The Verity of the Story

   Through this first few chapters Frederic Douglass recounts the story of when he was a boy living as a slave. He describes to us readers all the atrocities he saw, heard of and was part of, making it really impacting and touching to the reader. From past and common knowledge everyone knows how horrible and unfair conditions where for those living as slaves just because of their race. Douglass not only has he lived it but also survived to tell his story, obviously having been a great man and apparently also a writer tells us in a poignant way through this few chapters many of the incidents he lived throughout. Making it evident how horrible it was, and convincing us that this is not just some story or some fragment of ancient history, but in fact something historically extremely significant that didn’t occurred that much of a long time ago.

   We see the use of pathos from Douglass’s writing more than any other form of argument. Even though he does not portrait pity or shows to solicit any kind of sympathy, we can see clearly how his emotions most of all from the past, influence pretty much his life, and are represented in his memoir. And how these emotions are only seen in the slaves, and not even slightly in the masters or overseers. For example where Douglass explains one of the many atrocious deaths, in page 65: “A thrill of horror flashed through every soul upon the plantation, excepting Mr. Gore.”

   Having lived through so much and having been part of so many wicked actions Douglass, through his memoir uses logos to inform us on how everything functioned and how the only way it did was by people knowing exactly what to say and do, and where to be and not to be. He tell us: “It is partly in consequence of such facts, that slaves, when inquired of as to their condition and the character of their masters, almost universally say they are contented, and that their masters are kind.”) Pg. 118. Only by knowing what to say in occasions where slaves where put to answer questions that required such an answer, is how they kept their lives. In other words being smart in this circumstances kept you alive and out of trouble.

   Finally, ethos. Its not that it is shown as much, more like something into the context that is not worth putting in words in such a story. Nevertheless it is what kept the people it did alive, and probably what held people on the “right path”, (Ironically because there is nothing right about the whole living and universal situation around those times). This is each person’s inner voice, what tells them what is right and wrong and weather they should trust or not.