The term “America” does not have one but many definitions that various people have come up with through out the centuries. Some believe America is everything they could hope for and some have believed that it is not what it seems. Frederick Douglas’ What to the Slave is the Fourth of July and Michael Rogin’s text Political Repression in the United States are two pieces of historic evidence that show what each individual imagined America as. Although both pieces have similarities, they have differences as well not only in their ideas but their writing style and content as well.
Frederick Douglas’ What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? is an exquisite piece stating what it means to live in America and what America entirely means to a slave.
Through the use of his words, Douglas is not only able to make the audience hear his argument but visualize it as well. Douglas’ uses a lot of imagery, metaphors and symbols to help better understand his speech. Through the use of imagery, Douglass shows the struggle for freedom with the founding fathers and the condition of the slave in America at the time he’s the speech. He paints a picture for his audience about how the founding fathers wanted to set themselves free from a tyrant king and how they accomplished their goal. He also uses many metaphors through out his speech. One being the most effective one, “For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake” (69). By saying this Douglas is trying to say that only talking is not going to do anything but something stronger to let them know that it’s going to take much more than that to end slavery once and for all. This piece compares to Rogin’s writing style but Rogin uses imagery and metaphors as well. In the beginning of the text he quotes William Carlos Williams who says, “History begins for us with murder and enslavement, not with discovery” (26) which already allows the readers to picture in their mind the kind of brutality he is speaking of. The imagery that comes to mind is the cruelty towards the Native Americans on their
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.
America is a nation that is often glorified in textbooks as a nation of freedom, yet history shows a different, more radical viewpoint. In Howard Zinn’s A People's History of the United States, we take a look at American history through a different lens, one that is not focused on over glorifying our history, but giving us history through the eyes of the people. “This is a nation of inconsistencies”, as so eloquently put by Mary Elizabeth Lease highlights a nation of people who exploited and sought to keep down those who they saw as inferior, reminding us of more than just one view on a nation’s history, especially from people and a gender who have not had an easy ride.
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.
His main argument in the speech is that it 's unjust and hypocritical for a country to celebrate its freedom while it still has slaves. Now that in itself is a morally viable argument, and it has never been more relevant than today in our racially hate fueled world where every situation is turned into a hate crime. However, back in those days majority of slaves were sold into slavery by their own people. Most slaves were sold by rival tribes as prisoners of war, or trouble makers of the tribe, thus giving us the “bottom of the barrel” of the groups. Another counter to Douglass was that even though slaves were people, they were still considered property. A hard working farmer could have used his last penny in order to purchase that slave because he was unable to tend his farm and provide for his family. One common misconception was that all slaves were beaten and treated lower than swine, while to the contrary some were treated well being given a bed and meals every day in exchange for their hard work. While Douglass may have had a bad time under the ownership of Auld, most northern states did not treat their slaves in this manner. This is one of the main reasons Douglass learned how to read, yet no credit is given to his former owner. Most slaves developed a relationship with their owners, in which their owners taught them useful skills such as reading, writing, simple math and farming skills. Another argument brought into Douglass’ speech was that most churches were segregated, and in turn perpetuated the racism that helped keep slavery alive in well. He proposed that a God that wouldn’t allow such evil and disservice in this world would contradict everything the bible proposes and teaches. He praises the writers of the constitution, considering them his equal and thanking the signers of the Declaration of Independence, calling
Frederick Douglass's "Fourth of July" Speech is the most famous speech delivered by the abolitionist and civil rights advocate Frederick Douglass. It attracted a crowd of between five hundred and six hundred. Douglass’s speech to the slaves on the Fourth of July served to show the slaves that there is nothing for them to celebrate. They were not free and the independence that the rest of the country celebrated did not apply to them.
The effectiveness and excellent structure of Frederick Douglass’ Fourth of July speech is apparent. His rhetorical arguments served as powerful rebuts to opposing contentions and forced his audience to consider the undeniable error in their nation’s policy and approach regarding slavery. Douglass also compelled his audience to take his words seriously by establishing his credibility, recognizing his audience, and skillfully constructing and executing his speech. The end product of his efforts became a provocative speech at the time and a historical delivery in the future. Douglass succeeded in giving a speech that clearly and effectively argued the absurdity of the institution of slavery in America, leaving it up to his audience to consider his position and decide for themselves how to act in the future.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, brings to light many of the social injustices that colored men, women, and children all were forced to endure throughout the nineteenth century under Southern slavery laws. Douglass's life-story is presented in a way that creates a compelling argument against the justification of slavery. His argument is reinforced though a variety of anecdotes, many of which detailed strikingly bloody, horrific scenes and inhumane cruelty on the part of the slaveholders. Yet, while Douglas’s narrative describes in vivid detail his experiences of life as a slave, what Douglass intends for his readers to grasp after reading his narrative is something much more profound. Aside from all the physical burdens of slavery that he faced on a daily basis, it was the psychological effects that caused him the greatest amount of detriment during his twenty-year enslavement. In the same regard, Douglass is able to profess that it was not only the slaves who incurred the damaging effects of slavery, but also the slaveholders. Slavery, in essence, is a destructive force that collectively corrupts the minds of slaveholders and weakens slaves’ intellects.
