The autobiography of Frederick Douglass, “Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass”, describes the horrors that a slave’s life can bring. The popularity of the autobiography is due to its historical significance. It was hard for a slave black to have a voice. In order to be taken seriously as an African American, he had to be persuasive. He uses rhetorical and metaphorical questions to strengthen the argument he makes in the third sentence.
Douglass uses imagery to describe his situation. In line 44-46, Douglass claims that the ships moving out into the ocean are “freedom’s swift-winged, flying angels.” The ships are compared to angels as they travel freely around the globe with their sail. Readers can appreciate this illustration and realize that even ships are freer than Douglass. To emphasize slavery’s cruel and evil nature, Douglass calls it the “hottest Hell”. This is done to bring the reader to the realization of how awful it feels to have been left behind and trapped. In the first paragraph, he uses this metaphor to summarize his explanation: slavery is Hell. These metaphors are not only used to gain sympathy, but also give the reader a powerful message.
Douglass uses rhetorical questions as well to reinforce his argument and to make him appear more confident. He also asks: “Try?” and immediately answers with “Yes.” His desire to escape slavery is evident when he makes this statement. This also shows his desire to dance in order to escape slavery because of its cruelty. He also asks “Why worry?” when he is worried about having slaves. I can carry as much weight as any of these.” He shows that he has confidence in himself and is determined to succeed. The resolution is shown in comparison to the suffering described in the opening paragraphs. The author’s credibility is increased by these rhetorical questions because of his confident tone.
His use of metaphors and rhetorical questioning is intended to help readers understand the writer’s point-of-view and their feelings. The fact that he was an African American during this period was not easy, and so his success owed a lot to his talent. The ability of his story to be told and for the audience to understand and feel his pain was sufficient to start a revolution.
