Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Frederick Douglass Pat 2 by C. B.

Fredrick Douglass was raised as an enslaved man in the south. Douglass was treated surprisingly well for a slave in his younger years, but when he grew up he was rented for a year to a man named Edward Covey where he received more severe punishment and labor than he was used too. For example Douglass is told to guide a team of unbroken oxen that are very uncooperative; when Douglass fails Covey takes matters into his own hands and rushes Douglass rips off his shirt and starts whipping him. Covey is a different type of master he works in the fields with his slaves; in fact often he would crawl through the corn fields to sneak up on slaves to see if they were resting. This act received him the name “the snake” among the slaves. Covey says that he is a religious man and firmly believes is even though he is guilty of sins like adultery and beating down another human. Douglasses first six months as a slave under Covey were his hardest times as a slave, he was exhausted, hungry, and lost his love of learning.  One day Douglass is in the stables and Covey tries t ties up his legs but Douglass wants no part of this and decides to fight back after a little struggle Covey backs off and actually never punishes Douglass in a physical manner again. One thing that Douglass hates is religious slaveowners because he says they use the bible and religion to justify the horrible things that they do.
              The author of this piece of writing is trying to show people a first hand look at slavery and just how bad it is. When reading this you get a vibe from the author that they want you to feel bad that slavery ever took place. It comes off as a learning experience with a great triumph at the end though showing that it can be over come and once Douglass did escape he went on to do great things for people of color and women, everyone who didn’t have equal rights.
              Once Douglass became a free man he used his skills of intellect to do wonders for man kind. Douglass wrote many memoirs on equal writes and slavery. Douglass ended up traveling the world speaking at conferences and spreading his beliefs on equal rights. Douglass went to Germany, Egypt, England and many more places he was majorly successful throughout his life. We discovered that he even went back to his old slave master to basically say look what I’ve accomplished. Fredrick Douglass was an extraordinary man who over came so much and changed the world for the better.