for AP Language and Composition

2. The following passage came from the 1845 autobiography Narrative
of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American slave. Read the passage
carefully, noting such elements as syntax, figurative language, and
selection of detail. Then write an essay in which you identify the
stylistic elements in the third paragraph that distinguish it from the
rest of the passage and show how this difference reinforces
Douglass’ rhetorical purpose in the passage as a whole.

3. In the autobiography, Narrative of the
Life of Fredrick Douglass, Douglass
utilizes simple yet powerful
syntax, pedantic diction and poetic
figurative language to convey a tone
of desperation and doubt to portray
his conflicting desires and emotions
towards slavery, specifically
highlighting the third paragraph with
basic sentences, rhetorical
questions, imperative and
interrogative
voices, antithesis, metonymies, person
ification and allegories to emphasize a
vehement yet determined tone shift
with respect to his pursuit of freedom.

4. For paragraphs one, two and four
there is a desperate and doubtful
tone because Douglass is
extremely morose and frustrated
with his situation of slavery.
His conditions and possibilities of
changing his circumstance create a
desperate tone. His vacillation
between frustration and
acceptance creates the doubtful
tone.“I was made to drink the
bitterest dregs of slavery, that
time was during the first six
months of my stay with Mr.
Covey” (lines 2-3). “I was
broken in body, soul, and
spirit” (lines 12-13).

5. In contrast to the rest of the passage, the
third paragraph is quite unique because its
has the exclusive purpose of
distinguishing and highlighting the tone
shift towards the pursuit of
happiness, therefore bringing out a
vehement yet determined tone.
Douglass is very vehement towards his goals and freedoms pertaining to slavery.
He wants to be free and enjoy the taste of a beautiful life.
Douglass is also very determined towards his goals and freedoms and he is
willing to fulfill them the first chance and opportunity he gets.
“Only think of it; one hundred miles straight north, and I am free!” (lines 49-50).
“It cannot be that I shall live and die as a slave I will take to the water” (lines 51-52).

6. Paragraphs 1, 2, 4
Sentence Structure
The structure of the sentences throughout
the passage are simple and direct, having
little complexity to their understanding and
seeming to reflect the simplicity and
directness of Douglass’s message.
Repetition:
Repetition is found at the beginning of
passage, in “work, work, work” (Lines6-7)
to emphasize the conditions in which he
finds himself, as such is the purpose of the
initial paragraph.
Parallelism
Parallelism is also used prominently
throughout the whole passage to restate
ideas.
Cumulative Clauses
The use of cumulative clauses
allows any simple sentence to
expand further into the idea or
thought of that sentence. The
reason why cumulative sentences
convey Douglass’s opposing
desires is that his comprehensive
and passionate clauses permit the
audience to connect with his inner
thoughts.
Antithesis
The use of antithesis is not as prominent but
they seem to summarize the concept of
whatever paragraph they may be in.

7. Sentence Structure
“I was broken in
body, soul, and spirit” (lines
12-13).
Repetition
“Work, work, work was
scarcely more the order of
the day than of the night”
(lines 6-7).
Antithesis
“The longest days were too
short for him, and the
shortest nights were too
long for him.” (lines 8-9)
Parallelism
“Thus I used to think; and
thus I used to speak to
myself; goaded almost to
madness at one
moment, and the next
reconciling myself to my
wretched lot” (lines13-17).
Cumulative Clauses
“My natural elasticity was
crushed, my intellect
languished, the
disposition to read
departed, the cheerful
spark that lingered about
my eye died; the dark
night of slavery closed in
upon Mel and behold a
man transformed into a
brute!” (lines 13-17).

8. Paragraph 3
Sentence Structure
Although the structure remains rather
unchanged in the third paragraph, it
seems to adopt a separate feeling. This
is so that the third paragraph conveys
a meaning of urgency and sudden
realization, achieved through the
simple sentences resembling
instantaneous thoughts.
Repetition
In the third paragraph, the most
repeated word is “I” which is repeated
throughout 34 times, done in emphasis
of his intense personal emotions.
Another important repeated term is
the word “O” which is also done to
emphasize his sense of desperation.
Parallelism
Within the third paragraph,
the use of parallel structure is
balanced with the use of
repetition to enhance his
feeling of desperation early
into the paragraph.
Cumulative Clauses
This expansion of simple sentences
seems to resemble a stream of
consciousness style of writing.
The third paragraph is like his
heart is speaking to the audience.
Antithesis
Both antithesis reflect his
desperation at the nature of his
slavery but also, and particularly
in the second one, his vehement
desire to end such misery.

