lowly slave that was considered to be a chattel. And it was then that he wanted his freedom. Meanwhile, the venom slave owner began to poison Sophia?s kind nature. Sadly, Douglass was once again a piece of meat and he no longer viewed the black race as one of the whites. Also, his views for white slave owners changed similarly; his heart was filled with abhorrence for them (Douglass 42). There were many times when Douglass thought about running away to become a free man, but there were few times when he was really determined to fulfill the risky and dangerous task. One of the few times came during the year when he worked for Edward Covey. Douglass became a field hand for the first time in his life. It was one of the few times he felt like a slave. He was not skilled in the backbreaking work required of him. Covey was a harsh and brutal slaveholder. Mr. Covey made his slaves work in all weathers. It was never too hot or too cold; it could never rain, blow, hail, or snow, too hard in the field (Douglass 66). And if it wasn?t work, work, work, it was beatings, beatings, and beatings. Douglass was often whipped and battered for not working ?hard enough.? Under Covey, Douglass and the other slaves were treated as the lowlifes of society, as low as horses and pigs. After six months under Covey, Douglass lost interest in reading and the spirited character he once had in him extinguished. He was so sick of working for Covey and being a slave that he finally couldn?t take it anymore, and wanted to be set loose from his shackles of doom (Douglass 63-72). Douglass wished he could swim so he could swim to his freedom or fly like a bird toward a new and better life. He desired for God?s help and asked him to set him free (Douglass 67). Douglass was so sick of being a slave that he even preferred death over bondage (Douglass 82). Throughout Douglass? life, he encountered many different people. But one proved to be a true friend, Sandy Jenkins, a slav...
