Douglass is very intentional with his writing in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Him giving the character Mrs. Auld an entire chapter to expand as a character shows her importance to his story. Douglass portrays her in a way that allows her to be human. The reader is allowed to not only see the modification in her but to experience it. The rhetoric surrounding her changes as she does. At first, Douglass uses emphasis when she is first introduced, this is done by stating the same idea about the character in various places within the first paragraph. As her character changes, Douglass uses juxtaposition to switch his rhetoric toward Mrs. Auld. Douglass in a literary sense holds the reader’s hand by explaining Mrs. Auld’s change step
…show more content…
Auld by stating “she had been in a good degree preserved from the blighting and dehumanizing effects of slavery” (Douglass 19). Douglass also uses the quotation “But, alas! This kind heart had but a short time to remain such” (Douglass 19), to foreshadow and to let us know that he himself is aware of the result that awaits Mrs. Auld. Douglass speaks to the fact that his presence alone would corrupt Mrs. Auld. He states, “The fatal poison of irresponsible power … commenced its infernal work” (Douglass 19). These two sentences were placed together to illustrate that once the power that comes with the institution of slavery was placed in her life by his presence in her life, even Douglass knew there is nothing that could be done to reverse the effect it would have on the goodness of her character. These instances of duplication are used to allow the reader to see and understand the full extent of the change in Mrs. Auld. This is critical for the reader to realize the point in which she stops merely being a character and becomes an …show more content…
He states, “That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon” (Douglass 19). The way Douglass contrasts her [Mrs. Auld] prior angelic characteristics with these new demonic qualities allows her to become the concept of how slavery dehumanized the slaveholders even worse than the slave. This is because enslaved people were never seen as humans, to begin with so therefore, they could only gain humanity. The slaveholders were seen with the god-like complex and that was taken as power was given. Mrs. Auld was given this angelic introduction that she then loses and is then seen as something below a human, a demon. The difference in Mrs. Auld is given also to dramatize the idea of corruption. Once Mrs. Auld is comfortable in her power as a slaveholder that is when she lost her humanity in Douglass’s eyes. Once she changes in Douglass' eyes he stops seeing her as merely a human and she becomes a motif for the bigger concept of the corruption of the morality of society. Power takes away the morals that she possessed when Douglass first met her. Douglass focuses on her to show that slavery was a poison to society, that would corrupt it and turn it into a demonic thing that lacks the morals it was founded on.
Douglass does an excellent job of turning Mrs. Auld from a mere character
Auld by stating “she had been in a good degree preserved from the blighting and dehumanizing effects of slavery” (Douglass 19). Douglass also uses the quotation “But, alas! This kind heart had but a short time to remain such” (Douglass 19), to foreshadow and to let us know that he himself is aware of the result that awaits Mrs. Auld. Douglass speaks to the fact that his presence alone would corrupt Mrs. Auld. He states, “The fatal poison of irresponsible power … commenced its infernal work” (Douglass 19). These two sentences were placed together to illustrate that once the power that comes with the institution of slavery was placed in her life by his presence in her life, even Douglass knew there is nothing that could be done to reverse the effect it would have on the goodness of her character. These instances of duplication are used to allow the reader to see and understand the full extent of the change in Mrs. Auld. This is critical for the reader to realize the point in which she stops merely being a character and becomes an …show more content…
He states, “That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon” (Douglass 19). The way Douglass contrasts her [Mrs. Auld] prior angelic characteristics with these new demonic qualities allows her to become the concept of how slavery dehumanized the slaveholders even worse than the slave. This is because enslaved people were never seen as humans, to begin with so therefore, they could only gain humanity. The slaveholders were seen with the god-like complex and that was taken as power was given. Mrs. Auld was given this angelic introduction that she then loses and is then seen as something below a human, a demon. The difference in Mrs. Auld is given also to dramatize the idea of corruption. Once Mrs. Auld is comfortable in her power as a slaveholder that is when she lost her humanity in Douglass’s eyes. Once she changes in Douglass' eyes he stops seeing her as merely a human and she becomes a motif for the bigger concept of the corruption of the morality of society. Power takes away the morals that she possessed when Douglass first met her. Douglass focuses on her to show that slavery was a poison to society, that would corrupt it and turn it into a demonic thing that lacks the morals it was founded on.
Douglass does an excellent job of turning Mrs. Auld from a mere character