53 pages • 1 hour read
Frederick DouglassWhat to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?
Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1852A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Discussion/Analysis Prompt
Analyze the rhetorical and literary choices Douglass makes in his speech. Discuss the overall effect these choices have on the speech’s impact. How could it have been different? What do Douglass’s choices reveal about his beliefs and his audience?
Teaching Suggestion: If time is limited, or if analyzing the entire text seems unmanageable, consider dividing the speech into its three major parts and having students work in small groups to analyze only a portion of the speech.
Differentiation Suggestion: Students with limited knowledge of rhetorical and literary devices might find it useful to have a list of rhetorical and literary devices to examine as they analyze and discuss the speech’s rhetoric.
Related Titles
By Frederick Douglass
