In times of oppression, the oppressed can do little besides hope and wait. Especially during times of slavery in the United States, slaves had almost no choice in their lives of brutality. Frederick Douglass' autobiography titled Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself explores one of the few freedoms a slave had: the freedom of expression. A slave's expression through song reveals the painful emotions felt throughout enslavement. Though people may misunderstand the negatives of slavery, hearing the message behind a slave's song helps correct misunderstanding. Thus, one can understand a slave's unhappiness by listening to their songs. Slaves express their emotions toward enslavement by singing. As …show more content…
Singing with happiness and pride reflects the honor and enthusiasm a slave feels from receiving this prestigious opportunity. While these songs seem fully positive, slaves convey both the "highest joy" and the "deepest sadness" through them (Douglass 951). When used together, joy and sadness create a paradox. Slaves already express joy through their satisfaction of gaining a position at the Great House Farm, but this paradox suggests the slaves still expect poor treatment. To communicate the contrasting negativity, slaves include meanings hidden within their songs. Each of the song's notes translates the hopes and request of slaves with the "bitterest anguish" (Douglass 951). The severe pain felt in anguish evolves from the master's treatment of his slaves. Consistent whippings, starvation, lack of proper housing, and other mistreatments cause slaves to resent their submissive positions. Using this struggle as a basis, slaves argue against slavery through every note in a song. / For Frederick Douglass, these …show more content…
In contrast to southerners, the people of the "north" know little about the details of slavery (Douglass 952). Since the north does not allow slavery, northerners have unlikely witnessed it firsthand. Their distance from the southern slave states permits them to read, write, and speak either for or against slavery, but without viewing it in person, a northerner may have biased opinions. Specifically, some northerners use the idea that slaves sing as evidence of their "contentment" and "happiness" in slavery (Douglass 952). These northerners, likely pro-slavery activists, use their biases to interpret that singing has a positive meaning to slaves. This interpretation occurs from the association of singing with joy, and their inability to actually hear a slave's song. In fact, the songs represent the "sorrows" of a slave's heart, the opposite of both contentment and happiness (Douglass 952). Slaves free themselves of their sorrows by expressing them in song just like how an "aching heart is relieved by its tears" (Douglass 952). This simile between the slave and the heart emphasizes the power songs have since crying, an expression of emotion, often soothes the pain in one's heart, and singing about woe frees slaves from the burden of their sorrows. Thus, mistaking sorrow for happiness shows northerners' ignorance of the effect of
He explained a delicate topic in many points of view. He gave more insight than most authors do when creating a book about the harsh topic of slavery. Why is slavery real and how can it go away? In James McBride’s novel, Song Yet Sung, he depicts a slave’s journey to freedom and the suffering
In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass feelings about the songs he heard the slaves sing, provoked anger deep inside his heart. Having grown up in slavery, dealing with the beatings, long hours, hardly any food, and let’s not forget any freedom. It would make him a bit annoyed. It not only provoked anger, but also reveal short-term happiness among the slaves. Frederick stated that, “they would make the dense old woods, for miles around reverberate with their wild songs.”
Douglass is also expressing the mental affect that her mistreatment had on him. On the same page Douglass wrote, “Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities. Under its influence, the tender heart became stone…” (pg.66). In this metaphor Douglass conveys how the power of slavery made his mistress become cruel.
Douglass used imagery to express the true agony a slave went through during the hardships of slavery. He describes that, “ … those songs still follow me, to deepen my hatred of slavery, and quicken my sympathies for my brethren in bonds”(Douglass 21). The wretched songs the poor slaves sang were cries for help. They could only express their trauma by singing depressing tunes as they worked countless hours in horrible conditions. As for physical pain, Douglass mentions that, “[Demby’s] mangled body sank out of sight, and blood and brains marked the water where he had stood”(Douglass 26).
