Rhetorical appeals are a part of any well written literature. Ethos, pathos, and logos are complex literary elements that Douglas uses in “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Written by Himself” to affect his target audience and the reader. Through his use of these appeals, he develops a clear message while engaging the targeted audience.
It is clear from the begining of the narritive that the targeted audinece of Douglas is the uninformed North. Douglass makes it clear that he is trying to clarify misconceptions of slaverly to those unaware, which is the people of the North, since they are the ones not living in slavery. He is trying to claify and remove reconcieved notions set by the slave masters. The slave masters would inform the Northers false information about the…show more content… Its his way of persuasding his targeted audeince by reason. He uses logos when he talks about what the slaves could and could not do. He says “It was committed in the presence of slaves, and they of course could neither institute a suit, nor testify against him; and thus the guilty perpetrator of one of the bloodiest and most foul murders goes unwhipped of justice, and uncensored by the community in which he lives” (pg. 36) This is considered logos because it was common knowledge that he expects his audeince to know and understand. We can tell his implication when he says “...and they of course could…” The “offcourse” in the sentence implies commom knowldge because it asserts that whatever is to follow is a given.
To conlcude, it is perspicuous that ethos, pathos, and logos are complex literary elements that Douglas uses throughout his work “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Written by Himself”. He uses these appeals to create trust between himself and the audeince, develop emotion, and build credabilty. He does this flawlessly and in the process, conveys his
