Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass 

Frederick Douglass was born a slave in 1818 in Maryland. He endured a 

great deal of torture and in 1838 made a bold move to freedom. However, as he 
explains in his autobiography “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” in 
chapter 6, the pain doesn’t end there. Frederick Douglass argues that despite 
being free from persecution, many former slaves had to withstand many 
difficulties. He supports his argument with anaphras, irony and animalistic 
diction.  
To start off Douglass uses anaphras to argue that slaves can never be 
truly free. When talking about his own experience after freeing himself from the 
“wretchedness of slavery” into the “blessedness of freedom” Douglass mentions 
that he felt like “one who had escaped a den of hungry lions” but not long after he 
was overcome with “a feeling of great insecurity and loneliness”. Douglass says 
that he was still exposed to the effects of slavery and that he was surrounded by 
thousands of his ‘brothers’ yet wouldn't dare to speak to them and that's what 
made him feel lonely. Douglass had mentioned earlier in the passage that he had 
friends back in Baltimore and that it hurt to have to leave them behind. Which in 
turn made him even more deserted. Moving on, Douglass continues to talk about 
his life after being free from his captors. He mentions that he is afraid to talk to 
white people because he was terrified of “falling into the hands of money-loving 
kidnappers” so to counter that Douglass adopted a motto of “Trust no man!”. He 
saw “every white man as an enemy” and dared not to speak to any in fear that he 
might be a slave again. This would have put constant fear into his mind, making 
him a slave to his own emotions. It also would have caused major distrust in 
everyone because of the constant fear. Many slaves probably felt the same way. 
By sharing his own life experiences, Frederick Douglass is able to explain why 
slaves can never be truly free.  
Continuing on, Frederick Douglass uses irony to also illustrate that slaves 
cannot be truly rescued from their demons. In the beginning slaves when they 
became free would have felt ecstatic when they felt the feeling of freedom. 
Frederick Douglass recalls his feelings as “like one who escaped a den of hungry 
lions”, which compares slave holders to lions. However, soon many slaves were 
“seized with a feeling of great insecurity and loneliness”. It’s ironic because the 
slaves expected to have an easier life once unconfined, but soon were plagued 
with distrust and isolation. Soon many were also overcome with fear of being 
recaptured by white people and sent back into slavery. This would have also 
contributed to the distrust which would have caused more loneliness. To 
continue, Frederick Douglass mentions later on in the passage, that he is 
“subjected to all the tortures of slavery” which sounds like a form of PTSD. Many 
slaves probably suffered from PTSD due to the traumatic events that happened 
to them. The events probably also sparked anxiety which would have contributed 
again to the constant fear, distrust, and insecurity. Its also ironic because slaves 
most likely thought that they were going to feel relieved, comfort; instead they get 
anxiety, dread, and panic.   
Lastly, Frederick Douglass uses animalistic diction to describe the white 
men that terrify the former slave. When speaking about his fear of being caught 
and becoming a slave again, Douglass said that the “money loving kidnappers” 
would “lie in wait” for their next victim just like how the “ferocious beasts of the 
forest lie in wait for their prey”. This would give the vile men a predatory-like 
personality with how they stalk and wait for their next “meal” to come. Then when 
it does come, they spare it no mercy for a predator doesn’t want to starve. To 
continue, Frederick Douglass continues to feel like he was in the “midst of wild 
beasts” and that “monsters of the deep” such as a shark, a predatory fish of the 
deep, “swallow up the helpless fish upon which they subsist”. The monsters 
described in the sentence are again the white men who kidnap former slaves and 
the fish are the slaves being captured again. It is again giving the white men a 
dangerous, predatory personality who mercilessly take whatever they want. With 
the use of animalistic diction, Douglass further proves that slaves can’t fully 
escape the grasp of rotten white men. 
In conclusion, many slaves that escape to freedom don’t get the full feeling 
of freedom. Many feel isolated, insecure and constant fear of the “predators” that 
lurk around every corner. In Frederick Douglass’s “Narrative of the Life of 
Frederick Douglass” in Chapter 6 it can be argued that despite being free from 
their captors, slaves still have to face many challenges that keep them from 
being truly free.