In Chapter 10 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass recounts his experience working at Mr. Covey's plantation, and it was there that Douglass says he became a man. Mr. Covey is a cruel slave owner, and he beats his own slaves and the slaves whom he rented from other owners. One day, he beats Douglass after he fainted from the grueling work, and Douglass resolves to run back to his own master...
In Chapter 10 of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass recounts his experience working at Mr. Covey's plantation, and it was there that Douglass says he became a man. Mr. Covey is a cruel slave owner, and he beats his own slaves and the slaves whom he rented from other owners. One day, he beats Douglass after he fainted from the grueling work, and Douglass resolves to run back to his own master to report Mr. Covey. But Douglass's master had already made a contract with Mr. Covey, so he will not stand up for Douglass and sends him back to the plantation. Before returning, Douglass gets a supposedly magical root from another slave named Sandy, and Douglass returns to Mr. Covey's planation with a new resolve to stand up to him. And indeed he does: the two battle for hours, and Douglass is victorious in the end. For the rest of Douglass's time on the plantation, Mr. Covey does not cross him. Douglass says that this battle was a "turning point for him" and that through it he gained a sense of self-worth and self-respect:
"You have seen how a man becomes a slave. You shall see how a slave became a man."
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