ap lang Frederick Douglass Rhetorical Devices/quotes

"By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant. I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday".

pathos

"I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger".

analogy

"The whisper that my master was my father, may or may not be true; and, true or false, it is of but little consequence to my purpose whilst the fact remains, in all its glaring odiousness, that slaveholders have ordained, and by law established, that the children of slave women shall in all cases follow the condition of their mothers; and this is done too obviously to administer to their own lusts, and make a gratification of their wicked desires profitable as well as pleasurable; for by this cunning arrangement, the slaveholder, in cases not a few, sustains to his slaves the double relation of master and father".

periodic sentence

"God cursed Ham"

logos

" miserable drunkard, a profane swearer, and a savage monster".

parallel structure

"no words, no tears, no prayers".

anaphora

"The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest".

chiasmus

"the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery"

analogy

"for it was no small affair"

litotes

"Wye Town" was under the overseership of a man named Noah Willis. New Design was under the overseer-ship of a Mr. Townsend".

parallel structure

"revealing at once the highest joy and the deepest sadness".

antithesis

"most pathetic sentiment in the most rapturous tone, and the most rapturous sentiment in the most pathetic tone".

chiasmis

"crying for joy and singing for joy".

antithesis

"The singing of a man cast away upon a desolate island might be as appropriately considered as evidence of contentment and happiness, as the singing of a slave; the songs of the one and of the other are prompted by the same emotion".

similie

"This garden was not the least source of trouble on the plantation".

litotes

"the slaves became as fearful of tar as of the lash".

similies

"But it was by no means an easy employment".

litotes

"They were frequently whipped when least deserving, and escaped whipping when most deserving it".

chiasmus

"he has not been properly fed; his food was too wet or too dry; he got it too soon or too late; he was too hot or too cold; he had too much hay, and not enough of grain; or he had too much grain, and not enough of hay; instead of old Barney's attending to the horse, he had very improperly left it to his son."

antithesis

"This is the inevitable result".

simple sentence

"I know of such cases; and it is worthy of remark that such slaves invariably suffer greater hardships, and have more to contend with, than others. They are, in the first place, a constant offence to their mistress. She is ever disposed to find fault with them; they can seldom do any thing to please her; she is never better pleased than when she sees them under the lash, especially when she suspects her husband of showing to his mulatto children favors which he withholds from his black slaves. The master is frequently compelled to sell this class of his slaves, out of deference to the feelings of his white wife; and, cruel as the deed may strike any one to be, for a man to sell his own children to human flesh-mongers, it is often the dictate of humanity for him to do so; for, unless he does this, he must not only whip them himself, but must stand by and see one white son tie up his brother, of but few shades darker complexion than himself, and ply the gory lash to his naked back; and if he lisp one word of disapproval, it is set down to his parental partiality, and only makes a bad matter worse, both for himself and the slave whom he would protect and defend".

emotional appeals

"He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush".

anaphora

"if they are not awakened by the sense of hearing, they are by the sense of feeling".

antithesis

"wore the appearance of a country village".

analogy

"A representative could not be prouder of his election to a seat in the American Congress, than a slave on one of the out-farms would be of his election to do errands at the Great House Farm"

analogy

"Those songs still follow me, to deepen my hatred of slavery, and quicken my sympathies for my brethren in bonds".

parallel structure

"indeed, it is not uncommon for slaves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about teh relative goodness of their masters".

litoes

"It was considered as being bad enough to be a slave; but to be a poor man's slave was deemed a disgrace indeed"!

chaismus

"Mr. Gore was proud, ambitious, and persevering. He was artful, cruel, and obdurate".

parallel structure

"He was just the man for such a place, and it was just the place for such a man".

antimetabole

"To be accused was to be convicted, and to be convicted was to be punished".

chiasmis

"He was ambitious enough to be contented with nothing short of the highest rank of overseers, and persevering enough to reach the height of his ambition. He was cruel enough to inflict the severest punishment, artful enough to descend to the lowest trickery, and obdurate enough to be insensible to the voice of a reproving conscience".

parallel structure

"Mr. Gore was a grave man, and, though a young man, he indulged in no jokes, said no funny words, seldom smiled".

antithesis

"His words were in perfect keeping with his looks, and his looks were in perfect keeping with his words".

antimetabole

"He spoke but to command, and commanded but to be obeyed".

chiasmus

"freedom of the slaves, and the enslavement of the whites".

antithesis

"no shoes, no stockings, no jacket, no trousers, nothing on but a coarse tow linen shirt, reaching only to my knees".

anaphora

"The children were then called, like so many pigs, and like so many pigs they would come and devour the mush"

similie

"He that ate fastest got most; he that was strongest secured the best place".

anaphora

"I found no severe trial in my departure".

litote

"Even the Great House itself, with all its pictures, was far inferior to many buildings in Baltimore".

periodic sentence

"I left without a regret, and with the highest hopes of future happiness".

antithesis

"I was conducted by Rich, one of the hands belonging on board of the sloop, to my new home in Alliciana Street".

synecdeton

"Little Thomas was told, there was his Freddy, --and I was told to take care of little Thomas".

