Frederick Douglass, a distinguished author from the nineteenth century, was an American slave that had escaped from the horrific scenes of enslavement in Maryland. In his autobiography, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass powerfully depicts what it grievously means to be a slave by addressing his aunt. Douglass successfully depicts his first exposure of slavery by effectively utilizing the rhetorical strategies of imagery, symbolism, tone, and diction.
Douglass provides many personal stories from his childhood and portrays his gruesome experience on enslavement by powerfully applying imagery. In a specific passage, Douglass recounts the memory of Mr. Plummer, a slave holder, abusing and torturing Douglass’s aunt. Douglass ghastly describes this scene stating, “after rolling up his sleeves, Mr. Plummer commended to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood came dripping to the floor.” Douglass uses imagery to spitefully describe this inhumane sight of his aunt being whipped and lashed at which draws out the emotions of heart-ache and …show more content…
When Douglass describes his aunt, he states “After crossing her hands, Mr. Plummer tied them with a strong rope.” (25) The rope is a symbol of the slave’s loss of freedom and speech. The slaves are restricted from having their own voice and are stripped away from their dignity and identity. This action of being tied up further represents the cruel slave owners who treat the slaves as property not human beings. The slaves were heavily chained and unable to break free. They are chained and are pushed to move forth, where the slaveowners do not care how they feel. They made themselves feel worthless. These innocent slaves are seen as animals instead and the slaveholders whip them if they did not behave. These actions created by the slaveholders were acceptable and natural in society during this time
Douglass provides many personal stories from his childhood and portrays his gruesome experience on enslavement by powerfully applying imagery. In a specific passage, Douglass recounts the memory of Mr. Plummer, a slave holder, abusing and torturing Douglass’s aunt. Douglass ghastly describes this scene stating, “after rolling up his sleeves, Mr. Plummer commended to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood came dripping to the floor.” Douglass uses imagery to spitefully describe this inhumane sight of his aunt being whipped and lashed at which draws out the emotions of heart-ache and …show more content…
When Douglass describes his aunt, he states “After crossing her hands, Mr. Plummer tied them with a strong rope.” (25) The rope is a symbol of the slave’s loss of freedom and speech. The slaves are restricted from having their own voice and are stripped away from their dignity and identity. This action of being tied up further represents the cruel slave owners who treat the slaves as property not human beings. The slaves were heavily chained and unable to break free. They are chained and are pushed to move forth, where the slaveowners do not care how they feel. They made themselves feel worthless. These innocent slaves are seen as animals instead and the slaveholders whip them if they did not behave. These actions created by the slaveholders were acceptable and natural in society during this time