in beating him down, rather than he let him hurt him anymore. We see an example of the true spirit of Mr. Covey with his need to maintain a faade of being a "Negro breaker." Douglass has asserted his strength and will and for anyone to find out the truth of what transpired during the altercation would mean giving up Mr. Covey's well earned, unsubstantiated reputation.Douglass describes this period as being "a glorious resurrection from the tomb of slavery, to the heaven of freedom."(299). The author goes on to talk of having his spirit resonate and rise to the highest level possible in that he was able to see his condition not as one that truly held him in his heart and mind, even if it held him in form. By this I mean to define that moment as one that releases his mind, allowing him the knowledge that he has power to contend with his oppressors and win. It gave him the courage to know that although slavery could hold one in form, through various means of apparent, and real bondage, it could not in fact contain and grip one's mind and spirit unless the enslaved person allowed it to do so. Slavery was a horrible canvas that encompassed all of America whether the North or the South. It sought not only to tear apart a nation but also rather systematically break down and obliterate a culture of a people stolen and sold like barter from a land that they once called their native home. It did this through evasive means of prostitution of black women, separation and elimination of family, and keeping an enslaved people in ignorance by blatantly prohibiting education of slaves. It denied rights of liberty, freedom, and general health and wealth by way of skin color. Its hardships endured by the people often broke their spirits, minds and bodies. This is the way in which slaveholders and other proponents sought to maintain the system. Douglass' resistance afforded him that he could take control of his situation in however a minute wa...