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).
For starters, Douglass uses pathos to get his point across. He uses stories in the bible to make his audience understand what he is trying to say. He especially used the story of Babylon to convey his point of how does Americans
At first glance, the book “my bondage and my freedom by Frederick Douglass appeared to be extremely dull and frustrating to read. After rereading the book for a second time and paying closer attention to the little details I have realized this is one of the most impressive autobiographies I have read recently. This book possesses one of the most touching stories that I have ever read, and what astonishes me the most about the whole subject is that it's a true story of Douglass' life. “ Douglass does a masterful job of using his own experience to expose the injustice of slavery to the world. As the protagonist he is able to keep the reader interested in himself, and tell the true story of his life. As a narrator he is able to link those experiences to the wider experiences of the nation and all society, exposing the corrupting nature of slavery to the entire nation.”[1] Although this book contributes a great amount of information on the subject of slavery and it is an extremely valuable book, its strengths are overpowered by its flaws. The book is loaded with unnecessary details, flowery metaphors and intense introductory information but this is what makes “My Bondage and My Freedom” unique.
In this book, Douglass narrated the life of a slave in the United States into finer details. This paper will give a description of life a slave in the United States was living, as narrated through the experiences of Fredrick Douglass.
By doing this Douglass maintains a respectful view of her despite how she reacted towards him. Another situation in the essay where he uses the same respect is in Douglass’s description of some young white boys that aid him in his pursuit of knowledge. Douglass structures the sentences to create a more friendly atmosphere between the them. This language portrays them more as equals, allowing Douglass to question their stance on slavery. This response highlights the theme of freedom for the African American. A third account of respect was Douglass’s encounter with some irish men at the docks. Douglass continues to use language to create an honest and respectful environment where the men can provided advice that reestablishes the theme of freedom. Each description has an interwoven feeling of respect towards its focus. Douglass portrays every experience as an opportunity, and never fails to highlight his opinion on freedom and equality whether it’s positive or negative. Throughout the passage many forms of figurative language were used most frequently being metaphors and similes portraying a more educated type of writing style as well as helping to create the environment to
In the Autobiography, “Narrative Life of Fredrick Douglas: An American Slave,” Fredrick Douglas writes to show what the life of a slave is like, because from personal experience, he knows. Fredrick Douglas not only shows how his life has been as a slave but shows what it is like to be on the bottom and be mistreated. Douglas shows that freedom isn’t free, and he took the initiative to become a free man. Not many African-Americans had the opportunity to make themselves free and were forced to live a life of disparity and torture. Through his experience Douglas shows us the psychological effects of slavery. Through Douglas’s memory we are able to relive the moments that continued to haunt his life. Douglas’s book showed the true
Douglas always felt like he was “pursued by merciless men- hunters and in total darkness as to what to do, where to go, and where to stay” (49-50). Douglas used this example to demonstrate how lost he was. He felt like wherever he was, he was subject to the possibility of being taken back to slavery. He was homeless, without a friend, and without any money. He was always alert when he was around white men. When Douglas first arrived in the free state, he felt “ as one may imagine the unarmed mariner to feel when he is rescued by a friendly man- of -war from the pursuit of a pirate” (14- 16). This is another example that Douglas used to demonstrate that he viewed his escape like a life or death situation. He felt as if he had been saved from a problem he would have not lived to see another day in. Each of the examples Douglas used was a great comparison for the readers to understand Douglas’s point of view. Slavery is a subject that only people from that time period went through. African Americans suffered so much being slaves. It is a topic that everyone could agree that was very tragic, but no one that went though it can say they know exactly how it feels. By using these common examples of comparison, Douglas let the readers imagine and feel what slavery was like to
The imagery in Douglas’s speech affects the listener’s heart. “… See, too that girl of thirteen, weeping, yes! Weeping, as she thinks of the mother from who she has been torn! ...” (Douglas 383). Mothers will be affect by the consequences of slavery because to them their child is a precious treasure. A Mom would be torn apart if something were to happen to her little baby girl or boy. “There is not a man beneath the canopy of heaven that does not know that slavery is wrong (Douglas 380).” Douglas speaks out to the Christians who believe in sins, heaven, and hell. Douglas is constantly stated “God did not establish [slavery] (381)” because he knows that the white men believe in the bible, and worships it. He wants to makes sure that the white