Realism in "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro"

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech to a white audience entitled “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” (Douglass 337). This work contains many of the characteristics involved in literature of the genre of Realism. Obviously the speech fits the time period when the Realism movement began. The simple style used as well as the content concerning the social structure and society at the time are both characteristics of Realism. The words of Frederick Douglass serve as a perfect example of Realism in his speech, “The Meaning of July Fourth to the Negro.”

This speech fits the characteristic of the time in which it was written. The speech was delivered in 1852, right during the civil war (Douglass 337). Douglass became a fugitive from slavery in 1838 and started writing as a strong advocate for abolition (Watts). This shows that Douglass’s writing started right around the time of the beginning of the literary movement of Realism, making him one of the most important founders of the genre.

In his speech, Douglass speaks of the society of the African American slaves and that of the white Americans (Douglass 337). The entire speech revolves around how it is an injustice that the whites celebrate the Fourth of July because it is truly a day of sorrow, as it represents the cruelty that has been brought upon the slaves in America (Douglass 337). This is exactly the type of subject matter that is dealt with in American Realism. Issues about the way people are being treated by different levels of the social ladder are addressed which is a factor that defines this speech as a work of Realism.

As well as both the time period in which the speech was written and the subject matter of it, there is also a simple style used in the writing that contributes to this being a work of Realism. In the excerpt of the speech, Douglass uses very simple sentence structure making comparisons of how the whites feel and celebrate the holiday to how the slaves feel about the whites’ celebration (Douglass 337). This simple style, lacking much of an artistic flow was very popular to the style of Realism. Douglass uses this style to get his point across, with a strong, assertive tone presented to show the emotion felt by the slave population while still only presenting facts in the nature of a work of Realism.

Frederick Douglass is one of the leaders of the movement of Realism literature as he began his writing near the same time in which the movement began. He used styles typical to Realism of simple sentences with an almost monotonous flow while still delivering a very important message. The fact that this message was concerning the social issues of feelings towards a particular holiday of two different groups of people adds to this speech being a work of Realism. Frederick Douglass’ “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” is an ideal example of Realism as this speech is one of the first to be written in that particular style.


Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. from "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro." Glencoe American Literature.comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg 337.

Watts, Linda S. "Douglass, Frederick." Encyclopedia of American Folklore. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Online. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAFolk192&SingleRecord=True February 7, 2011.