Similarities Between Frederick Douglass And Mark Twain

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass AND the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Comparison Essay

According to Douglass, “They went so far in their excitement as to pronounce the measures of government unjust, unreasonable, and oppressive, and altogether such as ought not to be quietly submitted to” (Douglass, 150). Douglass saw similarities between the struggles of the forefathers and black slaves, and he compelled his audience to recognize these similarities and follow the example of the forefathers.

In chapter ten, Douglass uses pathos with his imagery and figurative language that provokes an emotional response. Pathos is also seen in his powerful words, phrases and mental images that stir up emotion. Frederick Douglass went from being a slave into being a free man

In a Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave written by himself, the author argues that no one can be enslaved if he or she has the ability to read, write, and think. Douglass supports his claim by first providing details of his attempts to earn an education, and secondly by explaining the conversion of a single slaveholder. The author’s purpose is to reveal the evils of slavery to the wider public in order to gain support for the abolition of his terrifying practice. Based on the purpose of writing the book and the graphic detail of his stories, Douglass is writing to influence people of higher power, such as abolitionists, to abolish the appalling reality of slavery; developing a sympathetic relationship with the

Nearly a century after Massachusetts and many northern states abolish slavery. Slavery is still a huge problem in the United States. Douglass speaks about slaves, “who build ships and bridges, who act as merchants and clerks, who confess and worship to the Christian God, who are looking for a good life, and at the end of their lives, they must prove their own presence as humans to god himself.” (461) After all this time, a slave is nothing, because someone owns their bodies, many slaves solely live to for hard labor. Like the petitioners above, the natural right to freedom was still far from reality for the people in Douglass’ time. However, the attitude of the petitioners was more positive and forward looking than that of Douglass’. Douglass knew that freedom was hard to achieve. The petitioners had the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution in their time which assuredly made them believe that freedom was due shortly. The Abolitionist movement rode hard into Douglass’ time and did many things but yet still did not abolish slavery once and for all. The one trend that persists between Douglass and the petitioners was their definitions of freedom, they both state the natural right to freedom. Only now will that definition start to have a different meaning for the maturing north and south United

Frederick Douglass, nor Mark Twain didn’t have the life that a person now would want. Frederick Douglas was born in Maryland. He grew up without a mother or father, he was born into slavery. His birthday is unknown till this day, since back then they didn’t really care what time or day a black person was born. He at first grew up living with my grandmother. At a young age he was taken away and was assigned to work in a plantation, the master there could've been his father. He was mistreated badly and the living conditions were horrible. Later, he was sent to Baltimore, where he was kind of excited to go there and forget what he lived back home. He also tried escaping from slavery twice before he actually escaped. He died on February 20, 1895. In the other hand Mark Twain, or Samuel L. Clemens, born on November 30, 1835. He had a lot of jobs such as a storekeeper, a judge, land speculator. He wanted to be rich but unfortunately he wasn’t able to. He lived in Hannibal since he was 4 to the age of 17. When his father died he had to make money for his family so he started to work more and more, he began learning how to pilot a steamboat, which he liked because it made him quite the buck. He died on April 21, 1910. Some similarities between these two is that they both wrote good stories, and used some personal experiences in them. Twain wrote a lot of different stories, they were good. Twain focused more on letting the overall meaning of his stories get to the reader's emotions,

Another way in which Douglass can be seen to use pathos is through his use of imagery. Douglass describes the actions that white men, mostly slave owners, do to the people of the opposite race. They did not treat these black men with respect: they treated them more like animals than men. They “...beat them with sticks, flay their flesh with the lash, load their limbs with irons, hunt them with dogs, sell them at auction, sunder their families, knock out their teeth, burn their flesh, starve them…” (Douglass). Douglass used pathos effectively in this quote because he was able to show his audience the horrific things that white men did to their black slaves. The word flay has a negative connotation and it’s literal meaning is to whip or beat

