Invective

invective: an emotionally violent verbal denunciation or attack using strong, abusive language

"Now, you d-d b-h, I'll learn you how to disobey my orders!"
                                                                           -Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
                                                                                              by Frederick Douglass

This verbal attack serves a dual purpose. The reader is able to ascertain how slaves were thought of by their owners and is made to feel sorry for the slave. Through this quote in his autobiography Douglass shows, instead of merely telling, that slaves were seen as property that should obey orders. He shows that disobedience did not lead to reprimand as with a servant, but to severe punishment. The slave owner did not see the slaves as wholly human. This invective is also meant to stir up the reader to want to do something about the situation of slaves and the issue of slavery.