Broken but Restored In 1845, Frederick Douglass wrote his auto biography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. He countlessly conveys his suffering through recollection of his past. Douglass’s writing unveils how he becomes a man, despite being broken in body, soul and spirit. Frederick Douglass is broken in body by awful whippings and punishments. He states that “ Mr. Covey gave me a very severe whipping, cutting my back, causing the blood to run…” This is the first cruel incident, of many to come, that Douglass is involved in. Deserving or not, he will be forced to endure these hardships until the end of his bondage or death, whichever comes first. Soon after, Douglass and Covey fight for nearly two hours. In doing so, Douglass concludes that he, only in mind, is no longer a slave, “ I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact.” He acknowledges that his body may be held in slavery, but his mind never again will be. …show more content…
His words, “...the soul-killing effects of slavery…” emphasize the drastic effect slavery has on not only the slaves, but slave holders as well. It’s detrimental and anarchic grip breaks souls and manifestes even the sweetest people into savage monsters. He is finally able to reach a turning point in his life when he reaches New Bedford. A newspaper named The Liberator “became my meat and my drink. My soul was set all on fire,” says Douglass. He is in awe in how uplifting this newspaper is. It’s faithful exposures of slavery and spirit of the anti-slavery reform inspires Douglass to attend antislavery meetings and