“What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July” is a speech given by Frederick Douglass. In this speech, Douglass aims to give the audience a clear view of the injustices being experienced by slaves in America and what the Fourth of July means to them. Douglass implements vivid imagery and poignant anecdotes to evoke emotion from his audience. In “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July,” Douglass uses very specific imagery to paint a picture in the mind of the reader of the horrific abuse endured by the slaves. On one hand, Douglass uses his imagery to show the reader a jubilant scene. In the fifth paragraph of page 4, a display is described by phrases such as “Banners and pennants wave exultingly on the breeze,” and “The ear-piercing fife and the stirring drum unite their accents with the ascending peal of a thousand church bells.... while the quick martial tramp of a great and multitudinous nation, echoed back by all the hills, valleys and mountains of a vast …show more content…
One example of this is in paragraphs one through three on page nine. In this anecdote, Douglass tells the story of his childhood. He tells where he grew up and all the injustices involving slavery that he saw. He explains to the audience the instances in which he saw slave ships, slaves being sold, children being taken from their mothers, and slaves being herded back onto the ship. The purpose of this anecdote is to illustrate to the audience what he had seen and the fact that instances such as these did actually occur. In “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July,” Douglass’ main point was to reach the audience and open their eyes to the world of slavery. From the vivid scenes created by Douglass’ imagery and anecdotes, he reached his goal and the audience’s emotions were touched. Having a new perspective on the issue, the audience was far more likely to take action against the abhorrent act of