Frederick Douglass

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Frederick Douglass’ journey from slave to freed man is infamous for its influence in the abolition movements during the 1800’s. In his narrative, Douglass uses the appeal of ethos in order to establish his stance on the issue of slavery. In addition to that, he uses many of his own personal experiences to not only reveal the hard life of a slave, but to also show that at the time, he had his own thoughts and beliefs about the injustices around him. This shows the audience that slaves are capable of thinking for themselves, having feelings and even have the potential to become educated and live as equals among the whites. Despite his obvious support for the abolition of slavery, Douglass keeps an objective stance and does not only discuss the wrongs of slavery in favor of the blacks; he simply tells the story of his life. Throughout the narrative, he goes into great detail and explains things from both sides because the purpose of his narrative is not to place blame on the slave owners, but to show why slavery is negative in general. Douglass is able to effectively establish ethos because he uses rhetorical strategies such as tone and style in order to not only share his experiences during and after his life as a slave but to also establish his credibility and explain to the audience why slavery is wrong in order to gain their support and promote the awareness for the abolitionist movement. Douglass starts off the narrative in a way that not only makes the reader think about how hard life as a slave must have been, but also shows the reader that Douglass was intuitive even as a child. He shares different experiences and tells the reader what he thought about each one at the time; usually including a follow up of how his view chang... ... middle of paper ... ...o not only reveal what kind of terrible things slaves must endure, but also to show that all black people are capable of being much more than slaves. Douglass voices his opinions to move people toward abolitionism and gain support from the white community. The journey from slave to freed man was a very long one, but well worth it because Douglass was a very influential figure during the abolitionary movement and because of his words, many slaves were given the opportunities to make their own journey to freedom. Works Cited Douglass, Frederik. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. Boston (Mass.): ANdi-slavery Office No. 25 Cornhill, 1845. eBook. Garrison, Lloyd. Preface. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Written by Himself. 1845. Anti-Slavery Office No. 25 Cornhill, 1845. 6-20 eBook.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave
1297 Words | 3 Pages
A staunch abolitionist, Douglass would take the country by storm through the power of his words and writings. His narrative was unique in regards to how it was written and the content it holds. Unlike most biographies of freed slaves, Douglass would write his own story and with his own words. His narrative would attempt to understand the effects slavery was having on not just the slaves, but the slaveholders as well. The success of his biography, however, did not rest on the amount of horror in it but from the unmistakable authenticity it provided. His narrative would compel his readers to take action with graphic accounts of the lashes slaves would receive as punishment, “the loude...
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Key Arguments in "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"
1143 Words | 3 Pages
In sum, all of these key arguments exist in “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” because of the institution of slavery and its resulting lack of freedom that was used to defend it. This text’s arguments could all be gathered together under the common element of inequality and how it affected the practical, social, and even spiritual lives of the slaves.
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Frederick Douglass: The Psychological Approaches Used to Maintain the Institution of Slavery
1326 Words | 3 Pages
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. Professor David Hennessy, 1845.
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Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass Ethos Essay
616 Words | 2 Pages
In, “The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”, readers get a first person perspective on slavery in the South before the Civil War. The author, Frederick Douglass, taught himself how to read and write, and was able to share his story to show the evils of slavery, not only in regard to the slaves, but with regard to masters, as well. Throughout Douglass’ autobiography, he shares his disgust with how slavery would corrupt people and change their whole entire persona. He uses ethos, logos, and pathos to help establish his credibility, and enlighten his readers about what changes needed to be made.
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Comparison Of Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass
1046 Words | 3 Pages
Douglas, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (The Harper Single Volume American Literature 3rd edition) 1845:p.1017-1081
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Fredrick Douglass
1342 Words | 3 Pages
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself (New York, N.Y.: W.W. Norton and Company, 1997).
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Analysis of The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
902 Words | 2 Pages
The Narrative of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass is written to have people place their feet in the shoes of Frederick Douglass and try to understand the experience he went through as a slave. Douglass writes this piece of literature with strong wording to get his point across. He is not trying to point out the unpleasant parts of history, but to make people face the truth. He wants readers to realize that slavery is brutalizing and dehumanizing, that a slave is able to become a man, and that some slaves, like himself, have intellectual ability. These points are commonly presented through the words of Douglass because of his diction.
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Essay on Literacy in African-American Literature
2285 Words | 5 Pages
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: New American Library, 1987. 243-331.
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The Language of Douglass’s State of Mind
774 Words | 2 Pages
...oncluding passage to his narrative for a specific purpose: to create a more profound connection with his audience on the basis of his experiences and thoughts. He creates a vision of relief in the beginning of the passage by means of diction, similes, and an impeccable amount of imagery. Douglass also applies an approach for the application of syntax, diction, and connotative sense to amplify the feelings of loneliness and paranoia presented after emancipation. The result is the masterpiece that fluently runs from one state of mind following his escape to another. It is a masterpiece with a timeless sense of moral values being unconsciously taught to its audience, whether or not they succeed in deciphering it.
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Frederick Douglass
992 Words | 2 Pages
*Frederick Douglass, "Narrative of the Life Of Frederick Douglass," in The Classic Slave Narratives, ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (New York: Penguin Books, 1987)
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The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: The Formation of Identity
2136 Words | 5 Pages
The reader is first introduced to the idea of Douglass’s formation of identity outside the constraints of slavery before he or she even begins reading the narrative. By viewing the title page and reading the words “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, written by himself” the reader sees the advancement Douglass made from a dependent slave to an independent author (Stone 134). As a slave, he was forbidden a voice with which he might speak out against slavery. Furthermore, the traditional roles of slavery would have had him uneducated—unable to read and incapable of writing. However, by examining the full meaning of the title page, the reader is introduced to Douglass’s refusal to adhere to the slave role of uneducated and voiceless. Thus, even before reading the work, the reader knows that Douglass will show “how a slave was made a man” through “speaking out—the symbolic act of self-definition” (Stone 135).
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Deborah E. McDowell “In the First Place: Making Frederick Douglass and the Afro-American Narrative Tradition”
556 Words | 2 Pages
As both the narrator and author of “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself” Frederick Douglass writes about his transition from a slave to a well educated and empowered colored young man. As a skilled and spirited man, he served as both an orator and writer for the abolitionist movement, which was a movement to the abolishment of slavery. At the time of his narrative’s publication, Douglass’s sole goal of his writings was to essentially prove to those in disbelief that an articulate and intelligent man, such as himself, could have,in fact, been enslaved at one point in time. While, Douglass’ narrative was and arguably still is very influential, there are some controversial aspects of of this piece, of which Deborah McDowell mentions in her criticism.
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City and Rural Slaves
1171 Words | 3 Pages
Print. The. Douglass, Frederick. A. A. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1995. Print.
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Analysis of Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass
1293 Words | 3 Pages
The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass can be referred to as a memoir and writing about the abolitionist movement of the life of a former slave, Fredrick Douglass. It is a highly regarded as the most famous piece of writing done by a former slave. Fredrick Douglass (1818-1895) was a social reformer, statesman, orator and writer in the United States. Douglass believed in the equality of every individual of different races, gender or immigrants.
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Close but not Deep: The Use of Richness in Love’s Literary Ethics and the Descriptive Turn
1332 Words | 3 Pages
Douglass, Frederick, and David W. Blight. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: With Related Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003. Print.
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Frederick Douglass

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave

Key Arguments in "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"