Frederick Douglass aims in this passage to lay bare the wretchedness of a horrible sin, slavery. Another part of his purpose is to justify his escape. He attempts to convey his feelings and thoughts through a variety of techniques such as telegraphic and paratactic sentences, as well as numerous literary devices such as repetition, dialogue, figurative language, and a varied tone. Additionally, he uses a rich diction to convey his thoughts in painstaking detail. Furthermore, …showed first 75 words of 710 total…

…showed last 75 words of 710 total…to escape, he is as a madman, he claims, “I had as well be killed running as die standing.” By use of his syntactical variety, a plethora of literary devices, including repetition, figurative language, and tone Douglass accomplishes his purpose. He also utilizes a rich diction to make his style complete, and unique, there is no other writer like him. He relates all of the horrors of slave life, and justifies his escape of it.