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Discuss The Use Of Syntax In Frederick Douglass

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Discuss The Use Of Syntax In Frederick Douglass
In 1988 Frederick Douglass escaped slavery and arrived in New York. In this passage, Douglass tries to express how he felt when he found himself in a Free State. Attempting to share these complex emotions, Douglass invites the reader to feel his immediate sense of relief and the loneliness and fear that followed. With remarkably insightful imagery and creative use of syntax, he conveys these feelings to the reader and invites them to sympathize with a state of mind that only exists in the mind of a runaway slave.
Initially, Douglass’ state of mind was exactly as one would expect, “…a moment of the highest excitement I ever experiences.” With the stroke of an artist, Douglass brings this emotional elation to the reader with a variety of metaphors, comparing the experience to an “unarmed mariner…rescued by a friendly man-of-war [to save him] from the pursuit of a pirate.” To emphasize the intensity of his new freedom, he compares it to that of, “one …show more content…
The dashes used in the end of the passage are used to pile these unmet needs on top of each other, making their weight heavier with each dash. “without home or friends – without money or credit - wanting shelter and no one to give it - wanting bread, and no money to buy it…” The repetition of the parallel phrases also add to the heaviness of the hardships, and the length of the sentence mimics the continuous, never-ending hardships. These techniques allow Douglass to takes his readers by their hands and bring them on the tireless journey of a “toil-worn and whip-scarred fugitive
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