Frederick Douglass Analytical Essay
Wayne Li
Frederick Douglass Analytical Essay I believe that Douglass’s audience was the white people of America. What his purpose in writing this narrative was because he wanted to make people who supported slavery feel shame in their actions. This claim is shown by how he portrays his life as a slave, how exactly he says things, and what he chooses to omit in this narrative. The way Douglass portrays his life as a slave would make white slaveholders feel shame in their actions because he shows how every white slaveholder had at least one bad trait. These traits ranged from outright cruelty to taking money from a slave even the slave worked very hard to earn that money and was clearly the person who deserved it. How Douglass says things really add to the tone that his life would have been much better had it not been for slavery. It is the extensive detail he uses. We can see this in the first chapter where Douglass’s master decides to whip his Aunt Hester. There is much detail in this section of the chapter. Here is how the passage goes,” I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose. The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin. I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. I was quite a child, but I well remember it. I never shall forget it whilst I remember anything. It was the first of a long series of such outrages, of which I was doomed to be a witness and a participant. It struck me with awful force.” As you can see there is detail inside
Frederick Douglass Analytical Essay I believe that Douglass’s audience was the white people of America. What his purpose in writing this narrative was because he wanted to make people who supported slavery feel shame in their actions. This claim is shown by how he portrays his life as a slave, how exactly he says things, and what he chooses to omit in this narrative. The way Douglass portrays his life as a slave would make white slaveholders feel shame in their actions because he shows how every white slaveholder had at least one bad trait. These traits ranged from outright cruelty to taking money from a slave even the slave worked very hard to earn that money and was clearly the person who deserved it. How Douglass says things really add to the tone that his life would have been much better had it not been for slavery. It is the extensive detail he uses. We can see this in the first chapter where Douglass’s master decides to whip his Aunt Hester. There is much detail in this section of the chapter. Here is how the passage goes,” I have often been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose. The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin. I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. I was quite a child, but I well remember it. I never shall forget it whilst I remember anything. It was the first of a long series of such outrages, of which I was doomed to be a witness and a participant. It struck me with awful force.” As you can see there is detail inside