dwork. In a few months, Douglas was broken. The whippings were numerous and the work was hard. Douglas was broken in body, soul and spirit. His intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered around the eye died. Behold, once an intelligent man now a brute. A bonded man without pride.This did not last long in deed for in a few months, Douglas’ non-slave like characteristics would arise again. Covey would go to whip him (Douglas had avoided his whippings by running away and hiding). Douglas refused to be whipped. This caused a fight between the two that would result in a stand off. This allowed Douglas to be free of whippings from Mr. Covey. No word was ever spoken of this incident for if word did get out then Covey would not have any more slaves to break. His reputation as a nigger breaker was one that he held dear and did not want to lose. Douglas proved himself to be brave. Brave enough to stand up to a man that was know for his cruelty. The battle revived Douglas thoughts of freedom and it became that turning point in his career as a slave. It revived his sense of manhood.Douglas was determined to live a free life. He tried to escape from bondage not once, but twice. After betrayal the first time, Douglas was sent to the city once again to live with the Auld family. Douglas picked up a trade and worked to gain wages. He devised a plan where he would contract his time and would pay Mr. Auld six dollars a week to allow him to do this. He would allow Mr. Auld to trust that he would not run away. He did this by working hard and giving Mr. Auld all of his wages. He would make Mr. Auld very happy and content with this agreement. At the height of this, Douglas escaped bondage. He was able to outwit his master and escape from the hells of slavery.Among the slaves, there were few who one could point out to be men for they lacked the intelligence, determination and bravery...
