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Definition of Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a character's understanding of a given situation, and that of the... read full definition
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a character's understanding of a given... read full definition
Dramatic irony is a plot device often used in theater, literature, film, and television to highlight the difference between a... read full definition
Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Abolition:
In Chapter 7, Douglass describes the dramatic irony of hearing the term "abolition" and not knowing what it means. He describes how he had to seek out the term's meaning, and he emphasizes that learning the meaning was life-changing:
I often found myself regretting my own existence, and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself, or done something for which I should have been killed. While in this state of mind, I was eager to hear any one speak of slavery. I was a ready listener. Every little while, I could hear something about the abolitionists. It was some time before I found what the word meant.
Douglass goes on to write about his gradual emergence from the dark on the subject of abolition. He can't just read a definition; he must encounter the word in usage a number of times before he understands what it means and why he feels like it has special meaning for him. Douglass allows readers to see the irony that enslaved people, whose lives will be most dramatically affected by abolition, are cut out from the conversation about it. Indeed, enslavers try not to allow enslaved people to learn about abolition so that they will not enter the conversation. Enslavers were only too content to allow the conversation to take place among mostly white people, who usually held, at the very least, implicit biases against Black people. Even among liberal white Northerners, there was racist concern that formerly enslaved people would not be able to succeed as self-sufficient American citizens. By keeping real enslaved people from responding to this concern, enslavers allowed it to flourish.
This passage shows how cruel the irony is. The very idea of abolition provides Douglass with the hope to keep living when he is deeply depressed about his situation in life. Not only does the conversation around abolition need voices like Douglass's, but people like Douglass also need the idea of abolition to provide a light in the darkness of enslavement. This is one of many instances in which Douglass demonstrates that during his enslavement, the things he needed for spiritual survival as a human were kept from him. The resolution of this dramatic irony, through Douglass's amateur detective work, is emblematic of his character as a self-made man. Whereas white children have their needs met by the adults in their lives, Douglass seeks out and takes what he needs for himself. It's no coincidence that white American readers accepted him as a symbol of Black success given that in the U.S., the self-made man is a popular archetype. Douglass is telling the truth about his own life, but he does it in a strategic way. By emphasizing his self-sufficiency, he advances his goal of proving (to skeptical white readers) that emancipated Black people will be able to succeed as Americans.
Related Themes:
