what, to the american slave, is your fourth of july? i answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all…

what, to the american slave, is your fourth of july? i answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. to him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass - fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery. - frederick douglass the first sentence is an example of a rhetorical question parallelism irony

what, to the american slave, is your fourth of july? i answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. to him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass - fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery. - frederick douglass the first sentence is an example of a rhetorical question parallelism irony

Answer

Brief Explanations:

A rhetorical question is a question asked for effect, not requiring an answer. The first sentence "What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?" is posed to make a point about the slave's experience rather than seeking information. Parallelism involves similar grammatical structures (not seen in the first - sentence focus here). Irony is a contrast between appearance and reality (not the main feature of the first sentence).

Answer:

a rhetorical question