Analysis Of The Slave's Dream By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

For hundreds of years, slaves in America were separated from their families to be sold off like livestock to their slave owners, then forced to work and live in unimaginable conditions, and viciously beaten for something as little as a task not fully being met. In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written by the self-taught, abolitionist himself, Douglass shares some light on the inhumane treatment and hardships slaves were forced to overcome in his journey to free himself both mentally and physically from slavery. Douglass appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos in order to truly open his reader's eyes to the horrors of slavery, conveying his message that slavery must be abolished.

Solomon Northup, in his autobiography 12 Years A Slave, uses religious language to depict the horrendous nature of institutional slavery and slaveholders. In specific, the primary use of religious language in Northup’s autobiography is to express his and many other slaves’ sufferings and subjugation, to present the biblical justification adopted by slaveholders to mistreat their slaves, and to convey the significance of religion to him and the African American slaves; therefore, religious language is not a tool utilised to dramatise or supplement substance in his story. It is the true voice of Northup that arises from his faith and belief in Christianity as well as other African American slaves.

Douglass uses vivid imagery to depict the gruesome and ungodly nature of slavery. For example, in chapter six, Douglass describes the death of his grandmother “…She stands-she sits-she staggers-she falls-she groans-she dies-and there are none of her children or grandchildren present, to wipe from her wrinkled brow the cold sweat of death…” (59) This quote helps the reader imagine the grandmothers death and how helpless she felt. The fact that the slaveholders made it impossible for her children to be there when she died, contributes to the inhumane image Douglass has already been painting throughout the

Langston Hughes was the leading voice of African American people in his time, speaking through his poetry to represent blacks. His Influence through his poems are seen widely not just by blacks but by those who enjoy poetry in other races and social classes. Hughes poems, Harlem, The Negro speaks of rivers, Theme for English B, and Negro are great examples of his output for the racial inequality between the blacks and whites. The relationship between whites and blacks are rooted in America's history for the good and the bad. Hughes poems bring the history at large and present them in a proud manner. The injustice that blacks face because of their history of once being in bondage is something they are constantly reminded and ridiculed for but must overcome and bring to light that the thoughts of slavery and inequality will be a lesson and something to remember for a different future where that kind of prejudice is not found so widely.

It also shows the sense of ownership slaves master’s felt that they had over them. Back then it was common for one man to own another man and to them it was the norm. In today’s society, most would look at owning another human as irrational. Douglass used logos to get the readers on his side. He wanted them to look at the master as a bad person; he wanted the readers to think logically.

In chapter 5, Douglass begins his narrative to discuss the animal-like, inhuman treatment he received from his past slaveowner. Douglass does this by his use of diction and imagery throughout chapter 5. For example, he says “I suffered much from hunger, but much more from cold” (34). The diction and imagery Douglass uses in these sentences helps discuss the purpose of inhumanity by describing how the slaves were treated horribly. They were not given enough food and they were not given the proper amount of clothing need to stay warm in the frigid winter. The effect of this powerful quotes conveys a doleful tone that teaches the audience how many slaves, including Douglass, had suffered. Another example would be when he writes “The children were then called, like so many pigs, and like so many pigs, they would come and devour the mush…” (34). This quotes diction and imagery helps exhibit the purpose of animal-like, treatment by comparing the slave children as pigs. Douglass also does this by describing the food that they were given, like mush. The simile that Douglass uses effects the audience in that it conveys a sense of disturbance and gives the reader a clear picture of what and how the slave were forced to eat. These quotes help forecast Douglass’s purpose of the slaves being

      In conclusion Douglass express the importance of  human spirit and mental darkness through understatement, personification, and diction to help the readers fully understand the aspects of being a slave. This should matter in life today to never give up and keep asking questions. After reading Douglass, many literature teachers use his work to display a correct use of rhetorical devices and how they can positively affect writing and analyzing literary

In convincing people to be aware of the rights of slaves, Douglass wrote a slave narrative to argue people should be equally treated even a slave. In his novel, he effectively uses pathos, ethos as persuasiveness to make claims more powerful and logos to make people easily accept. His primary audiences should be guilty and shameful after read his Slave Narrative.

