Columbia College



Directions for applicant: Imagine that you are teaching a class in academic writing for first-year college students. In your class, drafts are not graded. Instead, you give students feedback and allow them to revise their essays before submitting them for grades. In response to your first essay assignment (given below), you have received the following draft from Lia, one of your students. Write a brief end comment (250 words max.) in which you offer advice to Lia about how she might revise her essay. You do not need to submit a marked version of the sample student paper itself. We will be considering only your end comment.Lia’s assignment: Find a problem, tension, or complication that emerges from your textual analysis of a particular aspect of Frederick Douglass’s essay “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” and craft an argument about your textual analysis so that it helps a reader understand Douglass’s essay in a more nuanced way. You should not use any additional sources. Lia X.University WritingDouglass’s Dual Identity: A Tool for Understanding and ChangeDichotomies dominate Douglass’ What to the Slave is the 4th of July. Slavery is evil, while morality calls for abolition; white Northerners’ silence strengthens the peculiar institution, while their voices dismantle it; slavery defiles liberty and freedom, while America embraces them. The reader can even split the tone and content of Douglass’ speech into two overarching portions: a seemingly relaxed, praiseful beginning and a more urgent, accusatory end. Douglass, however, diverges from the use of dichotomies when he considers his relationship to his audience. Douglass progresses from identifying with them and viewing himself as their equal to dissociating from his audience and outlining their differences. He chooses to exist in a liminal space, simultaneously an outsider and insider, an American and foreigner. Douglass quickly establishes this dual identity to legitimize his arguments and help his audience rethink their powerful role in American society, which slowly prepares them for his forthcoming direct, urgent, and seemingly unexpected criticisms of their beloved country.Immediately, Douglass both identifies with–and distinguishes himself from–his audience. Douglass opens his speech with, “Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens” (1). He instantly creates a bond with his audience by addressing them as “fellow citizens” rather than “citizens.” Although he is not technically a citizen under the law, Douglass refuses to other himself and claims US citizenship as his own. By making this claim from the beginning, Douglass justifies his right to speak about American society and Independence Day; he erases his status as an outsider by becoming a “fellow-citizen.” Nonetheless, Douglass quickly embraces this outsider identity. He states, “That I am here to-day is, to me, a matter of astonishment as well as of gratitude… I have been able to throw my thoughts hastily and imperfectly together; and trusting to your patient and generous indulgence, I will proceed to lay them before you” (1). Douglass establishes himself as the sole speaker and everyone else as the listeners. In this unique role, his success hinges on the listeners’ decision to relinquish their attention to him. Like a subject presenting to a king, Douglass must “lay” his ideas before the audience and hope they are viewed favorably. Vulnerability defines his role, while power radiates from his audience; as Douglass–filled with shock, gratitude and doubt–performs, the listeners wait at ease for his next words. Douglass emphasizes his distinct role and experience as the speaker when he says, “To me,” in addition to, “I.” By creating this small, yet clear, divide between himself and his audience, Douglass subtlety introduces the room’s unequal power dynamics without explicitly mentioning race or contrasting his experiences as a black man with those of his white audience. This introduction prepares his audience to hear and understand the more personal, pointed arguments that Douglass later offers.Douglass creates more meaningful distinctions between himself and his audience yet also continues to highlight their similarities. He explains the significance of the 4th of July and states, “It is the birthday of your National Independence, and of your political freedom...It carries your minds back to the day [and] your great deliverance… This celebration also marks the beginning of another year of your national life” (2). By repeatedly saying “your,” Douglass emphasizes how the consequences of the Declaration of Independence, such as “National Independence” and “political freedom,” only apply to his white audience; the holiday belongs to them. As a black person, not a citizen, the founding document fails to grant him liberty. Douglass also distances himself from his audience when he prefaces “minds” and “great deliverance” with “your” instead of “our.” This deliberate choice implies that he and his audience think differently, hold different memories, and have experienced different histories. While the 4th of July celebration seems to transport his audience back to a historical moment of pride, it leaves Douglass behind because no such moment ever existed for him. Even more so, “your national life” suggests that America was born not to benefit or include Douglass, but rather his white audience. Douglass soon says, “I am glad, fellow-citizens, that your nation is so young” (2). After continuously distancing himself from his audience, Douglass reaffirms his closeness to them as their fellow citizen. Interestingly, he does so while maintaining