In the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave, Douglass tells many anecdotes to illustrate the horrors of slavery. One of these recounts the murder of his wife's cousin. Douglass uses several strategies to gain our sympathy in describing the incident. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First of all, Douglass doesn't hesitate to express his disapproval of the whole affair with a very emotionally charged report. Douglass begins the paragraph by calling Mrs. Hicks' action "murder." Then he attracts our pity with the phrase “poor girl”. These words clearly distinguish the villain from the victim. Douglass also highlights the ferocity of Mrs. Hicks, stating that the victim was “mangled” in a “horrible” manner. He also uses the words "break" and "broken" to emphasize that the slave was brutally torn to pieces. This diction moves us, like Douglass, to become angry at Mrs. Hicks' action. In recounting the event, Douglass humiliates the girl, leaving her nameless. He refers to her as "my wife's cousin" and "this girl", thus emphasizing her inferior status as a slave. Another interpretation of her anonymity is that it allows her to represent other nameless slaves who suffered a similar fate. The girl transcends the individual. She died prematurely just as other black slaves died before and after her. As Douglass tells the story of a dead girl, he is her voice. As such, it graphically enhances the medical examiner's report. The medical examiner simply decided that the girl "died as a result of a severe beating." Douglass tells the story in exact detail. He explains how the girl was tired because she had missed rest the previous nights. Since tiredness is a very human flaw, this detail humanizes the girl. As the girl cares for the baby, she is shown in a caring and maternal light. On the other hand, the real mother, Mrs. Hicks, has completely forgotten her child's anguish as she attacks the girl without delay. Douglass recounts how Mrs. Hicks became angry at the tired girl's slow reaction to the baby's crying and "leaped out of bed, grabbed a piece of oak by the fireplace, and broke the girl's nose and sternum with it, thus placing end to his life." .” Its parallel structure of the verbs “jumped,” “seized,” “broken,” and “terminated” adds an eerie rhythm to the story that echoes the sounds of a cruel beating. These verbs also highlight the monstrosity of Mrs. Hicks' actions. By connecting the girl's mistake, a normal reaction to a common human symptom, with Mrs. Hick's exaggerated reaction to a crying baby, another common occurrence, Douglass humanizes the victim and dehumanizes Mrs. Hicks. He then cleverly bends our sympathies towards the girl. The specific details that Douglass incorporates into the story make the incident more visual and believable. However I wonder what their validity is. Since the girl died a few hours after being beaten, she probably didn't have a chance to spread her story. The medical examiner only deciphered the reason for the girl's death, not the reason for her beating. Therefore, how did Douglass get all the details, down to the material and location of the stick used by Mrs. Hicks? However, if Douglass mixes fact with fiction, then this paragraph further attests to his intelligence and ability to influence his audience. Despite Douglass's inclusion of fictional details, his narrative possesses.