Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis

African Americans are more than just slaves. African Americans are people that have dreams to pursue anything they want just as white people do. Throughout the novel “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” as written by himself, Douglass writes about his life during slavery and how it changed him into the man he became after he gained his freedom. He provides his own thoughts throughout this novel, which all appeal mainly to pathos. Also, Douglass provides examples of rhetorical analysis, such as chiasmus, loose sentences, and analogy. He wrote this novel to inform fellow slaves and abolitionists to stay hopeful and never give up, just as he did. He maintains a constant tone of depression and hope as he tells about his life story and being a slave. In this narrative, Douglass presents the argument that slavery is inhumane and needs to be discontinued.

Slaves were not taught how to read and write because education is power, and with power, slaves could escape. Frederick Douglass said that “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery with the power of education, and he wrote an autobiography, which shows the idea of freedom through the eyes of Frederick Douglass, and the connection between freedom and education. Douglass shows this through rhetorical devices and the elements of rhetoric. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave reveals that with education, freedom is attainable.

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.

The “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” is an autobiography in which Frederick Douglass reflects on his life as a slave in America. He writes this book as a free slave, in the North, while slavery was still running its course before the Civil War. Through his effective use of rhetorical strategies, Frederick Douglass argues against the institution of slavery by appealing to pathos and ethos, introducing multiple anecdotes, using satirical irony, and explaining the persuasive effects of slavery and reasoning behind keeping slaves uneducated.

America’s history is overrun with oppression and injustice based on race, ethnicity, and other traits that innocent victims have no control over. As a result, the reputation of the United States is forever tainted by it’s dark past, and still practices these surviving habits of hatred. Civil liberty issues faced since the establishment of the country have yet to be resolved because of the ever-present mistreatment, corruption in positions of authority, and the dehumanization of minorities.

Throughout this excerpt from his autobiography, Frederick Douglass constantly refers to the importance of Education and Literacy. He continuously details not only that education represented power, but also that an educated and literate slave would be dangerous in the eyes of the slave-loving southerners. Education all throughout time has represented knowledge, and knowledge is seen as power, both of which could easily corrupt someone, hence why slave owners chose to keep slaves in the dark in regards to education. Douglass argued that education was seen as the key to success and free thoughts, however, both were luxuries unknown to a slave unless they took matters into their own hands.

Frederick Douglass was a wise and brave man that grew up in the American slave system. He knows first hand the hardships of being owned by someone and having no way to escape that kind of life. After escaping from slavery he decided to write a book on the hardships of his life. In the book he describes the life of the slave and the many aspects that are not usually learned. These aspects describe the life of a slave in a point of view that is not usually looked at; the point of view of a slave.

In chapter seven of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass is finally aware of his approximate age, and is burdened with the thought of being a “slave for life.” At the age of 12, it is not very encouraging to be given the description of a “slave for life.” Douglass uses his newfound reading and writing skills to cleverly comprehend the book The Columbian Orator, and the speeches from the Catholic emancipation it contains, in his favor. The book Douglass discovers does a good job of supporting his invalidation of slavery as well as providing him with knowledge and reasonable arguments.

One of the most well-known slavery narratives was lived and written by Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was a civil rights activist who was born into slavery on a plantation in eastern Maryland in February 1818. His exact birth date is unknown, he states in his narrative, “I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it.”2 His birth name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, which was given by his mother Harriet Bailey, who died when he was about 10 years old. At a young age, Douglass was picked to live in the home of a plantation owner Captain Anthony, whom some believe may have been his father. In his narrative that was published in 1845, sixteen years before the Civil War began, Douglass describes his life as a slave and his aspiration to become a free man. He describes the painful struggle to break free from the physical and mental bondage of slavery. Frederick Douglass resisted slavery by withstanding along with defying his owners. He prepared himself for life as a free man by self-improving himself through the use of education. Douglass’s experience reveals about the difficulties enslaved people would face, when and if they were granted their freedom, was that if they were not educated they were not totally “free.”

through out the book, The life of Frederick Douglas the narrator write the storie of his life being born intoslavery. He shows what it is really is like to be a slave in that point in time to the blindsided white people; he uses a strong educated vocabulary and vivid descriptions to bring the reader into what's it's really like and feel and see the pain and horror he went through using many different forms of diction, imagery and details.

Frederick Douglass, a former slave, is a well known figure for self teaching himself the English language and addressing the nation of its holiday for freedom. He had a goal, which was to explain what the 4th of July meant to a black slave. How he convinced his crowd was through some powerful language and rhetorical questions. Though he was talking to a sympathetic crowd, he really wanted to prove how different his opinion is of this “great” holiday compared to a white American.

Therefore, Douglass appeals to ethos in the beginning of chapter one. He then explains that he does not know his own birth date and or his age, "I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it" (Douglass 1). Why would the slaves, not be allowed to know the facts about their own life? The answer is simply that slaves weren't supposed to know the amount of things that white people had the privilege to know, only because the slave holders did not want them to have that sort of knowledge.

Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist who was born into slavery.Douglass was married to 2 women,Anna Murray and Helen Pitts.He has 5 children.Frederick was the first African American to be nominated for vice president of the United States.He is a journalism,civil rights activist,and an author.He is also the first African American to hold a high U.S government rank.He has written autobiographies mostly about his experiences during the Civil War.He’s well known for his book, The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.

During this dreadful time where people of different race were being treated unfairly, there was Frederick Douglass, a man whose emotions filled the eyes of the reader. In his memoir, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass recounts on his escape and the hardships he faced even after being a free man. In the beginning, he felt jocose to be out of the chains that once confined him to be a shadow of his own identity, but loneliness and the fear of the future soon followed. Moreover, he is able to portray this journey to freedom effectively and in detail with his own style through rhetoric, an art of persuasion. He argues with repetition to emphasize his thoughts and add a rhythm to his piece. In addition, he weaves powerful diction through the passage to place a better visual of his experiences which brought vivid imagery into his writing. Through such rhetorical devices, Douglass is successful in conveying his declarative state of mind that uncovers within the lengths of his sentences. As a result, he is able to bring the burden of being planitive and expose the reality behind being a free man. With this idea, he was able to defend that the sudden happiness soon turned daunting after years of oppression.

1. Douglass established ethos with a white-northern audience by establishing his ability to narrate his story and goal to abolish slavery in a calm manner. His words are clear and direct. Frederick is able to convey his sufferings and all the slaves without coming across as angry and full of hatred. By doing so, he was able to get the attention of white-northerners to listen to his cause. The descriptions of violence he shared were enough to make white men and women to understand the sufferings of a slave. If Douglass focused on graphic descriptions of violence, it might have overshadowed his goal to have slaves be free. Douglass narrated when Mr. Covey, “lashed me till he had worn out his switches, cutting me so savagely as to leave the marks visible for a long time after” (Douglass 36). But yet, in spite of Mr. Covey’s savagery, Douglass’s genuine kindness remains intact as stated, “Mr. Covey was a poor man; he was just commencing in life; he was only able to buy one slave” (Douglass 37). The use of ethos in this quote shows the spirit of a community of slave owners without slandering them completely nor praising them. Thus, Frederick Douglass was able to establish a white-northern audience.