1. Evan Blanpied, Ben Felps, Julian Salmon, Jason Varghese

2. Passage Chapter: 10Page: 59 Our house stood within a few rods of the Chesapeake Bay, whose broad bosom was ever white with sails from every quarter of the habitable globe. Those beautiful vessels, robed in purest white, so delightful to the eye of freemen, were to me so many shrouded ghosts, to terrify and torment me with thoughts of my wretched condition [1]. I have often, in the deep stillness of a summer's Sabbath, stood all alone upon the lofty banks of that noble bay [2], and traced, with saddened heart and tearful eye, the countless number of sails moving off to the mighty ocean. The sight of these always affected me powerfully. My thoughts would compel utterance; and there, with no audience but the Almighty, I would pour out my soul's complaint, in my rude way, with an apostrophe to the moving multitude of ships:--[1]lofty[2] "You are loosed from your moorings, and are free [3]; I am fast in my chains, and am a slave! You move merrily before the gentle gale, and I sadly before the bloody whip! You are freedom's swift-winged angels, that fly round the world [4]; I am confined in bands of iron! O that I were free! O, that I were on one of your gallant decks [5], and under your protecting wing! Alas! betwixt me and you, the turbid waters roll. Go on, go on. O that I could also go! Could I but swim! If I could fly [6]! O, why was I born a man, of whom to make a brute! The glad ship is gone; she hides in the dim distance. I am left in the hottest hell of unending slavery. O God, save me! God, deliver me! Let me be free! Is there any God? Why am I a slave? I will run away. I will not stand it [7]. Get caught, or get clear [8], I'll try it. I had as well die with ague as the fever. I have only one life to lose. I had as well be killed running as die standing. Only think of it; one hundred miles straight north, and I am free! Try it? Yes! God helping me, I will. It cannot be that I shall live and die a slave. I will take to the water. This very bay shall yet bear me into freedom. The steamboats steered in a northeast course from North Point. I will do the same; and when I get to the head of the bay, I will turn my canoe adrift, and walk straight through Delaware into Pennsylvania. When I get there, I shall not be required to have a pass; I can travel without being disturbed. Let but the first opportunity offer, and, come what will, I am off. Meanwhile, I will try to bear up under the yoke [9]. I am not the only slave in the world. Why should I fret? I can bear as much as any of them. Besides, I am but a boy, and all boys are bound to some one. It may be that my misery in slavery will only increase my happiness when I get free. There is a better day coming."moorings[3][4]gallant[5]betwixtturbid[6][7][8]ague yoke[9]

3. Annotation 1 “Those beautiful vessels, robed in purest white, so delightful to the eye of freemen, were to me so many shrouded ghosts, to terrify and torment me with thoughts of my wretched condition.” Douglass uses antithesis by contrasting the pure white, delightful boats that free men see to the shrouded ghosts that he sees. He emphasizes the vast differences in daily life between the free and the enslaved, as the deep, lasting effects of slavery cause slaves to experience terror from things as simple as seeing boats, which most people take joy in seeing. Douglass’ strong lust for freedom causes him to experience this pain.antithesis Return to passage

4. Annotation 2 “I have often, in the deep stillness of a summer's Sabbath, stood all alone upon the lofty banks of that noble bay”lofty In this sentence, Douglass uses alliteration through his repetition of the letter “s”. By employing this rhetorical device, he conveys the idea that a slave lives powerlessly and in solitude, allowing the reader to better understand the suffering that he has experienced throughout his life. Repetition in this case implies that his suffering is never ending.alliteration Return to passage

5. Annotation 3 "You are loosed from your moorings, and are free”moorings This is an example of apostrophe. Douglass uses this rhetorical strategy to express his deep longing for freedom by talking directly to the boat. The boat is his symbol for freedom, as it can sail wherever it pleases without restrictions. This contributes to the novel’s overall message of hopefulness for a free life and an end to slavery.apostrophe Return to passage

6. Annotation 4 “You are freedom's swift-winged angels, that fly round the world” In this sentence, Douglass employs the rhetorical devices of apostrophe and metaphor by speaking to the boat, referring to it as a “swift-winged angel”. The boat is able to sail around the world freely, just like an angel. He is conveying his envy of the free status of the boat, desiring to become free himself. apostrophemetaphor Return to passage

7. Annotation 5 “gallant decks”gallant In this case, Douglass uses personification to describe the boat as “gallant”. He sees the ocean as vast and mighty, and as a result, he describes the boat that enters at its own risk as brave and daring. Douglass is envious of the gallant boat, and one day hopes to break the chains of slavery and obtain freedom. Return to passage

8. Annotation 6 “O that I could also go! Could I but swim! If I could fly!” ParallelismParallelism is used in this passage through repetition of the word “could”. This parallelism furthers his tone of yearning and desire for freedom because the word “could” implies that Douglass does not have the power to carry out these actions, although he wishes he did. He also equates the word “fly”, which is physically impossible for all humans, to “go”, which is impossible for slaves who are bound to serving their masters. Return to passage

9. Annotation 7 “O God, save me! God, deliver me! Let me be free! Is there any God? Why am I a slave? I will run away. I will not stand it.” The short structure of these sentences creates a sense of abruptness and desperateness for the reader. Similarly to the content of this section of the passage, Douglass shifts to a tone of frustration, emphasizing his hate for slavery and overwhelming desire to obtain freedom by any means necessary. Return to passage

10. Annotation 8 “Get caught, or get clear” Douglass employs antithesis in this sentence by using parallel structure to contrast the words “caught” and “clear”, which have opposite meanings in this context. By using this rhetorical device, he emphasizes the direness of his situation (as he only has two drastically different options) and his overwhelming desire to escape.antithesisparallel structure Return to passage

11. Annotation 9 “I will try to bear up under the yoke.”yoke Douglass uses this metaphor to compare his situation to that of an ox bound by a yoke. He feels that he is being treated like an animal that is forced to do work against its will for the benefit of its master. This metaphor effectively illustrates how Douglass is being chained down by slavery.metaphor Return to passage

12. Alliteration noun the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words, often in parallel structureparallel structure Return to passage

13. Antithesis noun establishing a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them Return to passage

14. Apostrophe noun the addressing of a usually absent person or a usually personified thing rhetoricallypersonified Return to passage

15. Metaphor noun a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable Return to passage

16. Parallelism noun several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed with similar grammatical structure to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences are equal in importance Return to passage

17. Personification noun the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form Return to passage

18. Ague noun a fever (as malaria) marked by paroxysms of chills, fever, and sweating that recur at regular intervalsparoxysms Return to passage

19. Betwixt preposition between Return to passage

20. Gallant adjective showing courage; very brave Return to passage

21. Lofty adjective rising to a great height Return to passage

22. Mooring noun a place where a boat or ship can be anchored Return to passage

23. Paroxysm noun a sudden attack or increase of symptoms of a disease (such as pain, coughing, shaking, etc.) that often occurs again and again Return to passage

24. Turbid adjective thick or opaque with or as if with roiled sediment Return to passage

25. Yoke noun a bar or frame that is attached to the heads or necks of two work animals (such as oxen) so that they can pull a plow or heavy load Return to passage