Describe one of Douglass’s writing strategies that gets your attention. Explain what he is doing and why it caught your attention. (Remember: for the Unit 1 Assignment, you will be writing your own speech or letter.)
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One of the writing strategies that Frederick Douglass used was his direct approach to getting his point across to the audience. Instead of shying away from the problem he greets the problems head on and expresses his thoughts about it. For example when he was asked “What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?”. It is very straight to the point.
Douglass is very relatable. He starts out with explaining how 4th of July is so important but then starts correlating it to slavery. He shows how he can’t truly be happy or enthusiastic because the selling of slaves is still occurring. He describes how they’re just going along with it even the church.
Douglass’ political ideology was clearly ahead of its time. He understood that it is only a matter of time before history sees slavery as “the great sin and shame of America!”. As such, he used a strategy that allowed him to argue things that should be apparent, while retaining all of his dignity and moral high ground. Douglass explains that these facts – that black people are just as capable, deserving and human as everyone else – should not require argument. So he makes the argument in a tone that makes anyone on the other side of it completely disarmed and ashamed, without having to plead or prove his own humanity to his audience.
One of the writing Douglass used in his speech was being realistic and straightforward. He starts talking about Fourth of July, slavery, how black people was mistreated and many more. He connects to his audiences by raising questions which really catches audiences attention. Then he talks about what he thinks about slavery and how it should stop.
Douglas’s strategy was to convince his audience about the problems that African Americans faced at that time. He straightforward converses with his audience about the importance of the Americas black population and the criticism of American society towards slavery, and while the initial part of his speech celebrates the founding fathers’ contributions to the country, he quickly caught some important points about advocating equal rights as well as citizenship and equal rights
He made a name for himself as a good and trustworthy orator. Being genuine and clear was one of the literary styles Douglass employed in his speech. He begins by discussing the Fourth of July, slavery, and how black people have been mistreated, among other topics. He establishes a connection with his audience by posing questions that pique their interest. After that he discusses his views on slavery and how it should be abolished.
Fredrick Douglass started up with a good opening speech “He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have.”[1] He also explains the issues the people of color went through in America despite the independence of America.
He went further to relate the 4th of July to the topic sentence and creating a thesis statement that brings light and expectation of the context of his speech. This strategy gets my attention because with its techniques I can create my own speech or letter following his format to have a successful delivery to my designated audience.
Fredrick Douglass started up with a good opening speech “He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have.”[1] He also explains the issues the people of color went through in America despite the independence of America.
He went further to relate the 4th of July to the topic sentence and creating a thesis statement that brings light and expectation of the context of his speech. This strategy gets my attention because with its techniques I can create my own speech or letter following his format to have a successful delivery to my designated audience.
One of the writing strategies Frederick Douglass uses is by using common ground at the beginning of the speech, then he separates himself from the audience for the rest of the speech. This makes the audience know that he isn’t part of the freedom they have.
Douglas’s speech is humble and straightforward. He seemed relatable to the audience because he talked about being nervous and honored to be a part of this. He addressed his concerns and connects with the audience by raising questions.