How did the speaker use appeals to describe the slaves and the slave trade? The speaker uses appeals because at the time slaves could not write or read so he uses them to express the slaves emotions throughout the poem. The speaker uses the appeal to reason, logic, and motion throughout the poem because at this time slaves couldn't write down what they was feeling or thinking about. The speaker uses appeal to emotion in the third stanza explaining the guilt the slave owners should feel with all the miserable and cruel things that they did to them.
I have frequently found myself in tears while hearing them... To those songs, I trace my first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery. I can never get rid of that conception. Those songs still follow me, to deepen my hatred of slavery, and quicken my sympathies for my brethren in bonds” (Douglass, p.20). Douglass got exhausted from the way he and the others got handled and fought
“With them, justice, liberty and humanity were “final”; not slavery and oppression.” This relates to the hardships and the fact that the people don’t recognize how terrible it is. And that these meanings of these “free” words mean something else to him and other slaves. He shows that the changes are hard but once they are made everything will be peaceful. Rhetorical features and strategies are Douglass’ forte’ in engaging with the audience.
To show his perception on the very cruel slaveholders, Douglass uses a multitude of adjectives to create an image in his reader’s mind, while also using metaphors to better comprehend the situation. For example, Douglass stated, “No words, no tears, no prayers, for his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose.” By using this metaphor, Frederick Douglass made the reader question how one could be so cruel to another human being. By visualizing one whipping another without any guilt, it makes the audience understand the inhumanity of slavery. In total, this metaphor creates a agonizing image in the reader’s
‘’ No words, No tears, No prayers, from his glory victim, seemed to move his iron heart fro his bloody purpose.’’ (page 5). Douglass appeals to the mournful emotions of the audience by expressing how the overseers gave no mercy or cared about the effect of whippings to the slaves. Douglass use of parallelism displayed how slavery was
The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.
He truly tapped into the reader’s emotions to allow them a deeper connection with the story. To see the way that the slaveholder would dehumanize the slave to the point of seeing the slave as just a piece of property was truly heartbreaking. It was at moments such as this that the reader saw a glimpse of the mood, tone and theme. Douglass makes clear his tone of understanding, the theme of both the slave and the slaveholder being affected, and the mood of the reader being
However, Douglass, who knows the true culprit, refutes this idea saying instead that slaves would join together in song to tell of their hatred and sorrow. Another way that Douglass rebukes this friendly image is with the gory horrific reality. For instance, when a savage overseer kills a slave named Demby, Douglass recalls “his mangled body sank out of sight, and blood and brains marked the water where he had stood”(22). Douglass isn’t painting this life in a positive way because he wants others to grasp the alarming reality that was life as a slave. Although those involved in the enslavement of African Americans might’ve liked to believe it, there was nothing reasonable or justifiable about
Through deep characterization, emotional appeal, and religion, Frederick Douglass shows the readers what negative effects slavery has on the slaveholders themselves. Douglass successfully shows that slavery makes the slaveholder bitter and brings ultimate sadness into their lives. In addressing the harmful effects of slavery on the slaveholders, he makes one reconsider their moral righteousness and better comprehend the difference between humanity and atrocity. Though there are many other ways that slavery could have been harmful to the slaveholder, Frederick Douglass has shown that these ways given were true and has proven that they were indeed negative effects on the
Because of this, he successfully creates a contrast between what the slave owners think of and treat the slaves and how they are. Douglass says that slave’s minds were “starved by their cruel masters”(Douglass, 48) and that “they had been shut up in mental darkness” (Douglass, 48) and through education, something that they were deprived of, Frederick Douglass is able to open their minds and allow them to flourish into the complex people that they are. By showing a willingness to learn to read and write, the slaves prove that they were much more than what was forced upon them by their masters.
These songs were far from joyful, they would sing “…the most pathetic sentiment in the most rapturous tone…” and these songs would “… [breathe] the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish.” (29). Douglass argues against the positive image of slavery that portrayed slaves to be