On page 268, Douglass fought against Mr Covey and won. We learned how even if there is a system designed to make slaves feel powerless, slaves still hold more power then they realize. Douglass didn’t even face any consequences for fighting Mr Covey either. The reputation of Mr Covey being a slave breaker while it initially didn’t work in Douglass’ favor, this also gave Douglass more power ironically. This also served as an empowerment moment for Douglass since ”the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me.”(Douglass, 268). The spirit of rebellion that many slave holders feared now resided in Douglass. He is ready to die fighting for his freedom and that defiance is exactly what slavery tried to take away from the slaves. In a way, this feels like some some sort if enlightenment. This realization allowed Douglass to see himself as more than a slave; thus, he has the will to become a free man.
The way Douglass description of the fight can almost let me imagine the fight as I am reading. Douglass also never explicitly states the outcome either, but it is implied through how Covey asks ”take a hold of him” to Bill. Covey is the only one bleeding after the fight and is the one to retreat as well. The showing of what happened rather then being told is eloquent writing. His writing doesn’t come off as someone who never had any formal education in writing. He breaks the stereotype surrounding slaves with this very book.
I agree that this is an important episode. Douglass actually does let us know that he believes that he won the fight – that he drew blood from Covey and generally speaking, got the better of him. But of course Covey can’t and won’t admit this.