How Did Frederick Douglass Build A Breaking Point

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass explains, in great detail, how slave master would use a variety of methods to dehumanize slaves located on their plantation. These methods involved both severe physical and psychological trauma. Nevertheless, Douglass remains diligent and finds a way to resist the harsh reality of being a slave. Because of his immovable desire to acquire knowledge to his fighting encounter with Mr. Covey, these experiences help shape Douglass to be the archetype of what it means to go from slavery to freedom. This essay will highlight the physical and psychological tactics used on slaves. In addition, the aspect of how Douglass resists the

Mental deprivation for Frederick Douglass was a far worse experience than the physical imprisonment of slavery for reasons of personal thought and independent knowledge being stripped away from him. He always knew slavery was wrong in the back of his mind, yet he had no idea of what to do about the situation, but when he was finally told how to read by one of his slave master’s wife, that power he was beginning to obtain was immediately stripped away from him and he felt mentally crushed. Lastly, there came a time when through him educating fellow slaves by teaching them how to read the Bible, the group of slaves plotted to escape. When the plan failed, Douglass was separated from his loved ones.

In the “narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass an American slave written by himself” Frederick reveled to audience the time he was living as a slave and the moments of brutal treats for example psychological, emotional and physical abuses. He was suffering terrible moments during his 20 years as a slave in the twentieth century. In addition, he describes in his own words the strategies he used to escape from the slave holders and to be free.

On the contrary, many slaveholders and people with power in the South do not agree with Douglass. Frederick Douglass states, “We were worked fully up to the point of endurance. Long before day we were

Slavery is a topic very capable of putting an emotional weight on a person. This is even more so for those that have actually experienced it first-hand. Frederick Douglass, one of the more influential African-Americans in history, himself, was once a slave. He experienced everything that comes with being a slave in first-person. All the wickedness, hardships, and mental and physical damage, that came with being a slave, were experienced by him. Frederick is able to experience freedom after taking the step himself and escaping slavery. After what is almost an entire life of slavery, one would expect him to have many thoughts floating in his mind about his new found freedom. In the passage from the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass use figures of speech and syntax, and repetition of key phrases to convey his feelings of excitement, insecurity, and loneliness from escaping slavery and arriving in New York in 1838.

After about nine chapters detailing his slave life, he says, “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” (Douglass, 75) He then goes on to describe the turning point for him that sparked his quest for freedom. By structuring his narrative this way, he reveals both sides- how slavery broke him “in body, soul, and spirit” (Douglass, 73) and how it eventually “rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom” within him (Douglass, 80). In doing so, he gives the reader an insight into how he became himself, and reinforces the evils of slavery in the way it shapes a man’s life. Douglass’ use of diction and structure effectively persuades the reader of the barbarity and inhumanity that comes as a result of slavery.

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass describes his journey throughout slavery and elucidates the consequences for working “incorrectly”. Slaves would be whipped and scolded for not working fast enough or even working the wrong way. By treating the slaves the way slaveholders did, the slaves were more like animals than anything else. When Frederick arrived at Covey’s plantation, Frederick would not go a day without being ridiculed. Even if he was doing something right, Covey would find a way to punish Frederick. Anytime Frederick would do something wrong, Covey would punish him by whipping him until the sticks Covey was using broke in his hands. Doing this, Covey and any other slave owner are taking away the slave’s God given rights.

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” This famous quote is from a speech given by one of America’s most influential abolitionist speakers, Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery, this great American leader led a life many of us would find impossible to bear. After gaining his freedom from slavery, Douglass shared his stories through impressive speeches and vivid autobiographies, which helped America move forward as a country liberated from racial inequality. Although Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave allows readers to understand what life was like for slaves in antebellum America, the most important and relevant lesson to take away from this narrative today is the importance of perseverance. Douglass’s courage to resist and learn paired with his determination to keep his faith and ultimately find himself, is something to which people from every culture and time period can relate.

16.        Did Covey break Douglass’ spirit?  How was Douglass reborn?  Why was it a turning point?

The transformation from slave to man occurred both over many years and in the space of a single afternoon. The Narrative in its entirety is a story of that transformation, but the chiasmus found at the beginning of Frederick's fight with Mr. Covey emphasizes that afternoon as the setting for the metamorphosis. In the longer transformation, Douglass was made a man ultimately through his willingness to take risks for the sake of freedom. He learned to read against his master's will, taught his fellow slaves, and attempted escapes, all for the sake of freedom. A slave could not exist as a slave forever with this burning desire for freedom within him. This lifelong risk-taking for the sake of freedom led up to the climactic afternoon where the slave fought the master and regained his manhood. When Douglass fought Mr. Covey, he regained his sense of pride that had been taken away from him. Mentally and spiritually, he was free. It was only a matter of time before he would no longer be a slave physically either. Douglass uses the chiasmus to mark the beginning of this afternoon to ensure that his readers will take note of its importance.

