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  • Essay / Story by Frederick Douglass: a rhetorical analysis

    “The vast majority of slaves know their own, and it is the wish of most masters that I know of to keep their slaves in this ignorance.” The depiction of intellectual puns and language has helped many writers in the past to establish a connection between the writer and the reader to create emotions while reading the book. Many writers, including Frederick Douglass, used wordplay and rhetorical devices in order to affect the audience, creating a specific type of connection and empathy towards the despicable act of slavery that took place at the time of his birth. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Additionally, in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass used many ways to better influence the audience, including many images. As stated: “He whipped her to make her scream and whipped her to silence her; and only when he was overcome by fatigue would he stop swinging the bloody cowhide.” Readers immediately felt strong emotions towards the crazy slave owner who treated his slaves in such poor manners. This quote painted a picture in people's heads because of the language Douglass used. The empathy felt because of the horrible things slaves experienced really manifested itself throughout the changes of slavery. The imagery was truly captivating and essential in writing this autobiography. Additionally, irony was also used towards readers to gain insight into comedy for the simple purpose of showing how most slaves still saw light in the darkness. It was mentioned: "I consider my departure from Colonel Lloyd's plantation one of the most interesting events of my life." This quote implied that Douglass never felt freedom during his years of slavery, but truly preferred some slave owners over others due to the difference in violence and constant diatribes toward slaves . Now, the use of this irony not only lightened the mood, it also made the readers feel a little better because Douglass brought appropriate humor in a way that made the readers feel feel a little relieved in this situation. Irony was a great strategy to make readers feel better after reading about all the monstrosities that happened in the lives of Douglass and his fellow slaves. In addition to this, the tone was key to the autobiography as it showed Douglass' attitude towards the slave owners and people he met throughout the autobiography. It was also stated, “I hated them because they were the meanest and meanest men.” The tone of this quote is very serious and pessimistic, but even though Douglass hated these men, he still described them very carefully without using bad words towards them. The tone affected readers realizing how differently Douglass felt in different situations; without Douglass's tone, the autobiography would have been neutral and without emotion involved and/or felt. Likewise, another important rhetorical device used to better reach the audience was repetition. As mentioned, “Where the slave's whip swings incessantly, Where the harmful insect* stings, Where the demon of fever spreads.” Repetition was a very effective and useful tool in this part of the poem because it makes the words spoken immediately more important. All the scenes mentioned in the previous quote are.