What effect is achieved by using a series of questions in this speech?A.

It conveys a sense of wonderment about the tenets of the Declaration of Independence.

B.

It gets the audience to start thinking about whether the Declaration of Independence was beneficial for the slaves.

C.

It makes the audience begin to resent the policies and practices of the US government.

D.

It creates a parallel structure intended to urge the audience to protest against the Declaration of Independence.

Answer:

B. It gets the audience to start thinking about whether the Declaration of Independence was beneficial for the slaves.

Explanation:

The 1852 speech of Frederick Douglass's "What to the slave is the Fourth of July" is a criticism of the American people's incapability to acknowledge the real issue at home. They protested against the British's presence in American soil, got freedom and now they are celebrating it. But they also failed to accept the real situation within it's own people where the blacks are being kept under the slavery system. The very oppression that they are fighting against is what they are doing to the blacks, and that is the real issue they need to deal with.

From the excerpt of the speech he gave on the 5th of July, 1852, right after America's celebration of Independence, Douglass emphasized the issue of oppression and bondage that his people are still under. Though America may claim to be free, she also has to ensure the freedom of each and every individual, not just some parts of the society. He puts forward a series of questions in his argument to make the people see the real issue, but not from him. They will make the people question the motives and real basis of the Declaration of Independence.