Fredrick Douglass Narrative Questions Essay examples

Submitted By cdumont
Words: 1003
Pages: 5
Open Document
Clare Dumont
Period 6
1/6/14
Mrs. Tremble
Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass- Winter Break Assignment

Part One (chapters 1-3)
1. The author, Fredrick Douglas, had the purpose in the beginning passage to show the cruelty of slavery and awful memories he had of his slaveholder. The slaveholder would “beat” and “whip” his aunt until he became tired. Examples of diction that Douglass used to portray this brutality would be: “It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery…”(Douglass 4).
2. In the chapter two of Fredrick Douglass’s narrative he speaks of the name of his overseer, Mr. Severe. Douglass says that “Mr. Severe, the overseer, used to stand by the door of the quarter, armed with a large hickory stick and heavy cowskin, ready to whip any one…” (Douglass 7). It was ironic that his overseers’ name was this because of how awful and “severe” he was to his slaves. Douglass’s purpose in mentioning his name was to show how powerful the slaveholders were, and that Mr. Severe worked hard to live up to his name.
3. This passage beginning with “It was painful to stand….” shows how strict and unsympathetic the slaveholders were to their slaves. All of the slaveholder’s complaints that were listed by Douglass showed the brutality of their masters. It also showed that their expectations of the slaves were very unrealistic. In addition, after the slaveholders listed the all of the complaints, the slaves were not able to say one word in defense of themselves which exemplifies the power that the slaveholders possessed over them.

Part Two (chapters 4-7)
4. An example of parallelism in chapter four is when Douglass states “To be accused was to be convicted, and to be convicted was to be punished… to escape punishment was to escape accusation” (Douglass 13). Douglass also uses antimetabole to describe Mr. Gore. An example of an antimetabole in this chapter was: “His words were in perfect keeping with his looks, and his looks were in perfect keeping with is words” (Douglass 13).
5. In chapter five, Douglass’s diction and syntax convey his attitude toward moving to Baltimore and living with the Aulds when he states that “[he] left it with joy” (Douglass 16). This refers to the happiness he felt after he left the plantation. His simple and direct syntax helps to get his point across to the reader. In addition, he uses words like “joy” and “happiest days” to the emotions that he felt.
6. Douglass’s epiphany in chapter six is when he realizes what slavery really is. He hopes to avoid being taken advantage of like other slaves by educating himself. He learns to read and write. He also learns about abolitionists and how wrong slavery is. He states how the words “ sank deep into [his] heart” and that he established an “entirely new train of thought” (Douglass 20). At that point he had discovered a new revelation.
7. In chapter seven, Douglass uses irony when he states: “slavery proved as injurious to her as it did to me” (Douglass 22). An example of a paradox is: “This bread I used bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who in return, would give me the more valuable bread of knowledge” (Douglass 23). An allusion is apparent when Douglass says “…I met with one of Sheridan’s might speeches on the behalf of Catholic emancipation” (Douglass 24).

Part Three (chapters 8-11)
8. Douglass uses imagery to portray the plight of his grandmother when he states: “ She stands- she sits- she staggers- she falls – she groans- she dies- and there are none of her children or grandchildren present to wipe her from her wrinkled brow the cold sweat of death or to place beneath the sod her fallen remains” (Douglass 29). His imagery displays the struggles that he
Show More

Related Documents: Fredrick Douglass Narrative Questions Essay examples

Compare And Contrast Frederick Douglass And Booker T Washington

Changing lives Man is free at the moment he wishes to be a quote by Voltaire. Two classic books “Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass” and “Up from Slavery” by Booker T Washington. These two gripping tales of sorrow and hardship give us a small look into the times of US slavery and the civil rights movement. These two men go through their lives asking the tough questions of freedom and equality for all. While you read the authors show you the trials that plagued them in their everyday lives…

Words 850 - Pages 4

Fredrick Douglass Argumentative Essay

Fredrick Douglass was born a slave in Tuckahole, Maryland. Who did not know how old he was or when his birthday was. He also knew not who his father was, though there were rumors that suggested that it was his master. He did not have the privilege to know his mother either, they were separated as he was an infant. (page 17) As he grew up and matured he taught himself how to read and be literate. He eventually gained his freedom. With his new found freedom he wanted to make slavery to become more…

Words 752 - Pages 4

the looming tower Essay

1. A narrative is a spoken or written account of connected events; a story: “a bare narrative of the details”. 2. This source is a secondary because it’s retold. 3. This book was written because of the exclamation of Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves and also on the life and times of Fredrick Douglas as a slave. Chapter I 1. Douglass was born in Maryland around February 1818. 2. Douglass really didn’t have much to say on behalf of his mother, but his grandmother whom took him in was one who…

Words 3176 - Pages 13

How Did Slavery Affect America

source of income, then it is beyond question that it could provide a building block for a country’s economic system. One of the people who decided it was the right thing to NOT look the other way, and instead do the right thing was a slave himself, and his name is Fredrick Douglass. Looking at the impacts from an individual standpoint, slavery impacted people case by case. Douglass wrote a book about his life entitled “A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.” This book dives into a colored man's…

Words 635 - Pages 3

Pain In Soldier's Home, By Ernest Hemingway

prove we are not alone. American literature that perfectly represents pain is Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway, a fictional short story; the essay Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson; Narrative of the Life of Frederick…

Words 1935 - Pages 8

Frederick Douglass Reflection

The author of the book: Narrative of Frederick Douglas is Frederick Douglas Himself. This is a story written about his personal experience in life as a slave from his childhood until he escaped and also the experiences of other slaves. His purpose for writing this book was to show and help others perceive what life was like as a black slave and to understand everything slaves had to endure before the abolition of slavery. In this book he goes to explain the harsh living conditions in which they had…

Words 804 - Pages 4

Authorial Voices In Octavia Butler's Kindred

Authorial Voices in Octavia Butler’s Kindred Butler’s text not only address the concept of racial identity, but also tackles the concept of authorial control. Ashraf Rushdy notes that the Neo-Slave Narrative genre as a whole began to come about as a response to William Styron’s book Confessions of Nat Turner. This novel spark the conversation regarding who should be able to retell these histories, and Rushdy notes one of the most problem aspects of Styron’s novel: “its presumption of assuming the…

Words 6697 - Pages 27

Seneca Falls Convention Research Paper

Shea Hollwedel AP US History E Mr. White 4/16/2024 The Effect of the Seneca Falls Convention on Women's History The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 was the first prominent women's rights convention in the then-newly progressive United States of America. This convention is seen as one of the biggest steps forward for women and the women's rights movement because it was the first step towards women getting the right to vote, and it was in the midst of a reformative period in the Jacksonian era. It…

Words 2871 - Pages 12