The Story of Frederick Douglass

             Frederick Douglass uses numerous forms of figurative language in his narrative. The two most prominent and influencing being; his diction and imagery.

              The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an informative narrative where Douglass shares his stories. He uses a very formal diction throughout his narrative. He does not use much emotion in his writing yet is very serious and focusses on the facts of his stories. The formal tone that he uses is primarily to be able to capture the attention of the correct audience. The audience in which Frederick Douglass is trying to inform is the white middle to upper class society. To be able to get and retain their attention, he needed to speak in a language that they understood, and he did so very successfully. An example of this right at the beginning of chapter 1 is when he says, “I have no accurate knowledge of my age,” (Douglass, 57). He could have very well said ‘I do not know my age’ but felt that instead he could write this sentence in a more formal tone. Even with a sentence as simple as this one, Frederick Douglass made sure to craft it exactly to the formality of the audience he was sharing it with. Frederick Douglass also chose this form of diction to allow himself to be seen as an equal. In the era of his lifetime, white people would think they are superior to those who are black, especially those who were slaves like Frederick Douglass. He needed to show that he was just as competent as them, and that his story should be taken seriously.  

              Secondly, Frederick Douglass used very vibrant descriptive words to convey imagery throughout his narrative. He used this very well to emphasize the severity of the stories he was sharing. I felt this was exemplified when he was talking about Aunt Hester’s story. He says, “…he commenced to lay on the heavy cowskin, and soon the warm, red blood… came dripping to the floor” (Douglass, 58) and I felt that the use of imagery allowed the reader to place themselves in this scenario themselves. He used colour and feeling to truly appeal to the senses of the reader. It helped the audience understand how painful it was to be a slave by painting the picture of the abuse they received. Frederick’s use of imagery allowed us to place ourselves in the shoes of many different slaves by hearing their stories.

              Frederick Douglass was a very successful abolitionist, and this is much due to his form of writing. His incredible use of figurative language, as well as tone and diction, helped convey his message clearly and concisely to the correct audience. He allowed voices to be heard, and played a major role in the abolishment of slavery.