It is widely known and accepted that humans are superior to animals. Humans can read, write, and have opposable thumbs, while animals cannot or do not have the ability to do these things. Although in reality humans are animals, being called an animal is a comment that many consider offensive. Frederick Douglass, a well-known African American who had escaped slavery, uses this fact in his book, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, to illustrate the inhumane treatment endured by slaves and how mere participation in Slavery affected both the slave and the slave owner. In his novel, he recounts how he began his life, what he experienced, and ultimately how he achieved his goal of becoming educated and escaping the bonds of slavery. Amidst all of this, he uses analogies and draws parallels between the life of the slave and that of the animal. His goal was to illustrate the extreme dehumanizing factor that slavery imparted on his subjects, and in doing so he uses metaphors, similes, and vivid details to help the reader grasp what was really happening during his life and that of others. the people around him. Douglass begins his book by explaining how he began life as a slave and illustrating how much slave owners withheld from their slaves. For example, Douglass explains that he was never told his age and that, until his own death, he did not know his date of birth (19). He did, however, overhear his master in conversation and concluded that he was born around 1818. Not allowing slaves to know too much about themselves had a dehumanizing effect on them, because it implied that the value of a slave was equal. at, or even less than, animals. Douglass reinforces this... middle of paper ...... the evils of slavery affected the owners. In conclusion, Douglass' main argument throughout his novel was that slavery was inhumane to both parties; the slave and the slave owner. Douglass illustrates that slavery was an evil that could turn the kindest soul into one red with rage, as he experienced firsthand. Throughout his novel, Douglass is able to use analogies to compare slavery to animal behavior, and vivid details to put the reader in his place and see it from the slave's point of view. By using these rhetorical elements, Douglass is able to more fully explain the dehumanizing effect that slavery had on his subjects and how fortunate he was to be able to educate himself and escape what he calls “a den of hungry lions”. , Frederick. Story of Frederick Douglass, an American slave. New York: Barnesand Nobles Classics, 2003. Print.