Read the excerpt from "what to the slave is the fourth of july? ” when the dogs in your streets, when the fowls of the air, when the cattle on your hills, when the fish of the sea, and the reptiles that crawl, shall be unable to distinguish the slave from a brute, then will i argue with you that the slave is a man! what effect does the repetition of the word “when” have? the repetition gives the excerpt a philosophical quality. the repetition distracts readers from douglass’s original point. the repetition clarifies the time in which the speech was delivered. the repetition reinforces douglass’s incredulity at the opposition’s attitudes.

The repetition of the word “when” in “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” surely affects the speech by Frederick Douglass. The repetition reinforces Douglass’s incredulity at the opposition’s attitudes (D).  

EXPLANATION:  

“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” is a speech by Frederick Douglass which was delivered on 5th July 1852. The speech was delivered in Corinthian Hall, Rochester, New York. Douglass delivered this speech to address the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. This Douglass’ speech is the most popular speech of him among all of his speeches. This speech is even included in Douglass autobiographies.  

“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” was delivered one day after the announcement and celebration of the American Independence Day. This speech explored the values-based and constitutional arguments against the slave trade in the United States. Douglass thought that the positive statements about the United States of America values including freedom, liberty, and citizenship were an offense to the slaves because enslaved people in the United States, at that time, didn’t get enough freedom, liberty, and citizenship.  

Douglass also stated that the exploitation and cruelty done by the citizen of the United States to the enslaved people didn’t meet the positive statements stated in the celebration of the American Independence Day. Thus, Douglass made “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” addressing the issue of slavery.  

LEARN MORE:  

If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, we recommend you to also take a look at the following questions:

1.How does douglass portray the effects of slavery on masters and slaves  

2.Why does Douglass describe his fight with covey in such detail in his memoir, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass?  

KEYWORDS: Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”  

Subject: English

Class: 10-12

Sub-chapter: Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

The repetition reinforces Douglass’s incredulity at the opposition’s attitudes.  

The repetition of the word ‘When; has affected the tone of the speech in a way that places a certain emphasis at Douglass’s disbelief on the attitudes of his opponents. He emphasizes that he is unable to piece together the ambiguity in the attitude of the white Americans referring to the former slaves as men of equal rank and status when in reality, they had failed to actually give them the status of freedmen. Thus, what he really means is that the actions of White Americans do not match with their sayings. He further states that he would only believe in the credibility of their words when everything in the world could denote the real freedom of slaves and not lesser beings as the slaves have been treated so far.

Further Explanation:

The effect of repetition of the word ‘when’ can be understood widely throughout the text. It has to be noted that every line of the text carries the word ‘when’, which means the literary meaning has been emphasized. This speech equates the freedom of former slaves to be declared by every object imaginable. Thus Douglass says that he shall only believe the freed slaves can be inducted into society as an equal man by the White Americans only when everything on the planet can distinguish them from that of a brute, a boorish person incapable of forming social relations. Thus, repetition is a common rhetorical device that adds significant emphasis in the speech and text, allowing the speaker and writer to express his thoughts to the audience loud and clear. It can also be instrumental in defining the style, rhythm, and tone of the text.

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Answer Details:

Grade: High School

Chapter: Repetition- Most common literary devices.

Subject: English.

Keywords:

Repetition, literary emphasis, literary device, the message of the speaker and writer, tone of speech, rhythm, tone.

it is true my friend