Realism in Douglass's "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro"

The writing of Frederick Douglass is a great example of the Realism writing period. In an excerpt from his work, "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro," he demonstrates not only a reflection of the events and social ideals of his time, but he shows characteristics of the genre of realism in his writing and opinions. Abby Werlock describes realism in general as, "the attempt to depict life as it really exists, not as the author wants it to be in the present or future." Since his speech was delivered in 1852, right during the Civil War (Douglass 337), this is very true of Douglass's work because he is simply stating the unfortunate facts dealing with slavery. He states that the white people of the time can and will falsely celebrate freedom on the Fourth of July, but the African American people can do no such thing because, unlike the white people, they are not free from the chains of slavery although they may be technically "free" (Douglass 337). It definitely depicts the truth of that period directly following the Civil War; although all of the slaves were free, the African Americans were still oppressed greatly due to things such as the Black Codes and the Ku Klux Klan. This work characterizes realism because Douglass tries to speak these truths through his writing by almost preaching the constant struggles of his people, and he does so with simple structure, yet powerful words. This was a common theme throughout the Realism period because this way, the words were more powerful and direct rather than "beating around the bush" so to speak. From the context of his speech, one may be able to tell that during this period, July Fourth specifically, it seems that the entire country is joyous, and Douglass attempts to tell the readers that this is certainly not the case. He exemplifies this point when he says, "This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn..." (Douglass 337). It is not his intent, but Douglass indirectly links his writing to government and religion when he speaks of these topics. From a governmental point of view, Douglass exploits the moral flaws at this time because of his realistic traits. Religion comes into play as well because this literature is a moral tragedy, but Douglass does not address it. With this moral dilemma, human nature also comes into play. Douglass addresses the travesty of slavery which has a direct correlation of human nature and its flaws. More specifically, he speaks of vanity and false pride exhibited by the white people on July Fourth because they think everybody is "free" (Douglass 337). Douglass does exemplify the American Dream in this work, but it is more in the opposite sense. He addresses it as an unachievable goal for the Negro, but the white man seems to be living it, even if it is a fallacy. Overall, Frederick Douglass appears to be one of the great writers, if not leaders, during the Realism period because of his simple approach, strong and eye opening messages, and relevance to the social struggles of the time period in which he lived.


Douglass, Frederick. "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro." American Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 337. Print

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0575&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 9, 2011).