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Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Analysis

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In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave: written by himself, the author asserts that the way to enslave someone is to keep them from all learning. Douglass supports his claim by first stating that he was never allowed to know or ask questions about his birth date or family, and secondly showing that he was never allowed to learn how to read or even learn the alphabet. Douglass’s purpose in writing this is to bring attention to the evils and injustices of slavery to people who have the power to abolish slavery. Based on the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass is writing to people who have the power to abolish slavery. Frederick Douglass shows an accurate representation that they way to enslave …show more content…

Although he did not believe in slavery, he did believe in a superior and inferior race. “[T]here is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.” Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was racist, he did not believe all races were created equal. Many people believed slaves were born as a “tool” for their use. “For that some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of their birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for rule…” Aristotle. Aristotle believed some people were born naturally slaves and should be slaves under any circumstance. Other people were born to rule these slaves, and could use these slaves as they pleased and could treat them as property. It goes without question that Aristotle thinks slavery was good for those who were born natural slaves, because without their masters they would not know how to control their lives. He believed slaves were not totally incapable of thought, but they only needed minimal amount of rational ability; just enough to to understand and be able to

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Douglass uses many rhetorical strategies here to make this paragraph sound almost poetic. He has personification through describing the sounds the animals make, metaphor in the line “She gropes her way, in the darkness of age...”, and his choice of diction allowed for words like “feet” and “meet” or “remains” and “things” to rhyme. He uses striking parallelism in the line “She stands- she sits- she staggers- she falls-

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Rhetorical Analysis Of Slavery By Frederick Douglass

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Besides, Douglass has utilized the ironic tool in the paragraph of his essay. For instance, although he lived as a slave at the time of his learning process, he explains to the readers that he brought bread when doing one part of chores so he could exchange for a reading lesson from local children before his return. He acknowledges: "I felt much better off in this regard than many of the poor white children in our neighborhood" (Douglass 26), which is ironic because Douglass himself would probably be in a worse position. Moreover, this kind of irony also presented at the top of the essay, Douglass called himself a slave which reminded the audiences that slaves did not happen in some faraway land; it happened in America – the land of freedom that can also be the land of slavery. Additionally, it is hard to believe for the white American that in the mid-1880s, a black person could even learn to read and less write a book (Shmoop Editorial Team).

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Many of us take education for granted and don’t learn to our fullest potential, but Fredrick Douglass soaked in every piece of information up because he knew it was his way out. “Learning to Read and Write” is a famous article based on what Fredrick Douglass went through to earn a valuable education while being enslaved. Author Fredrick Douglass, wrote “Learning to Read and Write”, published in 1845. Throughout the article, he takes us through different events he goes through while being enslaved. Douglass begins building his credibility with personal facts and successfully demonstrating logic and pathos appeal.

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828 Words | 4 Pages

Frederick Douglass, born a slave and later the most influential African American leader of the 1800s, addresses the hypocrisy of the US of maintaining slavery with its upheld ideals being freedom and independence on July 4th, 1852. Douglass builds his argument by using surprising contrasts, plain facts, and provocative antithesis. Introducing his subject, Douglass reminds his audience about the dark side of America for slaves, in sharp, surprising contrasts with the apparent progressivity within the nation. He first notices “the disparity,” that “the sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and deaths to me,” as an African-American former slave. It is surprising for the audience to hear that the Sun does not bring him any prosperity, that the Sun, the source of life on earth, brings him destruction.

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