Frederick Douglass – from The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro

This literary work is a direct reaction and reflection to society during this time period. Written in 1852, slavery had yet to be abolished. This work also displays the perspective of people that were not in the wealthiest class. Douglass is expressing the frustration of African Americans around this time period. Douglass also expresses the feelings of utter hypocrisy slaves felt on the celebration of the Fourth of July. This work is more or less a reaction to the issue of equality or the lack thereof. At this time, many African Americans were still enslaved. This excerpt from "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" expresses the frustration with the nation many experienced at this time. America promised equality, yet African Americans did not experience this equality. Other than historical accuracy, I do not think that the story represents Realism, Regionalism, or Naturalism in many ways. Frederick probably spoke in an accurate dialect, which would represent Regionalism, that was not exactly conveyed in writing. As I said before, the historical accuracy of the speech goes along with Realism, but there was no real concrete connection to any of the movements. One important aspect of Realism is the "hero". The hero is typically an average person whom other people are able to easily relate with. He is typically is just a middle class citizen who just wants to try and make the best out of the situations that he is forced into. In Frederick Douglass' speech, although it was written by an African American man about the plights of African American people to a strictly white audience, he played upon the basic ideas of humanity and the rights that we all share. It is at this point in the speech that emotions begin to make an appearance. Sometimes guilt is the best way to make someone understand that what they have done was wrong. Frederick Douglass used this to his advantage by making the white men realize that they were being hypocritical by saying that they deserved their freedom from Great Britain, but the African Americans did not deserve freedom from their bondage as well. Douglass' realism in this story serves a powerful purpose as he tries to convey the fruitlessness of celebration for African Americans on the Fourth of July. Douglass is upfront about the subject, and it shows that he is passionate enough about his people to imply a sense of stupidity about which African Americans should celebrate the day. Essentially, Douglass states that white people are allowed to falsely celebrate the Fourth of July for their "freedom," despite its being stolen, in the sense that we merely ran away from our original English heritage, but African American people should and can not celebrate a freedom on the day because they, still being in technical slavery, are bound by their masters. No matter how African Americans of the time celebrated the Fourth of July, Douglass puts those people to shame for having the audacity to deliberately defy what they were fighting for and to make mockery of the efforts of salvation of rights to the enslaved population.

Douglass, Frederick. from "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro." Glencoe American Literature.comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg 337.