parallel structure

"incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and incur my own abhorrence. From my earliest recollection, I date the entertainment of a deep conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me within its foul embrace".

metaphor

"She was entirely unlike any other white woman I had ever seen. I could not approach her as I was accustomed to approach other white ladies".

appeal to emotion

"Her favor was not gained by it; she seemed to be disturbed by it".

parallel structure

"that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon".

antithesis

"From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom".

anthithesis

"What he most dreaded, that I most desired. What he most loved, that I most hated. That which to him was a great evil, to be carefully shunned, was to me a great good, to be diligently sought; and the argument which he so warmly urged, against my learning to read, only served to inspire me with a desire".

periodic sentence

"bitter opposition of my master, as to the kindly aid of my mistress".

antithesis

"A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation".

appeal to emotion

"*Move faster, you ~black gip!~ at the same time giving them a blow with the cowskin over the head or shoulders, often drawing the blood. She would then say, Take that, you ~black gip!*"

parallel structure

"My mistress, who had kindly commenced to instruct me, had, in compliance with the advice and direction of her husband, not only ceased to instruct, but had set her face against my being instructed by any one else. It is due, however, to my mistress to say of her, that she did not adopt this course of treatment immediately. She at first lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me up in mental darkness. It was at least necessary for her to have some training in the exercise of irresponsible power, to make her equal to the task of treating me as though I were a brute".

parallel structure

"She at first lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me up in mental darkness".

metaphore

"This bread I used to bestow upon the hungry little urchins, who, in return, would give me that more valuable bread of knowledge".

metaphore

"i coudl regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers".

metaphore

"In a very short time after I went to live at Baltimore, my old master's youngest son Richard died; and in about three years and six months after his death, my old master, Captain Anthony, died, leavonly his son, Andrew, and daughter, Lucretia, to share his estate. He died while on a visit to see his daughter at Hillsborough. Cut off thus unexpectedly, he left no will as to the disposal of his property. It was therefore necessary to have a valuation of the property, that it might be equally divided between Mrs. Lucretia and Master Andrew. I was immediately sent for, to be valued with the other property. Here again my feelings rose up in detestation of slavery. I had now a new conception of my degraded condition. Prior to this, I had become, if not insensible to my lot, at least partly so. I left Baltimore with a young heart overborne with sadness, and a soul full of apprehension. I took passage with Captain Rowe".

appeal to emotion

"I had known what it was to be kindly treated; they had known nothing of the kind".

parallel structure

"her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren, divided, like so many sheep".

simile

"She stands-- she sits--she staggers--she falls--she groans--she dies --and there".

asyndeton

"He was to me a new master, and I to him a new slave".

antithesis

"i was made acquainted with his wife not less than with himself".

litote

"Master Thomas gave us enough of neither coarse nor fine food".

litote

"he spoke to his slaves with the firmness of Napoleon".

allusion

"He might have passed for a lion".

metaohor

"It had almost ruined ne for every good purpose, and fitted me for every thing which was bad".

chiasmas

"I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes, a justified of the most appalling barbarity, a sabctified of the most hateful frauds, and a dark shelter under, which the darkest foulest, frossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection".

periodic sentence

"we did more than Patrick Henery, when he resolved upon liberty or death".

allusion

"At times I needed a dozen pair of hands".

synecdoche

"Fred., come help me to cant this timber here."--"Fred., come carry this timber yonder."--"Fred., bring that roller here."-- "Fred., go get a fresh can of water."--"Fred., come help saw off the end of this timber."--"Fred., go quick, and get the crowbar."--"Fred., hold on the end of this fall."--"Fred., go to the blacksmith's shop, and get a new punch."--"Hurra, Fred.! run and bring me a cold chisel."--"I say, Fred., bear a hand, and get up a fire as quick". (Fred)

parallel structure

"I would leave him to imagine himself surrounded by myriads of invisible tormentors, ever ready to snatch from his infernal grasp his trembling prey".

metaphore

"The wretchedness of slavery, and the blessedness of freedom, were perpetually before me. It was life and death with me. But I remained firm, and, according to my resolution, on the third day of September, 1838, I left my chains, and succeeded in reaching New York without the slightest interruption of any kind. How I did so,--what means I adopted,--what direction I travelled, and by what mode of conveyance,--I must leave unexplained, for the reasons before mentioned".

antithesis

"I suppose I felt as one may imagine the unarmed mariner to feel when he is rescued by a friendly man-of-war from the pursuit of a pirate".

metaphore

"I felt like one who had escaped a den of hungry lions".

simile

"whose business it was to lie in wait for the panting fugative, as the ferocious beasts of teh forest lie in wait for their prey".

similie

"he is every moment subjected to terrible liability of being seized upon by his fellowmen, as the hideous crocodile seizes upon his prey".

similie

"midst of wild beasts, whose greediness to swallow up the trembling and half-famished fugative is only eqaully by that with which the monsters of the deep swallow up the helpless fish upon which they subsist"

analogy

"i was hungry, and he gave me meat; I was thirsty, and he gave me drink; I was a stranger, and he took me in".

allusion

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