Frederick Douglass And Masque Of The Red Death By Edgar Allan Poe

The author’s diction illustrates Douglass view of the world around him and his feelings about a community created by fear and injustices. “The wretchedness of slavery” provoked Douglass to “trust no man”, which gave him the sense of feeling “perfectly helpless.” Being imprisoned in slavery for so long caused Douglass to witness the evils of man and experienced the cruelty of being alone. Even more when the “ferocious beats” showed their “greediness to swallow” it left Douglass “toil-worn and whip-scarred.” As time passed by Douglass’ desire for freedom has grown. However, when he does escape he puts himself in his own state of slavery that is run by fear. Douglass’ desires has not even freed him, but it also allowed him to live in life without

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass explains, in great detail, how slave master would use a variety of methods to dehumanize slaves located on their plantation. These methods involved both severe physical and psychological trauma. Nevertheless, Douglass remains diligent and finds a way to resist the harsh reality of being a slave. Because of his immovable desire to acquire knowledge to his fighting encounter with Mr. Covey, these experiences help shape Douglass to be the archetype of what it means to go from slavery to freedom. This essay will highlight the physical and psychological tactics used on slaves. In addition, the aspect of how Douglass resists the

     The tone established in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is unusual in that from the beginning to the end the focus has been shifted. In the beginning of the narrative Douglass seems to fulfill every stereotypical slavery theme. He is a young black slave who at first cannot read and is very naïve in understanding his situation. As a child put into slavery Douglass does not have the knowledge to know about his surroundings and the world outside of slavery. In Douglass’ narrative the tone is first set as that of an observer, however finishing with his own personal accounts.

After about nine chapters detailing his slave life, he says, “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” (Douglass, 75) He then goes on to describe the turning point for him that sparked his quest for freedom. By structuring his narrative this way, he reveals both sides- how slavery broke him “in body, soul, and spirit” (Douglass, 73) and how it eventually “rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom” within him (Douglass, 80). In doing so, he gives the reader an insight into how he became himself, and reinforces the evils of slavery in the way it shapes a man’s life. Douglass’ use of diction and structure effectively persuades the reader of the barbarity and inhumanity that comes as a result of slavery.

In addition to Jacobs’ account, Douglass’ narrative focused on his journey through manhood and freedom – “…I wished I could be as free as they would be when they got to be men … ‘Have not I as good a right to be free as you have?’” (Douglass, Chapter VII) – as well as, “This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning-point in my career as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood.” (Douglass, Chapter X). He had no freedom, but when he decided to fight back against the evil hand of slavery, he found it and made it his own. As a slave, he had no right to freedom, which in turn belittled his own manhood. His fight with Mr. Covey restored his sense of honor, his entitled manhood, as well as a spark of freedom he did not previously have.

The most electrifying moments in Douglass’s narrative was seen when Douglass decides to fight Mr. Covey back. Douglass gets the courage to fight Mr. Covey because he had the magical root in his hand. In the Narrative, there are many instances where violence is being depicted but in most scenarios it is seen when the slave owners discipline the slave. The roles were never reversed until this moment. After this fight, Douglass longed to be free more than ever. Though this act of violence is not what Douglass wanted, it did help him stay motivated. This act of violence can be seen as an act of resistance against slavery.

It was then that he became aware of his current status: a lowly slave that was considered to be a chattel. And it was then that he wanted his freedom. Meanwhile, the venom slave owner began to poison Sophia?s kind nature. Sadly, Douglass was once again a piece of meat and he no longer viewed the black race as one of the whites. Also, his views for white slave owners changed similarly; his heart was filled with abhorrence for them (Douglass 42). There were many times when Douglass thought about running away to become a free man, but there were few times when he was really determined to fulfill the risky and dangerous task. One of the few times came during the year when he worked for Edward Covey. Douglass became a field hand for the first time in his life. It was one of the few times he felt like a slave. He was not skilled in the backbreaking work required of him. Covey was a harsh and brutal slaveholder. Mr. Covey made his slaves work in all weathers. It was never too hot or too cold; it could never rain, blow, hail, or snow, too hard in the field (Douglass 66). And if it wasn?t work, work, work, it was beatings, beatings, and beatings. Douglass was often whipped and battered for not working ?hard enough.? Under Covey, Douglass and the other slaves were treated as the lowlifes of society, as low as horses and pigs. After six months under Covey, Douglass lost interest in reading and the

