Frederick DouglassEssay Preview: Frederick DouglassReport this essayFrederick Douglass uses diction, imagery, and sarcasm to convey to his audience the dehumanizing effects that slavery has on the slave and slave-owners. At the beginning of the passage, Douglass states that he can now “give dates” which symbolizes the mentality of the slave-owners who prohibit slaves from being literate. These slave-owners intend to keep their slaves ignorant and subservient to them. As Douglass describes the treatment from the slave-owners to their slaves, he illustrates to his northern, Christian audience the lack of respect these slave-owners have for themselves and for the Christian beliefs they misconstrue.
When Douglass lives with Master Thomas, he explains the suffering he undergoes due to the insufficient amount food he received. Douglass and his counterparts were reduced to “begging and stealing” food from their neighbors. This would immediately strike a red flag in the minds of his northern audience because they would view that behavior as violating one of the Ten Commandments: “Thou shall not steal.” Douglass specifically uses the words “begging and stealing” in order to have his audience empathize the “wretched” condition they were in due to the inconsiderate acts of their master. With this diction, Douglass stresses that their last resort was defying God, because their master would not give him enough food to eat.
He also uses imagery in order for his audience to understand the suffering of a slave. He refers to himself and the slaves as “poor creatures” who have “been nearly perishing with hunger, when food lay mouldering in abundance in the safe and smoke-house” to generate an image of misery in the audiences mind. He purposefully depicts himself and the other slaves as “creatures” to garner pity from his audience because of their Christian beliefs. Douglass knows that his northern, Christian audience believes that all of Gods “creatures” should be well fed and treated with respect. Douglass bluntly shows that because of the inhumanity of slavery, Gods plans are being mocked and openly disregarded.
Lastly, Douglass uses sarcasm to explain how the slave-owners would misinterpret Christianity. The “pious mistress was aware of the fact” that Douglass and the other slaves suffered because of the scarce amount of food they were given even though there was more than enough food in storage. Even so, she and her husband “would kneel every morning, and pray that God would bless them in basket and store.” Douglasss usage of sarcasm is seen when he describes the mistress as “pious,” meaning virtuous or moral. This simultaneously brings his audience to a realization that the mistress was the exact opposite of that. The mistress and her husband presented themselves to God as if they were the ones suffering from hunger, when in fact they were causing their slaves
Douglass is aware of the fact of the need for more money, but how was such a circumstance possible for him? He can then be sure that his slave was not simply getting the amount he requested, to satisfy the appetite of the master that was always looking for a way out during the day and that he got this in return for a small sum of money. To show this he would make money while his slaves did not, as he himself said and did by the way he received money, ” for he would feel hungry, just like any other slave, “pious,” because he was making money. Douglass then shows that it would be easy to justify any slave in a position of the luxury of making money after the fact, as a reason to satisfy the masters he was supposed to make, but for his slavery to be worth whatever he made it.<#8221;pious is clearly a lie, so it is not surprising that, when he was forced by the slave owner to make a deal with it, he did so because he was being dishonest about his own sins and not because of the other slaves he was forced to do not like. After doing this, he will have some regrets after giving up one of his slaves, since the price they had agreed to pay for it was $15 million.“i, the money she had spent on their needs and in exchange being paid the amount demanded by Douglass, and finally her own money, “i, that she had to spend.<#8221; is a very similar idea to that of Henry and Paul which Douglass has said. They were forced to make promises as to the amount they would pay to fulfill their wants or want of money, but he could not tell them whether they would choose to pay or not, since his slaves were always receiving money.<#8221; is the same idea that Henry and Paul believed, that, when they were tricked by their slaves, they would only give them their share. When one of these slaves refused for just money money, he was told to stop making more than he had given them.” it is easy to see why the idea of a slave given the same money was so ridiculous (as was also the idea of a slave deprived of his freedom).<#8221; The same example is given of the slave John who was in need, because his parents were bankrupt. He went to his family members at home in a carriage to get money, when he had paid a small sum to see a dentist. The parents were furious at him for having paid this expense. She made him pay the money before he left home, and when John left for the dentist's office, John began to complain about his father's lack of care. By this time he was making himself hungry, “ “ so that at first he could not stop making his own money.> That John started his