Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis Essay

In the first three paragraphs, Douglass’ writes about some of the difficulties he faced as a slave, although his leisurely tone conveys little emotion. In these paragraphs, Douglass writes long, winding sentences, containing many details and a great deal of imagery. He mentions slave-breaker Mr. Covey, who was extremely

According to Frederick Douglass, “Nothing seemed to make her more angry than to see me with a newspaper “(Douglass 191). The mistress took

Douglass’s uses the figure of speech : a simile to communicate the way he feels towards his

By telling his story of being enslaved, Frederick Douglass sheds light on the lies many slave owners had been telling the public. For years slaveowners stated that they would take care of their slaves and that the slaves were happy to work. During a speech, Douglass rebutted by arguing, "My mistress was, as I have said, a kind and tender-hearted woman; and in the simplicity of her soul she commenced, when I first went to live with her she supposed one human being ought to treat another." Frederick Douglass also states "Under its influence, the tender heart became stone, and the lamblike disposition gave way to one of tiger-like fierceness." Here, Douglass is able to persuade the reader by using credibility and causes the reader to feel a sense of empathy towards the enslaved.

The document Frederick Douglass Narrative, excreted from his 1845 autobiography, is about his life as a child slave on a plantation. Vividly describing his childhood in his opening chapters, readers get the full effect of what not only happened to Douglass, but what was also the norm for most of American slaves. He wrote about his knowledge and experiences as a child slave, and gave readers the true meaning of what slave families went through, in comparison to what was published in the media by whites. One of the main arguments presented in Douglass’s autobiography is the way women are treated and how they live as a family. From a very young age, before he was even a year old, Douglass was separated from his African mother, Harriet Bailey,

Slavery’s romanticized view is tarnished in Douglass’ Narrative with the use of vivid imagery and specific diction that depict the true conditions of

Purpose: Douglass firmly believed that slavery was not only poisonous and dangerous for slaves, but for slaveholders as well and he used this event to prove his assertion.  Quote: “The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon.” (Douglass, 47-48)

Slavery coincides with ignorance, just as education coincides with freedom. Slavery relies on ignorance to maintain order and control over slaves; thus, preventing slaves from recognizing the empowerment of education, and the ability it possesses to equip them in the pursuit of freedom. Frederick Douglass’s pursuit of education helps him discover the hidden truths of slavery in his article, “How I Learned to Read and Write.” Thus, Douglass’s pursuit of education inspires his desire for freedom.

Dehumanization of both slaves and slave owners must occur for slavery to exist. Slavery harms everyone involved, including the slaveholders who superficially seem to profit from the arrangement. Douglass’s narrative acknowledges the damage inflicted on both sides of the institution of slavery, emphasizing that a human being’s personality and disposition form per the laws and socially acceptable practices exhibited within the society. Douglass has an excellent example how he seen with his own eyes how his mistress became demonized when she became an owner of a slave. Douglass became Mrs. Auld's first salve owner and at the begging when they first met “she [was] of the kindest heart and finest feelings” (38).

PAGE 2 In the Narrative Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, he uses this text to explain his purpose in “throwing light on the American slave system”, or show it for what it really is, as well as show his position on how he strongly believes slavery is an issue that needs to be addressed and how it differs from those who defended slavery, with experiences from his own life to support his argument. Douglass uses experience from his early days as a young slave to throw light on the aspect of physical abuse. According to his narrative, Douglass states, “Master, however, was not a humane slaveholder.

Frederick Douglass writes his narrative to educate the reader on the horrors of southern slavery. Douglass writes with the purpose of turning the reader against slavery and fight for abolishment. Throughout Frederick Douglass’s narrative he crafts figurative language such as imagery, repetition, and similes to shed light on the horrors of slavery and to get people to fight against slavery. To give the reader a detailed picture Frederick Douglass utilizes imagery. Douglass uses imagery in great detail when describing the beating of Aunt Hester, Before he commenced whipping Aunt Hester, he took her into the kitchen, and stripped her from neck to waist, leaving her neck, shoulders, and back, entirely naked.

By referring to his past as a slave, Douglass explains the origins of his rage and justifies his strong emotions on the topic of slavery. In his speech, Douglass constructs imagery of the lives of slaves from personal memories. To enrage his audience, he remembers “weeping” children separated from mothers, the “crack” of the whip and the “sad sobs” of broken families (Douglass 10). As his “soul was often pierced with a sense of its horrors,” Douglass replicates these emotions in the audience, fueling their passion and fury. However, Douglass is “aware of...the double-sided character of rage as a political force (Sokoloff 334).

Because of this, he successfully creates a contrast between what the slave owners think of and treat the slaves and how they are. Douglass says that slave’s minds were “starved by their cruel masters”(Douglass, 48) and that “they had been shut up in mental darkness” (Douglass, 48) and through education, something that they were deprived of, Frederick Douglass is able to open their minds and allow them to flourish into the complex people that they are. By showing a willingness to learn to read and write, the slaves prove that they were much more than what was forced upon them by their masters.

Douglass, with realization of his wretched state, does become miserable, and it is true that a slave who acknowledges the unfairness of slavery is undesirable to masters. In fact, this statement conveys a sense of fear regarding the slave’s literacy; this man seems to know that a literate slave would cause the rebellion against the whites. Douglass’s literacy would enable him to have “an increasing awareness of and control over the social means by which people sustain discourse, knowledge, and reality” (Royer) and inspire him to work against such society. Indeed, Douglass has escaped slavery through his personal realization. His Narrative uses the literacy acquired

Douglass states: “The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes, and in a strange land reduced us to slavery” (Douglass 51). Reading and writing opened Frederick Douglass’s eyes to the cause of the abolitionist. He became knowledgeable about a topic that white slave owners tried to keep hidden from their slaves. Literacy would eventually impact his life in more ways than what he could see while he was a young slave under Master Hugh’s