Fredrick Douglas'passage reveals the harshness one can go through
being an escaped slave in a free state. He does this in
the tones of scornfull and ecstatic, which can be seen through details and diction. His ecstatic
attitude lies in his achieving freedom, where is scornfullness resides
with the money hungry slave owners and the cruelty of the slave hunters.
When describing slavery,Douglas does not have one good thing to say;He uses describing words such as wretchedness,
torture, and whip scarred when speaking of it. In comparing situations and people with slavery,
he uses phrases like, "Ferocious beasts of the forest lie in wait of their prey", "Monsters of the deep swallow
up the helpless fish upon which they subsist." He uses very negative and
dark explanations when it comes to the idea of slavery. He explains that he
escapes to freedom. "I left my chainsand suceeded in reaching New York." he shows
his ecstaticness in this when he is unable to explain the feeling he has in words.
Although he is over joyed to have escaped the enduring the binds of slavery, the scornfull tone
is further proved by him not feeling
apart of the people or cummunity he now presides in. He is upset
that he is being hunted and has no food or home in a city of prosperity, because of his status.
Fredrick says that living in the free state as a fugative
slave is some thing one must personally endure to fully understand the hardships
faced.