Through the literary works they made people aware of the injustice and inhumanity that slavery was based on and because if its written form they had impact on many generations coming years and decades later. Phillis Wheatley through poems appeals to the intellectual side of the people while Frederick Douglas using slave narrative in his autobiography introduces readers to cruelty and blooded side of black’s oppression. Even though they used different literary convention, they both became an inspiration for long-term changes that transformed the United Stated and it is still visible in current times. By affecting minds and souls of society, they inscribed themselves in American literary tradition
An example of this is, “we hanged our harps upon the willow in the midst thereof” (Douglass 286). This piece of text is Douglass saying that once you’ve been a slave there is no way to forget everything that he experienced because of how horrifying it was. With this quote it helps to prove his credibility because he can relate to what slaves are going through and can use his personal experiences to convince people that slavery needs to end. While Frederick Douglass experienced many atrocities during his time as a former slave many Americans were aware of what slaves experienced, so he had to use other means as well to persuade his audience to support abolitionism which would help end slavery once and for all in
An American Slave,” Douglass discusses the horrors of being enslaved and a fugitive slave. Through Douglass’s use of figurative language, diction and repetition he emphasizes the cruelty he experiences thus allowing readers to under-stand his feelings of happiness, fear and isolation upon escaping slavery. Figurative language allocates emotions such as excitement, dread and seclusion. As a slave you have no rights, identity or home. Escaping slavery is the only hope of establishing a sense of self and humanity.
Do you feel sorry for him or does he get what he deserves? What does it tell you about how upper class southerners treated slaves? The preacher is the least sympathetic character in the entire story. He literally has no redeeming value as a human being, though he does provide value as a plot device.
To tell a story a person uses a unique style to further advance the experience, and what their message is. In the 1845 autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he talks about his thoughts and experiences as a slave. From the passage, we can find the third paragraph to differ in style in order to distinguish the message from the rest of the passage. He uses a collection of persuasive devices and imagery, to get his message across strong and clear for readers. With a strong presence of pathos, symbolism, and rhetorical questions in the third paragraph, it helped build and reinforce his main idea of the passage.
To fail to do work to a respectable level means to be sold to another plantation and ripped away from one’s family. To try to escape, is to die. It is constantly apparent that these values apply to Cora’s life as much as any slave of the time period. Big Anthony was one slave on the Randall plantation in which Cora worked. However, Big Anthony had tried to escape the chains of slavery.
They are punished even for the smallest things such as a bar of soap which destroys even the smallest freedom of self cleaning. These methods break down slaves and any hope they may carry with them. The lengths slaveholders went to maintain control of the slaves makes slavery a “peculiar
“After apologizing for his ignorance, and reminding the audience that slavery was a poor school for the human intellect and heart, he proceeded to narrate some of the facts in his own history as a slave, and in the course of his speech gave utterance to many noble thoughts and thrilling reflections. (Preface.4)” In this quote, Frederick Douglass is giving a big speech in front of an even bigger audience. This is one of Douglass’s earlier speeches, so he hadn’t had much practice when it came to public announcements. In the quote, Douglass is simply trying to inform the audience of the education that slaves and blacks, in general, are given.
In the Narrative, Fredrick Douglass uses his own personal experiences as an African-American slave in the South to paint a unique and vivid picture of the effects slavery has on both himself and those around him. The story of how Douglass went from a slave to a free man not only serves as a historically important piece of literature, but also raises questions about how slavery changes a person. While Douglass’s Narrative is autobiographical in nature, he analyzes many aspects of his past in order to make sense of his enslavement and how it formed his beliefs about the world around him. One of the most pivotal moments in Douglass’s work is his physical fight with Mr. Covey. This struggle affects Douglass psychologically and serves as a turning point in his life.
Harriet Tubman once said, “I freed a thousand slaves I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.” During slavery, both whites and blacks were being subconsciously dehumanized. By treating blacks as beasts, slave owners became beasts because their actions were not guided by any consciousness or morality but by pure bestiality. This leads to psychological effects on both ends, on slave owners and on slaves. Beloved, by Toni Morrison, illustrates the life of Sethe and her constant battle with her enslaved past and supernatural presence, which makes her act upon her predestined future.
When it comes to Whitfield’s poetry, his tone stands out as a key factor of his writing style. Most of the writing about slavery from black authors in the 1800s features ugly themes and retelling of experiences, but Whitfield excels at bringing his cynical attitude to the surface of his poetry. He also includes redeeming moments that instill hopefulness. His poem America exemplifies his direct tone of writing. He wastes no time to set the tone in his opening passage “America, it is to thee,| Thou boasted land of liberty,
Frederick Douglass’, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a condensed narrative that retells the story of Douglass’ life as a slave from childhood until his escape as an adult. Douglass’ life consisted of various changes that all contributed to the decisions and predicaments he encountered throughout his life. Although he was a slave, in Baltimore for the majority of his life, his descriptions and telling of how slavery slashes both the slave and the slave master are both thought provoking and quite upsetting. The beatings, humiliation, tearing apart of families, and the sexual brutality are all there, laid out in a direct, straightforward style that is somehow more horrifying with its lack of exaggeration. Much of this narrative
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass contained major themes which formed the story of a former slave describing his life from being a slave to an intellectual person. The text tackled an important issue which was the ignorance where it was used as a mean to eternize slavery. Ignorance was a way to keep the slaves under the domination of the masters together with the physical cruelty. Slaves were not permitted to read and write.
In Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass give you insight on how he struggle while being a slave in the 1800’s, It shows that your current Circumstance can not defined who you are in where you trying to go in life. Douglass had the ability to overcome physical and mental abuse by teaching himself how to read and write. Frederick Douglass real name was Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. He was born year 1818 In Tuckahoe County outside of Maryland. He was born into slavery in a time where the color of skin defined who you were.
Themes within Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave The novel, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, by Frederick Douglass, shows how Frederick Douglass goes through slavery as a child up until he is an adult. Throughout Frederick’s life, you will see how he grows up as a slave and how much terrible stuff he has to go through to finally be a free man. Respect is earned not given, never lose faith, and you have to go through the bad to get to the good are three themes you will see throughout this novel.