“By far the majority of slaves know their own, and it is the desire of most masters of my acquaintance to keep their slaves thus ignorant.” The depiction of intellectual wordplay and language has helped many writers in the past to have a connection between writer and reader for creating emotions while reading the book. Many writers, including Frederick Douglass, used wordplay and rhetorical devices to influence audiences by creating a specific type of connection and empathy towards the vile act of slavery that occurred at the time of his birth. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Furthermore, in The Narrative Of Life Of Frederick Douglass, Douglass used many ways to better influence the audience, including many images. As stated, “He whipped her to make her scream and he whipped her to keep her quiet; and only when, overcome by tiredness, he would stop swinging the blood-clotted cowhide." Readers immediately felt strong emotions towards the mad slaveholder who treated his slaves so badly. This quote painted a picture in people's heads because of the language Douglass used. The empathy felt for the horrible things that slaves went through was truly shown during the changes of slavery. The images were truly captivating and indispensable in the writing of this autobiography. Furthermore, irony was also used towards the readers to glimpse the comedy for the simple purpose of showing how most slaves still saw the light in the darkness. It was said, "I regard my departure from Colonel Lloyd's plantation as one of the most interesting events of my life." This quote implied how Douglass never felt free during his years of slavery, but actually preferred some slave owners over others due to the difference in violence and constant diatribes towards slaves. Now, the use of this irony not only lightened the mood but also made the readers feel a little better because Douglass brought appropriate humor in a certain way that made the readers feel a little relieve yourself in this situation. Irony was a great strategy to make readers feel better after reading about all the monstrosities that happened in the life of Douglass and his fellow slaves. In addition to this, the tone was key to the autobiography because it showed Douglass's attitude towards slaveholders and the people he met throughout the autobiography. It was also stated, "I detested them because they were the meanest and most wicked of men." The tone of this quote is very serious and pessimistic but even though Douglass hated these men, he still described them very carefully without using profanity towards them. The tone influenced readers to realize how differently Douglass felt in different situations; without Douglass' tone the autobiography would have been neutral and without emotions involved and/or felt. Likewise, another important rhetorical device used to better influence the audience was repetition. As mentioned, “Where the slaves' whip ceaselessly swings, Where the loathsome* insect stings, Where the fever demon sheds.” Repetition was a very effective and useful tool in this part of the poem because it immediately makes the words spoken more important. All the scenes mentioned in the above quote are dark and unpleasant to read but the rhetorical device used triggered something in the audience's mind as it was different.