The parallelism in the end of this paragraph emphasizes how religious Rigby Hopkins was. It goes on to say, “…And yet there was not a man anywhere round, who made higher professions of religion, or was more active in revivals…” Additionally, it contradicts the fact that Mr. Hopkins wouldn’t justify his actions accurately, when it states that he would justify his actions with his religion.

Anaphora:

The anaphora is used to show how many instances could be a reason for a punishment.  Furthermore, the sentence after it exaggerates the mistakes that the slaves would make. ”Does a slave look dissatisfied? It is said, he has the devil in him and it must be whipped out. Does he speak loudly…” This quote goes to show how many unnoticeable actions could be blown out of proportion and be punishable. 

Parrallelism: 

“A mere look, word, or motion,-a mistake, accident, or want of power,-are all matters for which a slave may be whipped at any time.” This quote alone is able to summarize the main idea of the whole paragraph. It also perfectly explains how any small thing can be the cause of a punishment. Even if it isn’t the slaves fault. 

“Darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slave holders find the strongest protection.” This parallelism emphasizes how horrible they are by using synonyms that relate to negative characteristics.

 

“…religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes,--a justifier of the most appalling barbarity,--a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds.”  This asyndeton shows how much the slave masters are using it to protect their evil deeds and how prepared they are to use it. The slave masters don’t care that it is wrong as long as they can back themselves up.

                                   

Hyperbole - “and for what does he hold the thunder in his right hand”… This hyperbole is used to exaggerate the power of god. Douglas is using this to show how god has so much power but isn’t using it against all the bad people of slave owners. 

 

Parenthesis- “I held my Sabbath school at the house of a free colored man, whose name I deem imprudent to mention; for it should be known, it might embarrass him” This is used to bring attention to how if you were at all involved in teaching slaves it was considered a crime and you were shamed upon.  This also helps point out how it was a colored man vs a white man and he would get in more trouble due to racism back then. 

Verbal Irony and Onomatopoeia:  Through the verbal irony in the passage “Poor man! Such was his disposition, and success at deceiving, I do verily believe that he sometimes deceived himself into the solemn belief, that he was a sincere worshipper of the most high God.” Douglass is able to insult Mr. Covey and question his dedication to religion. It displays his bitterness towards Mr. Covey and how he abuses the religion in a sophisticated manner. The onomatopoeia “Poor man!” reflects his lack of pity or sympathy towards Mr. Covey because Douglass truly doesn’t feel anything for Mr. Covey. 

 

2.       Douglass repeatedly exclaims, “O” to draw attention to the clauses that followed. These clauses, when paired with “O”, bring out Douglass’ pain and desire to be free. It persuades the reader to pity him because his pain is so strong. He also uses “O” to show that his desire for freedom only deepens. He begins by saying, “O that I were free”, which is a simple complaint. Later, he says, “O, why was I born a man, of whom to make a brute”, which shows he is beginning to question his own existence. Finally, he says, “O God, save me”, which shows how desperate he is for freedom and how much pain slavery causes him. He is so desperate, he has resorted to pleading for God’s help. 

3.       Douglass uses a metaphor throughout this passage. He compares ships to the freedom he desires and to his “condition”. For example, he says “You move merrily before the gentle gale, and I sadly before the bloody whip!” This means that he longs to have the ability to move freely as the ships do. However, he is forced to obey his masters and endure their violent punishments. Later, Douglass says, “O, that I were on one of your gallant decks”. This metaphor emphasizes his desire to have freedom. 

1.     By using parenthesis here, Douglass is making sure that the audience understands the fact that this man didn’t own just one slave, he owned plenty. By putting in among others, Douglass is making this a for instance, and not a sole case. Rev. Weeden doesn’t just own one slave and treat them horribly, he owns others too.

2.     Once again Douglass uses “for weeks” to give context and also again make sure that the audience knows that this is not a sole case and that Mr. Weeden would do this for weeks. The woman slave would not occasionally be tortured, but consistently whipped and lashed. He also wants the audience to know that even though this man is supposed to be a man of god, he is still torturing human beings.

3.     By using ellipsis, Douglass avoids redundancy in his writing which thus makes his writing more intriguing and sound more advanced. By putting in “such his” he is emphasizing how important the masters authority and practice is. 

1.       This simile creates imagery and it show how Douglass’s Sundays are like a beast sleeping. He represents himself as a beast, which is what he doesn’t want because that is what white folks called black slaves and treated them as. He basically taking away his humanity, which is the purpose of slavery. 

2.       This is litotes because it is an understatement of Douglass’ hope. It shows how Douglass had almost no hope, he was very depressed and sad. The words “faint beam” help create the understatement, since in the context, the words indicate the small amount of hope that existed because the word faint means small amount. 

3.       This use of Euphemism makes “killing myself” sound better or more innocent. It emphasizes how depressed and sad he was but it makes the reader not want to focus on that sentence. 

4.       The parenthesis is to show the fact that Douglass wanted to kill himself, in addition to Covey. The comas help because they allow Douglass to get in information, while not having to start a new sentence. That is effective because it draws attention to the part of the sentence and helps show how depressed and low Douglass was. 

This instance of antithesis shows the drastic difference between Douglass’ masters and their personalities, and how religion factors into Covey’s methods. It demonstrates how Covey used religion to ‘deceive’ his slaves (and himself) into thinking what he did was right. Freeland, however did not practice a religion and Douglass seemed to think this meant that he was a kinder master.  

“Reduced to the chains of slavery…”

This metaphor depicts slavery as chains, something that bound Douglass to his unfortunate fate. It shows that he was ‘reduced’ to doing free labor, and sunk so low as to become a slave. It shows the audience how humiliating it must have been to be a slave, and even more so now that Douglass has an understanding of genuine freedom.

“The religion of the south is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes - a justifier of the most appalling barbarity - a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds - and a dark shelter under which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest protection.”

This phrase uses metaphor to show how religion was used to justify the actions of Southern slave owners. Though they go against religious morals, like love and acceptance, they pretend that God condones their crimes. It shows the audience why Douglass began to doubt his religion, and just how heinous the methods of slave masters really were.