Question

identify two examples of figurative language that douglass uses to elicit an emotional response from his audience. explain how each example contributes to the power of his speech

Answer 1

Frederick Douglass employs figurative language, such as the metaphor "bread of knowledge" and personification in his reflections, to evoke emotional responses from the audience, emphasizing the significance of literacy and the emotional weight of the struggle for freedom.

Step-by-step explanation:

Frederick Douglass uses figurative language in his writing to evoke an emotional response from his audience. An example of this is when he refers to the "bread of knowledge", which serves as a metaphor for intellectual nourishment and enlightenment - essentials for one's growth and freedom. This metaphor not only conveys the importance of literacy and education but also appeals to the emotional aspect of being starved of knowledge in slavery.

Another instance is Douglass's description of his past situation, where he personifies his sense of hopelessness, saying he stood "soliloquizing respecting his fate" by the banks of the Chesapeake Bay. This gives the reader a vivid image of his loneliness and the profound injustice of his situation, which elicits empathy and paints a powerful emotional landscape of despair and the desire for freedom.

Through these examples, Douglass successfully communicates the power of literacy and the deep yearning for emancipation, engaging his audience not just intellectually, but emotionally as well, which might lead to a stronger impact and drive for change among his readers.

Answer 2

Frederick Douglass used personification and metaphor in his texts to show the oppressive nature of his master and also the ruthless nature of the slavery system that is suffocating his people.

Step-by-step explanation:

Frederick Douglass' memoir "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" tells the life story of Douglass as he lives life as a slave in plantations and then get his freedom and work towards the freeing of his fellow black men. This book acts as an important source of knowing about the lives of slaves during the slavery system in America.

Using numerous figurative language in his text, Douglass elicits a deep sense of emotional connection to his readers. Example of such figurative language is the personification and metaphor in the text.

Personification can be seen Chapter X when he personifies "slavery" as a person. He states "there stood slavery, a stern reality, glaring frightfully upon us,—its robes already crimsoned with the blood of millions, and even now feasting itself greedily upon our own flesh", making it seem slavery as a man who is hard on his slaves.

Another is when he uses a metaphor in Chapter IX to compare his master Mr. Thomas Auld with Napoleon, "At times, he spoke to his slaves with the firmness of Napoleon and the fury of a demon ", giving the readers the impression of the ruthlessness of Mr. Auld.

By using these types of figurative languages, he gives an image of power and authority, the oppressive nature of the slavery system and the helplessness of the black people.