Frederick Douglass And His Life - 1494 Words

Frederick Douglass believed that all people were born equal, but he also believed that humans were not just automatically born free. He deduced that man has the innate instinctive ability to mold themselves into whoever they wanted to become. So, naturally self-improvement and education were two crucial aspects of Frederick’s life. To Douglass the most horrific thing about slavery was the fact that slaves were totally and completely precluded from and form of education, which prevented them from improving themselves. Douglass worked exceedingly hard to obtain an education in order to ultimately become a free man. Although he still had to physically escape slavery his education played a vital role in his journey to freedom. Frederick†¦show more content†¦Only when he witnessed the whipping of his Aunt Hester did he truly realize what true suffering really was. That event definitely desensitized Douglass to the dehumanization that slaves were subjected to. His personal introduction to affliction was when he was sent to work for Edward Covey. However, it was the time spent with Covey that Frederick learned to overcome suffering. Edward Covey was a poor man with a nasty reputation when it came to the treatment of slaves. â€Å"Slave owners give Covey their slaves for one year, during which he â€Å"breaks† the slaves while using them as free labor on his land.† (sparknotes.com). Frederick recalled his time spent with Covey as being the hardest time he had ever spent as a slave. Douglass was worked to exhaustion and weakened by Coveys harsh punishments. The more Frederick was dehumanized by Covey the more he lost his drive, desire to learn, and natural liveliness. Douglass even contemplated committing suicide or even killing Covey, but both thoughts terrified him beyond belief. Covey lived on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay. It was a frequent thing for ships to pass by his house. To Douglass the ships with their beautiful white sails sy mbolized freedom. Douglass recalled â€Å"standing on the bank and speaking aloud to the ships, asking them why they should be free and he enslaved.† (sparknotes.com). He begged for Gods deliverance and vowed to