the distance as he still calls it, “Your nation.” Thus, he assumes both the role of an American patriot who wants the best for his country and of a foreigner who observes another’s nation, which legitimizes his opinions and prompts his audience to recognize their privilege throughout history. By establishing a strong dual identity, Douglass invites his audience into his liminal space and helps train them to digest his future critiques.As his speech progresses, Douglass strengthens the directness of his language and his disassociation from his audience. He says, “Citizens, your fathers… succeeded; and to-day you reap the fruits of their success. The freedom gained is yours; and you, therefore, may properly celebrate this anniversary” (4). In a discussion about the successful fight for freedom, which he still fights, Douglass places his audience in a separate category from himself; he no longer identifies as their “fellow-citizen.” Unlike citizens of America, who “[reaped] the fruits” of the War of Independence and gained their freedom, Douglass remains shackled by his blackness (4). The “fathers” who fought the British to secure liberty only did so for their descendants: the white audience. Although Douglass and his audience live in the same country, “your fathers” suggests that they belong to distinct families with distinct cultures, histories and inheritances. By stating, “The freedom gained is yours,” rather than, “Your freedom,” Douglass assumes a new, forthright tone and directly signals to his audience that freedom belongs to them and only them. Similarly, he demands his audience’s attention and forces them to confront their privilege of citizenship when he addresses them straightforwardly with “you.” Douglass fully separates himself from his audience again when he says, “Friends and citizens… the causes which lead to [American independence] have all been taught in your common schools, narrated at your firesides, unfolded from your pulpits, and thundered from your legislative halls” (6). When referring to a discussion that justifies white people’s freedom from Britain and excludes black liberty, Douglass chooses not to identify with his audience as their “fellow citizen.” He and other blacks live in a separate world defined by an ongoing struggle for freedom, while citizens discuss what led to their independence in their schools, places of worship, governments and homes. Drawing this clear distinction between himself and his audience along the lines of citizenship asks his audience to consider the paucity of rights for blacks living in America. Doing so without directly blaming his audience preps them for his forthcoming actual criticisms. When Douglass finally criticizes his audience, he initially softens his disapproval by muddling their responsibility for America’s status quo. Douglass says, “We fear the lesson [learned from Britain trying to control America] is wholly lost on our present ruler” (3). Unlike earlier examples in which Douglass simply addresses the privileges that whites gained from the 4th of July, here Douglass implies that whites are betraying the very values for which their ancestors fought by maintaining the institution of slavery. However, by placing “we” and “our present ruler” on opposing sides, Douglass seems to suggest that his audience disagrees with the status quo and already agrees with his point. Similarly, Douglass states, “We seldom hit upon resolutions, drawn up in our day whose transparency is at all equal to [the Declaration of Independence]” (4). Douglass condemns his audience’s failure to mimic the Declaration’s strong moral stance for freedom with respect to enslaved Africans. Interestingly, Douglass uses “we” and identifies with his audience, appearing to accept blame for the country’s inequality despite his complete lack of power in society. Douglass also says, “[Your fathers’] solid manhood stands out the more as we contrast it with these degenerate times” (5). When Douglass asks his audience to confront the modern pitfalls of America in the context of their ancestors' brave struggle for liberty, he employs the inclusive “we.” Although Douglass already grasps why America is “degenerate,” he still inserts himself into the action of understanding its ills. In all three instances, Douglass subtly changes his words to either divert responsibility for slavery away from his audience or place some blame for its existence on himself. These shifts soften Douglass’ attack on his audience’s failure to abolish slavery, which makes his critiques more palatable and the audience more likely to validate them and his future direct and personal criticisms.In the second part of his speech, Douglass suddenly shifts to an urgent tone and condemns his audience and American society. However, his continuous usage of his dual identity and slow development of his critiques lessen the jarringness and unexpectedness of his seemingly new and forthright condemnations. Douglass’ techniques also physically destabilize his audience, making them live in a liminal space throughout his speech. Since they, too, experience both a sense of belonging and foreignness, his audience is all the more ready for, and understanding of, Douglass’s shift to revolutionary rhetoric. Douglass deconstructs his audience’s dichotomies, builds up their stamina to criticism, and empowers them to digest the ugly truth about their inaction and beloved nation. Works CitedDouglass, Frederick. “What to the Slave Is the 4th of July?” Teaching American History. 5 July 1852, library/document/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july/. ................
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