Rhetoric Essay
Akinyemi Adebayo
Mrs. Crocco
AP: English
13 December 2012
Does Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass appeal to pathos, logos, or ethos? The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography in which Mr. Douglass tells his life story. He was born into slavery and experienced many harsh realities that shaped his life. Frederick Douglass was a free black man at the time in which he told this story. He is writing to his audience to inform them about slavery. His claim is that slavery is bad and must be stopped. His experiences help form his rhetoric as a credible speaker; His use of pathos truly develops the negative emotional and physical aspects of slavery on slaves. Throughout Frederick Douglass experienced many horrifying acts. His experience in these situations helped him develop his rhetoric, because he was effectively able to use pathos to support this. One of Fredericks Douglass’ first accounts of slavery came when he was just a young boy. He had seen his aunt being whipped and it left him terrified and defenseless. Not only did it leave him vulnerable it affected his aunt’s life. Master Anthony was a cold and heartless man. He had been hardened by the long life of slavery. He was a sadistic man who enjoyed whipping his slaves. Frederick first account of the brutality of slavery came at his Masters account. He states, “No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose.”(Douglass 4) His victims were beaten to near death. No matter how much they begged they were still beat. Gory victim is a more graphic word than battered. Gory is often associated with blood thirst and extreme violence. This descriptive word is able to reveal his pathos. The slaves were treated like animals. They were unable to defend themselves. They were beaten to death. This only supports his claim that slavery is bad. When Douglass saw his aunt being beat by Master Anthony with no remorse, he could not help
Mrs. Crocco
AP: English
13 December 2012
Does Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass appeal to pathos, logos, or ethos? The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an autobiography in which Mr. Douglass tells his life story. He was born into slavery and experienced many harsh realities that shaped his life. Frederick Douglass was a free black man at the time in which he told this story. He is writing to his audience to inform them about slavery. His claim is that slavery is bad and must be stopped. His experiences help form his rhetoric as a credible speaker; His use of pathos truly develops the negative emotional and physical aspects of slavery on slaves. Throughout Frederick Douglass experienced many horrifying acts. His experience in these situations helped him develop his rhetoric, because he was effectively able to use pathos to support this. One of Fredericks Douglass’ first accounts of slavery came when he was just a young boy. He had seen his aunt being whipped and it left him terrified and defenseless. Not only did it leave him vulnerable it affected his aunt’s life. Master Anthony was a cold and heartless man. He had been hardened by the long life of slavery. He was a sadistic man who enjoyed whipping his slaves. Frederick first account of the brutality of slavery came at his Masters account. He states, “No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose.”(Douglass 4) His victims were beaten to near death. No matter how much they begged they were still beat. Gory victim is a more graphic word than battered. Gory is often associated with blood thirst and extreme violence. This descriptive word is able to reveal his pathos. The slaves were treated like animals. They were unable to defend themselves. They were beaten to death. This only supports his claim that slavery is bad. When Douglass saw his aunt being beat by Master Anthony with no remorse, he could not help