After the American Revolution, slavery became a more significant component in the American economy. As a result of many slave owners being materialistic, slaves were overworked and treated callously. One such slave was Frederick Douglass. Through most of his life, Douglass was trapped in a typical slave environment. However, Douglass taught himself to read and eventually escaped the desolate life of a slave. After his freedom, Douglass wrote his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, which chronicled his life story. In his book, Douglass details his slave upbringing and how it affected him. His autobiography was incredibly comprehensive which is one reason

During the mid-19th century, the issue of slavery divided the nation between two firmly rooted camps, the southern slave owners and the northern abolitionists. As authors and activists attempted to shed light on the issue of slavery, they appealed to the millions of citizens who were in between camps, whether due to a lack of knowledge or lack of importance in their daily lives. The story of Frederick Douglass is one such literary work that helped inform American citizens on the horrors of slavery, offering a first-hand account as Douglass rose from a slave to an educated free man. Within his narrative, Douglass describes his life as a slave and transition into American society with newfound freedom, highlighting the dehumanizing results of slavery. Furthermore, Douglass appeals to the three Aristotelian appeals throughout his novel, synthesizing the argument that slavery should be abolished. Specifically, Douglass makes use of vivid imagery that appeals to readers’ pathos, inciting horror in his audience at the sight of atrocities committed by slave owners. Moreover, Douglass references a number of prominent literary works when forming analogies between slavery and history, appealing to readers’ ethos by illustrating his education and increasing the credibility of his argument. Finally, Douglass utilizes a parallel sentence structure to appeal to readers’ logos by presenting his arguments in a cohesive and logical manner when writing of the slave’s lack of autonomy over their own lives .

On July 5th 1852, Frederick Douglass, carried out this very captivating address at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York. He had been invited to speak about what the Fourth of July means for America's black society, and while the first part of his speech honors what the founding fathers did for this country, his speech soon develops into a condemnation of the attitude of American humanity toward slavery. During this time in history was one where the freedom of America was transpiring, being recognized and

In the autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, the author explains his hardships of life growing up as a slave. Douglass was taken from his mother to grow up on a separate plantation in Maryland where he notices that there is no individuality among the slaves. He is then sent to live with Mrs. Auld, is taught to read, and realizes that passion for learning reveals his individuality. After being sent back to his original plantation his strong passion for learning urges him to creates a plan with fellow slaves leading to his freedom. Throughout the book, Douglass’ use of metaphors, juxtaposition, and diction demonstrate how freedom is essential to develop as an individual.

During the 1840s, America saw increasingly attractive settlements forming between the North and the South. The government tried to keep the industrial north and the agricultural south happy, but eventually the issue of slavery became too big to handle, no matter how many treaties or compromises were formed. Slavery was a huge issue that unraveled throughout many years of American history and was one of the biggest contributors leading up to the Civil War (notes, Fall 2015). Many books have been written over the years about slavery and the brutality of the life that many people endured. In “A Slave No More”, David Blight tells the story about two men, John M. Washington (1838-1918) and Wallace Turnage (1846-1916), struggling during American slavery. Their escape to freedom happened during America’s bloodiest war among many political conflicts, which had been splitting the country apart for many decades. As Blight (2007) describes, “Throughout the Civil War, in thousands of different circumstances, under changing policies and redefinitions of their status, and in the face of social chaos…four million slaves helped to decide what time it would be in American History” (p. 5). Whether it was freedom from a master or overseer, freedom from living as both property and the object of another person’s will, or even freedom to make their own decisions and control their own life, slaves wanted a sense of independence. According to Blight (2007), “The war and the presence of Union armies

Overall, the speaker of “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point” reminds us that the system of slavery destroys lives. We see this notion play out in the narrative as the speaker talks of a female slave at Plymouth Rock. Here, we bear witness to her lack of respect for life that not only flaws her judgments as a mother, but perpetuates a sense of violence or

Prior to the publication of any slave narrative, African Americans had been represented by early historians’ interpretations of their race, culture, and situation along with contemporary authors’ fictionalized depictions. Their persona was often “characterized as infantile, incompetent, and...incapable of achievement” (Hunter-Willis 11) while the actions of slaveholders were justified with the arguments that slavery would maintain a cheap labor force and a guarantee that their suffering did not differ to the toils of the rest of the “struggling world” (Hunter-Willis 12). The emergence of the slave narratives created a new voice that discredited all former allegations of inferiority and produced a new perception of resilience and ingenuity.