Analysis Of Benjamin Banneker's Letter To Thomas Jefferson

Author and highly intelligent son of a former slave, Benjamin Banneker, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson argues towards Jefferson being more active in the abolishment of slavery. In order to illuminate injustice, Banneker uses repetition and quotes. He develops an outraged and formal tone to convey his message to Thomas Jefferson.
Repetition is used to reiterate the influence Jefferson has on the abolishment of slavery. Banneker uses “sir” multiple times through his letter to parade Jefferson's importance. The author knows changes won’t be made if he screams all of his complaints at Jefferson, so he handles it with respect. Through the repetition of “sir,” Banneker is still able to show his outrage over Jefferson’s poor and hypocritical decisions, while still being formal. Also, Banneker repeats “you” throughout the first paragraph when calling Jefferson out. When Banneker is discussing how Jefferson enjoys his freedom, putting an emphasis on “you” points out that Banneker and

He quotes The Declaration of Independence, a document by Jefferson; ‘“we hold these truths... pursuit of happiness,”’ this helps emphasize the inequality Banneker is feeling. The author using Jefferson’s own words against him, from a document as important as The Declaration, it not only shows Banneker has credible sources, it gives off a sense of irony. Something that Jefferson holds up at such high esteem was used against him to prove he needs to practice what he preaches. Banneker also says ‘“put your souls in their soul's stead”’ to shine light onto the privileges Jefferson has. This quote helps show the reader and Jefferson that he has never been a slave and doesn’t understand how they feel. This brings ethos into the letter, making the reader feel bad for everything slaves have been through, Banneker simply wants Jefferson to step into their shoes and it shows him the inequality that slaves feel