53 pages • 1 hour read
What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?
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Literary Devices
Irony
Throughout Douglass’s speech, irony is used as a rhetorical device to emphasize his central arguments. In almost every section of the text, Douglass says that Americans’ beliefs about themselves and their politics or religion directly contradict their actions and actual values. He names this outright towards the beginning of the speech, contending, “Americans are remarkably familiar with all facts which make in their own favor” (5). Immediately after, he argues that “this is esteemed by some as a national trait-perhaps a national weakness” (5). The subtle criticism intended by the final phrase which names this “a national weakness” shows the irony Douglass intends to highlight. Later in the speech, Douglass illustrates this point about American irony in another way, interrogating his audience with sarcasm: “Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence?” (6). This is a critical moment of irony, as Douglass uses solicitous phrases like “fellow-citizens” and “pardon me” while addressing the fact that these same citizens would deny him independence.
Later in the speech, Douglass continues to assert that American society and values are inherently ironic. He describes White Americans boasting “of [their] love of liberty, [their] superior civilization… while the whole political power of the nation… is solemnly pledged to support and perpetuate the enslavement of three millions of [their] countrymen” (15). Combined with Douglass’s earlier references to the values of the forefathers and their hypocrisy, this passage clarifies Douglass’s overarching point that American values, which claim “liberty” at their heart, are essentially a front for a system that oppresses and enslaves millions of people.
Montage
Although employed less pervasively than irony, montage is one of Douglass’s most effective rhetorical strategies in terms of engendering his audience’s compassion. The bulk of the speech consists of moral, ethical, and legal arguments; as Douglass develops his passionate appeal in the middle of the text, he utilizes montage to build a series of images that illustrate the horrors of slavery and force his audience to feel sadness, grief, and anger about enslavement. In one passage, Douglass says:
Fellow-citizens, this murderous traffic is, to-day, in active operation in this boasted republic… I see clouds of dust raised on the highways of the South; I see the bleeding footsteps; I hear the doleful wail of fettered humanity on the way to the slave-markets, where the victims are to be sold like horses, sheep, and swine (11).
These distinct images, from “clouds of dust” and “bleeding footsteps” to “sold like horses, sheep, and swine,” paint a clear picture of the evils of slavery. This content, presented sequentially, is designed to have a jarring effect on the listener, who cannot help but become overwhelmed by feeling after hearing it. Douglass utilizes passages like this one to move the listener from a passive, analytical observer into an emotionally engaged critic of the system of slavery.
Anaphora
Throughout his speech, Douglass uses anaphora, a form of rhetorical repetition, to heighten the emotional tone of his content and to force home particularly important points. For example, towards the beginning of the speech Douglass describes America as “false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future” (7). Like other repetitive moments, the anaphoric structure of this sentence builds the intensity of the falseness of America by naming it in three successive moments.
One of the most powerful occurrences of anaphora is near the conclusion, as Douglass articulates what the existence of slavery does to American society: “It destroys your moral power abroad: it corrupts your politicians at home… it fetters your progress; it is the enemy of improvement; the deadly foe of education; it fosters pride; it breeds insolence; it promotes vice; it shelters crime; it is a curse to the earth that supports it” (15-16). This is an interesting use of anaphora because the repetitive structure does not use the word slavery over and over, instead using the word “it.” This particular choice allows Douglass’s list of negative aspects to both move more quickly and to heighten the meaning of what “it” is. By not naming slavery repeatedly, Douglass moves slavery more and more to the front of the listener’s mind, who is parsing his words as he speaks. As in other moments, anaphora allows Douglass to concentrate and reinforce his point for the listener.
Point-of-View
One of the most skillful aspects of Douglass’ rhetorical strategy is his careful use of point-of-view. He begins the speech by intentionally naming himself as a humble, unlearned narrator who will trust the audience’s “patient and generous indulgence” (1) as they listen to him. As Douglas builds his arguments, he slowly undoes this stance so subtly that it might have been less perceptible to his original audience. Although he positions himself has humble, he also introduces himself in direct opposition to “you.” This serves Douglass’s purposes as he moves into the midpoint transition of the speech, where he articulates that “the freedom gained is yours” (4); shortly thereafter, he points out that “this Fourth July is yours, not mine” (7). By positioning himself at first outside of the White American audience with humility, Douglass creates a point-of-view that forces his audience to recognize that his position is a result of oppression, not his own inherent worth or intelligence. Later in the speech, Douglass uses his position outside of the audience to repeatedly attack the hypocrisy of American values, describing how “you cling to [slavery]” (16). By ensuring that he is not included in the general White American audience he is speaking to, Douglass successfully positions himself as a humble and accurate critic.
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By Frederick Douglass