This man mentally abuses his slaves by making them fear his constant watch. The fear is a direct result of the threat of punishment if they do not adhere to his strict rules: they will be beat. In beating his slaves, Covey turns them into just another body; he never sees their mind. Douglass wants to be move than just another body. He needs to free his mind in order to free his body. In order to gain his freedom, Douglass must use his body and physically fight Covey. Through this fight, he frees his mind of the fear of ever being whipped again. Douglass claims that he “was never again what might be called fairly whipped, though I remained a slave four years afterwards” (43). Through this episode, Douglass proves that first the mind must be liberated, and the body will eventually (maybe not immediately) follow.

In this passage from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the third paragraph is distinguished from the rest because of the language and syntax used. This distinction contributes to Douglass’ rhetorical purpose of the passage, which is to show that a slave’s ambition cannot be extinguished for very long. In the first paragraph, Douglass talks about how Mr. Covey made him “broken in body, soul, and spirit.” However, through his writing in the third paragraph, Douglass shows how that wasn’t the case for long, as he details his hopes and plans for freedom.

The transformation from slave to man occurred both over many years and in the space of a single afternoon. The Narrative in its entirety is a story of that transformation, but the chiasmus found at the beginning of Frederick's fight with Mr. Covey emphasizes that afternoon as the setting for the metamorphosis. In the longer transformation, Douglass was made a man ultimately through his willingness to take risks for the sake of freedom. He learned to read against his master's will, taught his fellow slaves, and attempted escapes, all for the sake of freedom. A slave could not exist as a slave forever with this burning desire for freedom within him. This lifelong risk-taking for the sake of freedom led up to the climactic afternoon where the slave fought the master and regained his manhood. When Douglass fought Mr. Covey, he regained his sense of pride that had been taken away from him. Mentally and spiritually, he was free. It was only a matter of time before he would no longer be a slave physically either. Douglass uses the chiasmus to mark the beginning of this afternoon to ensure that his readers will take note of its importance.

The fight with Mr. Covey gave him hope for the future. “This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning point in my career as a slave”(Douglass 43). The fight that they had revived him with the will to live. The turning point revived his determination to be free and returned his self confidence. “It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood.

Covey was the turning-point in my carrier as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood. It recalled the departed self confidence, and inspired me again with a determination to be free” (43). Douglass, himself accepts the fact, that fight with Covey was the turnig point in his slavery life. Fight brings a sense of freedom in him.

At the beginning of the book, Douglass explains to the reader how many times he had moved. With every move, he had a new slave owner. Every slave owner treated him differently than the last. Some were worse than others but for the most part, they were the same. Douglass was not just abused and bullied by one or two people, he was abused by many different owners. This means he had multiple people treating him cruelly with too much power over him and other slaves. This means Douglass had witnessed many cases of abuse and terrible things happening to slaves.

Christ’s Second Coming As it states in Thessalonians 5:2, “For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (NIV). The second coming of Christ is a theological discussion that people obsess over. They study the actions of Christ day after day to see if they can find the answers to when it will happen.

Throughout the history of literature we see an obvious string of religion connecting most works to the core of their beginnings. From creation stories of tribes, to colonial poems, to the twisted mind of Edgar Allan Poe, there is a connection. Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” may not seem to portray the ideas of religion but through close examination, the association will become less cloudy. Poe’s use of symbolism, narrator, word choice, helps readers unmask the idea of religion.