also while living with Mr. Freeland, Frederick decided enough was enough and he needed to get out of slavery. Frederick and four other slaves stole Mr. Hamilton’s canoe and attempted to paddle up the Chesapeake Bay. Frederick knew how dangerous this trip could be if they were spotted and sent back to their master but being he had a very defiant spirit, he decided that it would be worth it to try.
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.
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
He calls out his own literary technique, which is an “apostrophe”, that we see being exercised various times in this passage (38). “You are loosed from your mooring, and are free” is the first example of an apostrophe being utilized to express Douglass’s burning desire to become free (38). He is directly talking to the boat while indirectly communicating to his audience. If these were directed at his audience, they would be taken offensively, hence why Douglass puts ships in their place. He subsequently describes ships as, “freedom’s swift-winged angels, that fly around the world” (38).
All the terrible and inhuman things that Douglass describes are the practical and usual things that happened in his time, they are not extraordinary. His true stories and multiple details from his life give the reader an idea about the effects of slavery on the life of different people in the
To show his perception on the very cruel slaveholders, Douglass uses a multitude of adjectives to create an image in his reader’s mind, while also using metaphors to better comprehend the situation. For example, Douglass stated, “No words, no tears, no prayers, for his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose.” By using this metaphor, Frederick Douglass made the reader question how one could be so cruel to another human being. By visualizing one whipping another without any guilt, it makes the audience understand the inhumanity of slavery. In total, this metaphor creates a agonizing image in the reader’s
Annotated bibliography Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. Print.
An American Slave,” Douglass discusses the horrors of being enslaved and a fugitive slave. Through Douglass’s use of figurative language, diction and repetition he emphasizes the cruelty he experiences thus allowing readers to under-stand his feelings of happiness, fear and isolation upon escaping slavery. Figurative language allocates emotions such as excitement, dread and seclusion. As a slave you have no rights, identity or home. Escaping slavery is the only hope of establishing a sense of self and humanity.
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.
Douglass managed to overcome the maltreatment of his wretched slave owners through the eventual attainment of freedom. The injustice imposed upon the African-American slaves by their owners was the crux of Douglass’s motivation to escape this inhumane life. Adolescents in today’s society could use Frederick’s determination as an example of moving forward to better oneself or one’s situation regardless of
This shows there was conflict between the master and the slaves. The master took away freedom from the people and made them slaves. Although Frederick Douglass at the time was free from the abuse often seen in slavery, he wasn’t free from his mind. He still has flashbacks and things that scared him forever. The quote “The feeding and clothing me well, could not atone for taking my liberty from me.
Douglass is a African American that was a slave and did a Narrative about his time being a slave and in his Narrative he “threw light” at the American slave system. African American slave Frederick Douglass lived through a time of racism and how slavery was a natural thing to do but was a very awful thing. And slavery is when families who had colored skin were separated and sold of to a person that can do anything to them, the slave is pretty much like the slaveholder’s property. And in this essay I will talk about how Douglass’s position differs from those who supported slavery and also I will be talking about How Douglass used his Narrative to share his position. How Douglass “throws light” on the American Slave system is by showing
Instead of staying with them to overcome obstacles, he learns how to read and write and uses it for his own benefit. According to chapter 10, Douglass says, “I was broken in body, soul, and spirit, my natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died” (Douglass, 45). Douglass believes ignorance played a major role in destroying any shred of hope a slave had left. The idea of slavery was to keep slaves ignorant; therefore, they wouldn’t question their past, their future, or their overall existence. Douglass doesn’t challenge the American beliefs of slavery, but uses their ideals to better enhance his motivation to
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography told through the eyes of Frederick Douglass himself. Douglass was born as a slave; he was an African-American abolitionist and orator. In the book, Douglass highlights numerous cases of irony associated with slaveholding. Throughout his narrative, Douglass examines the irony of religious slaveholders and one of his non-religious slaveholder. He also speaks of the irony in which slaves are treated below animals.
With this, Douglass is addressing the topic of slavery and whether to abolish it or not. And goes about telling the hardships he went through.
