Question

Read the following excerpt from A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an autobiography. Then, answer the question that follows.

I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more than four or five times in my life; and each of these times was very short in duration, and at night. She was hired by a Mr. Stewart, who lived about twelve miles from my home. She made her journeys to see me in the night, travelling the whole distance on foot, after the performance of her day's work.

Which rhetorical appeal or device does Frederick Douglass use in this description of his mother?

Irony, because he is saying something about his mother that is the opposite of what he means
Logos, because he presents only the facts about his encounters with his mother
Pathos, because he is emotional in his description of his relationship with his mother
Rhetorical question, because he wants the reader to think about his mother through a question

Answer 1

Frederick Douglass uses pathos in his description of his mother to evoke empathy and highlight the emotional toll of slavery. Therefore the correct answer is Pathos, because he is emotional in his description of his relationship with his mother.

Step-by-step explanation:

Frederick Douglass uses pathos in his description of his mother in his autobiography, A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. By sharing the emotionally charged experiences of seeing his mother only a handful of times at night and detailing the lengths to which she went to visit him, Douglass evokes the reader's empathy and illustrates the deep pain caused by the inhumane conditions of slavery. This use of pathos helps the reader to emotionally connect with his experiences and understand the gravity of the cruelty that slaves endured. It effectively highlights the emotional and physical toll that slavery took on families, particularly the bonds between mothers and their children.