Power of Persuasion in Narrative of the Life of Frederick...

Power of Persuasion in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass In order to convince, one must fist charm the inner feelings of the audience. In Frederick Douglasss Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, he appeals to the interest of the reader through his first hand accounts of slavery, his use of irony in these descriptions, and his balance between evasiveness and frankness. Douglasss descriptions of the severity of slave life are filled with horrific details able to reach even the coldest hearts. The beginning of the narrative tells of how Douglass lacks one of the most celebrated identities of humans - the knowledge of ones own age. I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen†¦show more content†¦Covey. One day when Douglass has reached beyond the point of true exhaustion and collapses sick, Mr. Covey discovers him. After kicking Douglass several times, Mr. Covey took up the Hickory slot with which Hughes had been striking off the half-bushel measure, and with it game me (Douglass) a heavy blow upon the head, making a large wound, and the blood ran freely; and with this again told me to get up.(47) This description appears just a few pages before the actual climax of the book, where Douglass stands up to Mr. Covey. Douglass shows that people who claimed to be moral Christians were torturers of humans. He presents the irony of this situation in the book. His (the masters) house was the preachers home. They (the preachers) used to take great pleasure in coming there to put up; for while he starved us, he stuffed them.(40-41) Douglass is presenting his audience with the two faces of the slave holders version of Christianity; the selfish greed hidden behind piousness. In addition to this Douglass also makes sarcastic descriptions of people and places, describing how un-Christian they were by calling them Christian. (I)t is almost an unpardonable offense to teach slaves to read in this Christian county.(32) Douglass also appeals to his audience by not overly exerting himself in looking for pity. For the most part, Douglass presents the basic facts. There are manyShow MoreRelated Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave2076 Words   |  9 PagesNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: A Masterpiece of Propaganda When was the last time you were exposed to propaganda? If you think it was more than a day ago, you are probably unaware of what propaganda really is. According to Donna Woolfolk Cross in â€Å"Propaganda: How not to be Bamboozled,† propaganda is â€Å"simply a means of persuasion† (149). She further notes that we are subjected daily to propaganda in one form or another as advertisers, politicians, and evenRead MoreEthos, Pathos, and Logos: Black Abolitionist Arguments Against Slavery1420 Words   |  6 Pagesactually former slaves. Three such speakers during that time were Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Jacobs. All born into slavery, and having witnessed its horrors first-hand, these three black reformers publicly took a stand against the atrocity of enslaving fellow human beings. They argued for their rights as men and women. However, they each went about their arguments using different modes of persuasion. While the main message of each abolit ionist was individual freedom and they wereRead MoreNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay1226 Words   |  5 PagesFrederick Douglass was born in Maryland in 1818 as a slave to a maritime captain, Captain Anthony. After decades of enslavement, Frederick Douglass escaped to the North and became one of the prominent members and drivers of the abolitionist movement. In an effort to provide an eye-opening account of the harsh treatment of slaves, Douglass wrote Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. In his autobiography, Frederick Douglass detailed his life beginning from his meager early years through hisRead MoreEssay on Frederick Douglass Rhetoric Analysis1236 Words   |  5 Pagesthis peril in the pursuit of freedom. In 1845, Frederick Douglass published Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, in order to do just that- to establish the truth behind slavery and advocate for freedom. In his narrative, Douglass uses diction, structure, ima gery, and other stylistic elements to persuade people of the evils that slavery inflicts on both sides of society. In order to reveal the truth behind slavery, Douglass demonstrates his point through his use of dictionRead MoreThe Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass1491 Words   |  6 PagesIn The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass recollects being revolutionized from the years as a slave in the institution to the life of a free man in the world by attaining the extraordinary power and knowledge of literacy. In this pinnacle moment, Douglass declares and defines his presence and uses his extensive talent in communicative language to reach out and connect with his audience. During a time where it’s severely punishable to acquire these skills, Douglass’ looksRead MoreThe Slaveowner ´s Point of View in the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass1118 Words   |  5 Pages In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass depicts his life as a plantation slave, offering misinformed northern Christians and reformers in-dep th accounts of the physical and emotional cruelties of slavery. As Douglass recounts his relationship and interactions with the harsh Mr. Covey, he disputes the basis on which southern slaveowners defended slavery. Douglass dispels their claims of encompassing a Christian duty to civilize blacks who they deemed naturally inferiorRead MoreThe Path to Aboliton 1312 Words   |  5 PagesAmericans striving to influence the participation of the abolition movement. One of the many strategies used by American abolitionists was the use of slave narratives. This moral persuasion was a very useful tactic. The creation of these narratives helped white northerners identify with the mindset of an African American slave in the south. The narratives illustrated the experiences slaves overcame to find freedom. Another major strategy that was useful to the slavery movement was the involvement of womenRead More Social and Legal Definitions of Slavery Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an A merican Slave3974 Words   |  16 Pagesrose. (Douglass 112, chapt. 10) In Chapter 10 of Frederick Douglass Narrative of the Life of... an American Slave, Douglass describes an important incident in which he forces backward the standard master-slave hierarchy of beating privileges against his temporary master, Mr. Covey. The victory proves for Douglass a remarkable source of renewed yearning for freedom and of self-confidence; as he rose physically, standing up to fight, he rose in spirit. Covey did not have Douglass in the senseRead MoreHarriet Beecher Stowe s Use Of Persuasion Essay1947 Words   |  8 PagesFredrick Douglass’s Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Use of Persuasion Harriet Beecher Stowe and Fredrick Douglass have experienced completely different events in their lives that led them both to write in protest of the slave society that they experienced. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a white woman raised in a Puritan society. She was outwardly opposed to slavery. She told her story for the main purpose of bringing attention to the issue of cruelty among slavery. Stowe’s story is fiction, although I believeRead MoreAnalysis Of James Wright s The Blues Essay2277 Words   |  10 Pagesblack writers and (especially white) American readers was an incredible obstacle whose dismantlement would enable a â€Å"revitalization† of American literature and â€Å"a transformation of American culture.† While Ellison included Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, and several Harlem Renaissance writers in his discussion, its major focus was Wright’s oeuvre—from Uncle Tom’s Children (1938) to Native Son (1940) to Black Boy (19 45). At this point, Ellison already had begun drafting Invisible Man, and