The Land of the Free and the Home of the Slave The American Dream - a major pull factor for immigrants all around the world and a source of pride for Americans. The American Dream was the epitome of liberty, the idea that one could pursue success and happiness, under the freedom granted under the United States of America. Democracy, social mobility, and prosperity. Every man and woman was entitled to the precious opportunity to seek their American Dream--except for slaves. In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the author, Frederick Douglass, recounts his horrific experience as a slave and the many atrocities he witnessed.. Douglass utilizes diction and motif to vibrantly illustrate that hypocrisy is a negative personality trait
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When describing the false benevolence of slaveholders who gave a short holiday at the end of every year, Douglass describes how it is “one of the grossest frauds committed upon the down-trodden slave” (43). Through careful choice of words such as ‘fraud’, he is able to not only portray the deceitful nature of slave owners, but also demonstrate how they were clearly acting to hurt the slaves; the term also implies a businesslike connotation, which portrays how the cruelties of slavery were a trivial business decision made by owners. While slave owners attempted to appear altruistic by providing time off for slaves, slaveholders were truly hypocritical in that they only afforded this privilege in order to subdue their unruly slaves. Douglass also portrays the negative impact of hypocrisy after a description of Mr. Covey, stating that “the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes… a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds,-- and a dark shelter under, which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection.” Integration of the word ‘infernal’ helps Douglass describe both the evil and hellish nature of slavery. By describing religion as justification …show more content…
“He found religious sanction and support for his slaveholding cruelty… His activity in revivals was great and… his house was the preachers’ home. He starved us, he stuffed them” (33). Mr. Auld, Douglass’s owner, is a clear hypocrite in that he practices religion so devotedly, yet ‘stuffs’ other preachers and ‘starves’ his own slaves, also proving the consequences of hypocrisy. The starvation that his slaves were forced to endure, under justification of religion, confirms the motif, that pious slaveholders were the most brutal. After describing the irrationality of Mr. Hopkins and some of the vicious acts that he has committed in the name of religion, Douglass states that “there was not a man in the whole county with whom the slaves… would not prefer to live rather than with this Rev. Mr Hopkins… yet there was not a man… who made higher professions of religion.” (45). Reverend Mr. Hopkins was explicitly described as the most religious man of all, yet is also described as the most dreaded by slaves. Mr. Hopkins’s hypocrisy is clearly perceived as a negative personality trait by the slaves and has a pernicious effect on the ones that he commands. The brutality of religious slaveholders is a recurring motif that helps prove the deleterious impacts of slaveholders’ hypocrisy. Deliberate use of literary devices
When describing the false benevolence of slaveholders who gave a short holiday at the end of every year, Douglass describes how it is “one of the grossest frauds committed upon the down-trodden slave” (43). Through careful choice of words such as ‘fraud’, he is able to not only portray the deceitful nature of slave owners, but also demonstrate how they were clearly acting to hurt the slaves; the term also implies a businesslike connotation, which portrays how the cruelties of slavery were a trivial business decision made by owners. While slave owners attempted to appear altruistic by providing time off for slaves, slaveholders were truly hypocritical in that they only afforded this privilege in order to subdue their unruly slaves. Douglass also portrays the negative impact of hypocrisy after a description of Mr. Covey, stating that “the religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes… a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds,-- and a dark shelter under, which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection.” Integration of the word ‘infernal’ helps Douglass describe both the evil and hellish nature of slavery. By describing religion as justification …show more content…
“He found religious sanction and support for his slaveholding cruelty… His activity in revivals was great and… his house was the preachers’ home. He starved us, he stuffed them” (33). Mr. Auld, Douglass’s owner, is a clear hypocrite in that he practices religion so devotedly, yet ‘stuffs’ other preachers and ‘starves’ his own slaves, also proving the consequences of hypocrisy. The starvation that his slaves were forced to endure, under justification of religion, confirms the motif, that pious slaveholders were the most brutal. After describing the irrationality of Mr. Hopkins and some of the vicious acts that he has committed in the name of religion, Douglass states that “there was not a man in the whole county with whom the slaves… would not prefer to live rather than with this Rev. Mr Hopkins… yet there was not a man… who made higher professions of religion.” (45). Reverend Mr. Hopkins was explicitly described as the most religious man of all, yet is also described as the most dreaded by slaves. Mr. Hopkins’s hypocrisy is clearly perceived as a negative personality trait by the slaves and has a pernicious effect on the ones that he commands. The brutality of religious slaveholders is a recurring motif that helps prove the deleterious impacts of slaveholders’ hypocrisy. Deliberate use of literary devices