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The Heroic Slave
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Literary Devices
Allusions
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism.
Douglass uses allusions, or references, to various people and figures. His historical allusions include the Founding Fathers Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. Aligning the American Revolution with the Creole enslaved people’s revolt is a way to argue for its morality. Just as America broke free from British rule, Douglass argues, enslavement should be abolished, and formerly enslaved Black people should receive equal treatment to white people.
Another historical and religious figure whom Douglass references is the martyr Erasmus. He is the patron saint of sailors, which reflects how the revolt that Madison leads is at sea. Erasmus is persecuted for being a Christian and hides for a while to avoid the torture at Antioch. An angel helps Erasmus escape. Mr. Listwell thinks of this story when he has to hide his abolitionist views at the tavern outside of Richmond.
Douglass also uses allusions from myth. For example, he describes Madison as someone with “Herculean strength.” This is a reference to the myth of Hercules performing 12 labors; he is a God of strength and heroes. Invoking Hercules to describe Madison develops his characterization as a hero.
Similes
There are many similes—or comparisons of one thing to another using “like” or “as”—in “The Heroic Slave.” At the beginning of the story, the narrator indicates that it’s difficult to track Madison’s life because records of enslaved people are spotty, at best. Douglass uses a storm simile to describe this: “Like a guiding star on a stormy night, he is seen through the parted clouds and the howling tempest; or, like the gray peak of a menacing rock on a perilous coast, he is seen by the quivering flash of angry lightning, and he again disappears covered with mystery” (2). Only Madison’s great deeds, such as the enslaved people’s revolt, are remembered; these are compared with glimpsing a star and a rock. The rest of his life is obscured and unseen.
Douglass also uses a simile to describe seeking freedom from enslavement. Madison says that leaving his enslaver, wife, and children was “like taking a leap into the dark” (12). He has not only traveled by night but also felt like he was jumping into the unknown.
Ekphrasis
Another literary device that Douglass uses is ekphrasis, or descriptions of visual art in writing. He uses it to delineate important moments by imagining them as works of art. For example, Listwell tells Madison, “From that hour, your face seemed to be daguerreotyped on my memory” (11). A daguerreotype is a type of photograph from the 19th century. Madison’s appearance lingers in Listwell’s mind like a photograph, illustrating how moved he was when he heard Madison’s lament. In another moment, when Listwell sees Madison in the enslaved gang, he thinks, “Here was a scene for the pencil!” (33). In other words, it is a scene worth recording through art, specifically drawing. This reflects how Douglass records The Horrors of Enslavement with words; both are art forms that can inform and persuade the reader or viewer.
Repetition
Repetition is another literary device in Douglass’s story. For instance, the word “liberty” is repeated 15 times in “The Heroic Slave.” This emphasizes its importance; The Pursuit of Liberty is Madison’s goal in life. Liberty was a key part of the rhetoric of the Founding Fathers that later appeared in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag in the phrase “liberty and justice for all.” Douglass’s use of this diction highlights how enslaved people who revolted were similar to people who participated in the American Revolution.
Douglass also directly acknowledges the literary device of repetition. When Listwell overhears Madison, he notes that Madison “end[s] each speech by an emphatic declaration of his purpose to be free. It seem[s] that the very repetition of this, impart[s] a glow to his countenance” (5). Repetition is a kind of ritual or mantra that gives Madison energy. His use of this literary device is one way to illustrate his intelligence. Douglass’s metatextual comment implies that a Black man who uses this rhetoric is not subhuman but equal to white people—a central part of abolitionist literature.
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