Covey. One day when Douglass has reached beyond the point of true exhaustion and collapses sick, Mr. Covey discovers him. After kicking Douglass several times, "Mr. Covey took up the Hickory slot with which Hughes had been striking off the half-bushel measure, and with it game me (Douglass) a heavy blow upon the head, making a large wound, and the blood ran freely; and with this again told me to get up."(47) This description appears just a few pages before the actual climax of the book, where Douglass stands up to Mr. Covey.

In 1833 Douglass was sent to a “slave breaker” who flagellated him constantly in an effort to physically and mentally break him down. Finally after 6 months of working with covey in all kinds of weather conditions every day except Sunday, Douglass was “broken in body, soul, and spirit.”(Douglass 2064-2128) Douglass lost the will to do anything intellectually he was numbed expressively “my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died…” (Douglass 2064-2128). After enduring this treatment he tried to get protection from his former master and absconded to him. After this covey was set on beating Douglass to death and in a stable he tried where Douglass fought back and told covey “that he had used me like a brute for six months, and that I was determined to be used so no longer.”(Douglass 2064-2128) Only until Douglass seized this opportunity was he no longer subject to covey’s yoke of oppression. No longer bound his mind was free to soar and he was able to pen his autobiography in addition he was also an abolitionist who helped end slavery. His path through slavery was harsh and it took great patience to withstand that condition and to rise up. His experience of slavery was no different than any other slave of the time

With these tools, he would then educate others on the sufferings and wrong doings of the slaves in the South. In Chapter 6, paragraph 3, Douglass states “…I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read” (410). As a man, he strongly looked at slavery and at freedom right in the eyes. In Chapter10, paragraph 9, Douglass states “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man” (424). In this quote he is explaining how he defended and stood up for himself against his Master. This action changed the way by which his Master dealt with him in the future. He did not wait 7 long years hiding out as a frightened slave, hiding and being quiet. As a matter of fact, at the age of twelve, Douglass states in his autobiography “…and the thought of being a slave for life began to bear heavily upon my heart” (412). It took Douglass approximately 8 months of planning before attempting and succeeding in obtaining his freedom. In Chapter 11, paragraph 5, Douglass states “But I remained firm, and, according to my resolution, on the third day of September, 1838, I left my chains, and succeeded in reaching New York without the slightest interruption of any kind” (443). Most of his life, Douglass prepared for freedom. Through many ways, he educated himself so that he could use his knowledge to become free.

After reading chapter 10 in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, there were several key examples of coming to self-hood/manhood. Self-hood is described as someone finding oneself. While Mr. Covey was in the mix of assaulting Mr. Douglass for being ill, this incident would lead Douglass to finding his personal identity as a man. Douglass writes that, “ At this moment I resolved, for the first time, to go to my master, enter a complaint, and ask his protection” (69). Dehumanizing slaves is the process of making them believe they are worthless and they are nothing more than just a slave. I believe at this point, fearing for his Douglass realized he was not just a slave, but more than that, he was a man who was worth something. He had

Douglass’s own personal experiences reveals just how quickly slavery can change a life. On January 1, 1833, Douglass was reassigned to Mr. Covey, a sadistic man who enjoyed catching slaves doing something wrong off guard. In just six months, Douglass was forced to work under all circumstances. He proclaims that “it was never too hot or too cold; it could never rain, blow, hail, or snow, too hard for us to work in the field” (pg 37). The results of this treatment were devastating. Deprived of time to rest and stripped of his dignity, Douglass was “broken in body, soul, and spirit” (pg 38). Eventually, it appears as if Douglass becomes depressed as his “intellect languished”, his “disposition to read departed”, and “the cheerful spark that lingered about his eyes died” (pg 38). From Douglass’s personal experience, readers can see how just minimal exposure to slavery can dehumanize a man into depression. Additionally, Douglass literally says that he was “a man transformed into a brute!” (pg 38). Through Douglass’s experiences, readers can certainly see that slavery dismantles the lives of its poor