Write a paragraph explaining how word choice strengthens Douglass’s personal narrative. Include specific examples from the text in your response. Write a paragraph explaining how word choice strengthens Douglass’s personal narrative. Include specific examples from the text in your response.
Answers
William Douglas’s descriptive style of his own drowning at the YMCA pool is very impressive. He creates a vivid picture of the scene from his childhood. While reading the description, it appears as if we are watching a video. The description of his going down towards the bottom of the pool three times is so elaborate that the readers see him drowning in the pool. He has used short sentences and phrases such as ‘Nothing happened’, ‘It wiped out fear;’ ‘it wiped out terror.’, etc. These short sentences evoke clear images in the mind.
Answer:
Frederick Douglass carefully chooses his words in his personal narrative. He uses strong verbs and precise adjectives so that readers can imagine exactly how events took place and how they were described. For example, he uses contrasting adjectives to describe Mrs. Auld as kind when Douglass arrived in Baltimore and as harsh after he had been there some time. Douglass contrasts what she was like after the influence of slavery. Douglass also uses words with strong connotations. For example, he uses the word rush to describe how Mrs. Auld moves toward him when she catches him reading. Because rushing suggests her moving angrily, the reader understands that Mrs. Auld is upset with Douglass and maybe even fearful of him learning to read. Both of these examples show that Douglass chooses his words carefully