9. Sentence Structure
“I will take to the water” (line 53)
“Let me be free!” (line 45)
Repetition
“O God, save me!” (lines 44-45).
“O why was I born a man, of whom to
make a brute”(Lines 41-42)
Parallelism
“O that I were free! O, that I were
on one of your gallant decks, and
under our protecting wing! . . . O
that I could go also! . . . “ (lines
37-41). “ I will run away. I will
not stand it” (lines 46-47).
Cumulative Clauses
“You are loosed from your
moorings, and are free; I am fast
in my chains, and am a slave!
You move merrily before the
gentle gale and I sadly before the
bloody whip!” (lines 33-36)
Antithesis
“O, why was I born a man, of whom to make a brute!”
(Lines 41-42). “I had as well be killed running as die
standing” (Lines 58-59).

10. Paragraphs 1, 2, 4
For the first and last part of this
passage the author’s word choice is
pedantic. An author would utilize this
level of convoluted diction when his
emotions are overwhelming and
simple words do not suffice to describe
the magnitude of the experience
“My thoughts would compel
utterance; and there, with no audience
but the Almighty, I would pour out my
soul’s complaint, in my rude way, with
an apostrophe to the multitude of
ships: - “ (lines 29-32).
The main difference between these
paragraphs and the third is that the voice
is expository, setting the stage for
Douglass’s feelings and introducing the
audience to the first glance of his
unhappiness.
“We were worked in all weathers. It was
never too hot or too cold; it would it could
never rain, blow, hail, or snow, too hard
for us to work in the field” (lines 4-6).

11. Paragraph 3
In contrast to the obvious
elaborate diction in the other
paragraphs, this part of the
passage places extra emphases
on personal pronouns. The
long and complex word choice
is replaced with “I” and “me”
to accent Douglass’s emotions
and perspective. This passage
is his heart’s soliloquy and it
places out it conflicting desires
by choosing words to make it
more personal.
“O that I were free!
O, that I were on
the one of your
gallant decks and
under your
protecting wing!”
(lines 38-39).
The voice shifts from being explanatory to interrogative and imperative. This symbolizes
the transformation Douglass feels as he goes from being determined to doubtful. The
interrogative voice is used to point out the self-questioning and the hesitation, while the
strong, imperative voice proves that determined side of him.

12. Paragraph 1, 2, 4
The other paragraphs have little figurative language, but the little that is there
sets the stage for the explosion of figurative devices in the third paragraph.
The conceit here prepares the rest of the passage for the elaborate
comparisons used to bring out the main purpose and tone shifts. The vessels
in this quotation express the idea of being free, Douglass’ description of these
vessels reveal his longing to be free himself, but, as he states later, the ships
only remind him that he is unable to travel because he is a slave.
“Those beautiful vessels, robed I
purest white, so delightful to the eye
of freemen, were to my so many
shrouded ghosts, to terrify and
torment me with thoughts of my
wretched condition.”

13. Paragraph 3
In this paragraph there is a myriad of
figurative language in comparison to
the other paragraphs. In this
quotation, a metaphor is used.
Fredrick yet again speaks of his
discontent through relating his slavery
to being confined in bands of iron.
“You are freedom’s swift-winged
angels, that fly round the world; I am
confined in bands of iron!”
The personification here yet again
refers to the ship that symbolizes the
idea of freedom. The ship is referred
to throughout the passage as a way of
exhibiting his desire for liberty.
“The glad ship is gone; she hides in
the dim distance.”

14. Throughout this passage Douglass expresses
his developing ideals and emotions about
slavery and what he should do to combat it.
He bounces between taking assertive actions
and accepting his fate, and to convey this
dilemma to his audience he effectively
employs heavy diction, varied syntax and
elaborate figurative language. Through these
literary devices he is able to set the stage for
his conditions in the first, second and fourth
paragraph, and allow his inner thoughts to
flow freely in the third paragraph to make the
passage more emotional and personal. The
distinct structure and unique stylistic
elements make Douglass’s passage the cry for
freedom and demand for equality that
dominated the minds and hearts of the
enslaved at the time.