Socratic Seminar #3: An Analysis on the Rhetoric and Language of Frederick Douglass, and the Effect on His Legacy

        Frederick Douglass was a famous African-American abolitionist, social reformer, and orator during the 19th century. A former slave, he was known for his eloquent orations on the social issue of slavery, proposing reforms. The North, where he was known, was at the time mostly white, thus leading to Douglass being a firsthand spokesperson on the issue of slavery. In this published narrative, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Douglass addresses this specific audience using language, detail, and objective and subjective passages.
        Using these devices, Douglass retells his former life as a slave, and the many hardships that come with it. Throughout this passage, Douglass tells of the incredibly abusive Mr. Covey, of whom he worked for. On driving oxen, he tells that he, "expected every moment that my brains would be dashed out against the trees. . . and coming within a few inches of crushing me against the gate-post". Douglass almost dies twice in a day due to his difficult work as a young boy. In another instance, Covey, "took up the hickory slat with which Hughes had been striking off the half-bushel measure, and with it gave [Douglass] a heavy blow upon the head, making a large wound, and the blood ran freely". This was one of many brutal actions done by Covey. On the brighter side, however, Douglass describes a fleeting moment in which a dreams of boats and that he, "would pour out [his] soul's complaint", that, "there is a better day coming". There is optimism between the extreme brutality he experienced. Using these, Douglass convinces and teaches his largely white audience the reality of slavery.
        In these excerpts he juxtaposes the emotions and the actual events, showing conflicting aspects. The excerpts describing driving oxen to near-death and the violence of Covey show in shocking imagery the brutality of slavery. Details such as the large wound or nearly getting crushed by the gatepost are uncomfortable to digest, but provide much of the information the Douglass needed to convey. In addition, these details are objective. Rather than trying to express emotion and adding a dramatic aspect, Douglass provides a singular view of, "this is what happened". However, in between the harsh objective descriptions, Douglass intertwines emotionally charged passages such as that of the daydream. These devices are the methods he uses to convince the audience.
        These detailed orations are what gave Douglass his pedestal as one of the most influential abolitionists of the 19th century. Douglass, also involved with women's suffrage, attended the Seneca Falls convention as the only African-American. Being on a similar level as the women wanting a say in the government, his objective descriptions and images of slavery appealed to his audience, which may have consisted of these women. It provided a new firsthand view to build opinions on what slavery really was. He landed a position as well, as a nominee for Vice President for Victoria Woodhull, the first woman candidate for presidency. This shows his popularity among women, who shared the struggle for rights in the United States. Using the words such as those in his narrative, he landed such positions and gained a level of respect. Building his audience like this, he gained popularity and became an important figure of the abolitionist movement.