That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”. Throughout the book professor Nash emphasizes on the struggles an early America had to deal with developing a country based on independence and freedom, the concept which is the foundation of the “Declaration of Independence”, and enslave the men, women, and children of Africa. Through the American Revolution it was discovered that there was inconsistency with slave system and the principle reasons for the problems between England and America. We have to ask, why was slavery protected as long as it was? Within the book there were many reasons that explained why the nation failed to end slavery but the main reason being the fear that Georgia and South Carolina’s would refuse to join the union if they were forced to abolish it.
Select one of the poems and explain why the poet is effective in presenting his message. Consider such elements: rhythm, rhyme, diction, imagery, and purpose. In this Petrarchan sonnet, Dunbar makes clear his message and expression of the pain of racial injustices after the Civil War. Douglass, as depicted as a great leader, is called upon for comfort through this problem that America faces. The purpose of this poem I feel is to represent the struggles the African Americans had to endure during their time being slaves while offering hope for the black community, letting the reader knows that one day someone will lead them out of this struggle and into their promise land.
1. Ludwig van Wittgenstein once said, “ Language is the limit of thought.” What cannot be said cannot be thought without falling into disorder. Douglass’ vocabulary allowed for a more comprehensive analysis of the nature of slavery and the human conditions surrounding it. With his immense and comprehensive vocabulary Douglass constructed a novel indispensable in our country’s history. Language also enabled Douglass to construct imagery and passages that far more accurately reflected the true horrors of the events Douglass witnessed during the time he served as a slave.
Benjamin Banneker Rhetorical Analysis In his sentimental, yet candid letter, Banneker reminds the reader of their past with the British Crown and his oppression in order to relate the reader to the struggles faced by a hopeless slave. In lines 1-25, Banneker makes strong use of past experiences faced by colonists in order to connect his reader to slavery. Banneker starts off with reminding the reader of when, “the British Crown exerted every powerful effort in order to reduce you to a state of servitude.” The use of this concrete detail leads the reader to remember a time when they suffered a form of slavery in order to help the reader understand the struggles faced by slaves. The reader is then brought to remember when, “every human aid appeared unavailable.” Although this may be a hyperbole, it is successful in emotionally attaching the reader to the hardships of slavery. The hyperbole doesn’t come off as over- dramatization, but rather shows the negative significance of slavery.
In the autobiography, “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass,” Douglass narrates his personal experience of being a slave and what steps he took to relinquish him from slavery and become a free man. Douglass uses vivid imagery in order to really depict what was really happening under the slaveholder’s hands. Without these images, his life story would have been in vain and everything he endured to achieve his dream of freedom along with it. Douglass’ style of writing, in his autobiography, is relative to the time when he wrote it. Not only did he want to voice the inhumane treatments brought upon other slaves, but he also wanted to let them know not to lose confidence, dignity or self-worth.
The Columbian Orator, a collection of political essays, poems, and dialogues, was widely used in American in the first quarter of the nineteenth century to teach reading and speaking. Of all the pieces in The Columbian Orator, Douglass focuses on the master‑slave dialogue and the speech on behalf of Catholic emancipation. “They gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul, which had frequently flashed through my mind, and died away for want of utterance. The moral which I gained from the dialogue was the power of truth over the conscience over a slaveholder” (50). These pieces help Douglass to understand why slavery is wrong, both philosophically and politically.
I believe Frederick Douglass is a Transcendentalist because in his narrative he gives examples of poor treatment from most of his enslavers, showing that the meanness that was exhibited towards slaves was the norm, and slave-owners who were kind were the exception. He uses this narrative to show even more evil underside of slavery. He writes to educate white audiences about what really goes on at slave plantations, including more cruel and depraved behaviors. For example, he devotes several paragraphs in Chapter I to a discussion about white slave owners impregnating their slaves. Douglass often returns to the same theme, depicting slavery as dehumanizing to both slaveholders and slaves.
Behind every story lies a bittersweet message that sheds light on a shady subject. We remember his narrative as our glimpse into the depths of the unspoken truth. So in the effort to make his statement, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, was a way to expose the dehumanization of slaves to an insensible society, and to fuel the approaching, national abolition. Douglass wastes no time in his vivid description of his early life. He states that, “I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it,” (Douglass, L. 3).
Much of the literature written during the late nineteenth century marks a transition in African American history, as a lot of the literature brings to light truths and information that normally one might not be aware of when it came to slaves and the plantation life. Authors, such as Charles Chesnutt, created stories that use literary devices such as satire, irony and symbolic situations to relay messages and to comment upon the the treatment and life of the African American people during their enslavement. The definition of a satire refers to making fun of or ridiculing a human shortcoming with the intent of enlightenment or correcting the subject of the satirical attack. In Charles Chesnutt’s “The Passing of Grandison”, the focus of the satirical nature rests upon the popular conceptions of the old plantation life at the time. Chesnutt also creates situations and characters that are brimming with irony with the intention to show the reader an exaggerated depiction of master-slave relationship.
Slavery is a brutal part of American history. Like all history, one could gain knowledge of the events that took place based on literature that was printed during that period. Given that most literature is written by the protagonist, it’s expected to pull the reader into a biased point of view, based its context. In Frederick‘s autobiography, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” Frederick mentions the notion of the “happy negro.” He states how the slaves would sing songs and their masters would interpret their singing as them being happy. But their singing was their way of crying out to God.