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass both were very influential advocates in favor of the rights of people of color. Both fought for what they believed in and had many ways of getting their point such as talking about topics that can relate to the reader which makes them feel more attached to the story. Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’s use of pathos in their speeches work to make their argument stronger because they want to appeal to the reader’s emotions to rally support for their cause. In his speech “Second Inaugural Address” Abraham Lincoln reminds them that they all read the same bible and all pray to the same God. They have the same religious beliefs and that is one major factor that shows that slaves were not different from

Goals of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas Most people set goals for themselves in life. Whether it be a small goal or a goal that is almost impossible, people are always looking to achieve something in life. Some of these goals can be influential on other people because of the effects of the goal. Two examples of people with influential goals are Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

Finally, pathos is a main appeal of Douglass’ writing. Perhaps the reason why pathos is covered in the whole writing is not difficult for the audience to understand. The fact is that Douglass tells a true story about himself, and his emotions stem from the reality of what he had experienced. Douglass’ pathos is expressed in the way he describes the mistress as a tender-hearted woman in the beginning of the writing. The mistress is also a person who taught him the alphabet. However, she stopped teaching him and hated to see him with a newspaper. Douglass suggests that his mistress turned to violence against him because of oppression that was forced upon her by society and her husband (101). Surely, if Douglass did not have the pathos, he could

The issue of slavery became even more prominent throughout the major changes the nation faced post Civil War. Many books and personal narratives were published and passed down to generation after generation. Famous authors used their unique writing style and abilities to illustrate the harsh reality of slavery. The narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn were written to portray all Southerners as ignorant and inhumane beings. Both writers, Frederick Douglass and Mark Twain, became advocates for those slaves who could not speak out among the rest or publicize the truth themselves.

In Frederick Douglass’s writing, he brings imagery, tone and theme into his narrative. For example "Now, you d—-d b—-h, I'll learn you how to disobey my orders!" and after rolling up his sleeves, he commenced to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood (amid heart-rending shrieks from her, and horrid oaths from him) came dripping to the floor” (Douglass 6). This quote expresses the tone by showing readers the truth about slavery and how terrible they were treated on a daily basis. This quote also gives imagery because Douglass states the heavy whip was dripping warm blood from his aunt. From Douglass’s point of view, he sees this whipping as something new and terrifying because he was at a young age.

Mark Twain wanted the reader to figure out the real people and places. Twain put slavery in Huck Finn because he wanted to show the reader that young white children used to use slaves as a way of entertainment. In Huck Finn he uses Jim, a slave, as Huck and Tom’s entertainment and Jim cannot say or do anything about it because if he did he would get severely beat. In addition, Twain

In The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, Twain paints a colorful portrait of his life growing up in the south. Originally intended to be just a “fun” narrative about his childhood, Twain’s novel evolved into something much greater by criticising slavery and advocating for the rights of african-americans. The themes that the book represents were revolutionary in their time, something only accomplished through the narratives of Twain. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is aptly named due to it’s perspectives into boyhood, loyalty and slavery.

As Frederick Douglass once wrote, “the white man’s happiness cannot be purchased by the black man’s misery”. The race struggle illustrated in the quotation has long existed in America, so it has had a tremendous impact on the nation’s history. This history is commonly depicted in literary works as a result. One example of this is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a historical fiction work by Mark Twain. The novel takes place in the pre-Civil War Midwest, and follows Huckleberry Finn and the adventures he embarks upon with his guardian’s slave, Jim. They are both escaping town (Huckleberry to escape the strict household of Miss Watson, and Jim to prevent being sold down south, away from his family). Taking place before slavery was even outlawed, the book’s main theme is racism. Consequently, it is heavily debated whether or not the book is too controversial, since the book does not directly argue against racism. However, Twain uses obvious uses of hypocrisy and creates a tenacious, complex character for Jim in the novel in order to dispute racism.