Use Of Ethos In Frederick Douglass

Dallin Jones
C. Ogimoto
American Literature
February 15, 2023
Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Appeals
Fredrick Douglass was born into slavery on February 14, 1818. He later escaped slavery in 1838. Frederick Douglass is most commonly known for his narrative, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. The purpose of this narrative was to uphold the principle of freedom as an inalienable human right and to prove how slavery was dehumanizing. Fredrick Douglass neatly uses ethos, logos, and pathos to promote his purpose, but pathos is by far the most effective due to the correlations between him and the reader.
To begin, Douglass masterfully hooked the reader by relating his experiences to those of the readers. When Douglass related to the reader's experiences it helped him create a deeper connection between them, leading to a deeper understanding of his arguments. He emphasizes: “It caused me more pain than anything else in the whole transaction. I was ready for anything rather than separation.” (Douglass 71). The separation caused a great deal of stress and anxiety for Douglass; Nobody wants

Imagery is one of the best ways to connect with the audience. It allows them to feel fully immersed. Douglass illustrates how Mr. Tomas Lannan “killed two slaves, one of whom he killed with a hatchet, by knocking his brains out.” (Douglass 21). Douglass was able to use vivid details to help paint the scene. Another use of imagery that Douglass used for his audience was the final moments before his grandmother's death: “she stands - she sits - she staggers - she falls - she groans - she dies - and there are none of her children or grandchildren present, to wipe from her wrinkled brow the cold sweat of death, or to place beneath the sod her fallen remains.” (Douglass 40). This exposes the last moments before his grandmother's death and how agonizing it