Douglass and Twain Test Review
Rhetorical Devices (Define and give examples) / Categories of Rhetoric (Define and provide Examples) / Satire and its Elements (define and provide examplesEthical appeals / Ethos / Humor
Logical appeals / Exaggeration
Emotional appeals / Pathos / Absurdity
Connotative words / Irony
antithesis / Logos
Douglass “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
1. How does Douglass establish credibility to speak about the 4th of July?
2. What evidence does Douglass provide to prove that slavery is immoral?
3. Why does Douglass NOT want to waste time arguing that the slave is a man?
4. What tone does Douglass use throughout his speech? Why does he do this?
5. How does Douglass use antithesis in his speech? What is he trying to argue with it?
Short Response
In lines 97–110, Douglass presents a long list of things that black people are doing. Then in lines 123–130, he presents a list of the wrongs that are done to slaves. How do these two different lists serve Douglass’s purpose in giving the speech? 1
Douglass says, “At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument is needed” (lines 138–139). Why does he say this, and what is it that he finds ironic?
Twain’s “The Lowest Animal”
1. What is the assertion (or statement of belief) that Twain challenges in this essay?
2. What comparisons does Twain use to try to prove that human beings are greedy? Cruel? Wasteful? Immoral?
3. What does Twain mean when he says that ‘man is the only animal that blushes or has occasion to’?
4. What example does Twain use to show that humans have always conspired to take advantage of others?
5. What is the difference between animals fighting and humans going to war?
Short Response
What can you infer is Twain’s view of religion? Give two examples to support your answer.
In the last two paragraphs of the essay, Twain describes an experiment in which various animalsare placed together in one cage and a group of humans are placed in another cage. Explain at leasttwo ironies that arise from this experiment.
Essays:
How does Douglass persuade his audience by using logos, ethos, and pathos? (at least three paragraphs?)
Discuss how Twain uses the 4 elements of satire to express his point about human beings. (at least three paragraphs)