He was incredibly sneaky, watching every move his slaves made from a hidden distance, after noting them he was leaving town, or going for a ride. He gave Douglass the worst whippings of all. A quote Frederick made after having lived with Covey six months was "Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit." (pg. 284). One hot August day, working for Mr. Covey, Frederick passed out, and was kicked repeatedly and hit in the head with a hickory slot. Nothing, for Fredericks sake could be done. A few days later though, Covey attempted in tying up Frederick for a whipping. A fight arose between the two, lasting over two hours. Covey, coming out of the fight bloody, never laid a finger on Frederick again. "This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning-point in my career as a slave.", noted Frederick. (pg. 290).
The people noted above made a difference in Fredericks life by being so negative toward him and treating him so badly. This treatment encouraged him to look past the state he was in and try to improve and show to everyone he was not just some slave to mistreat and use. There were also a few people in his life, that through their kindness and help, made Frederick realize that he could do better than slavery as long as he was willing to work for it.
Mrs. Auld was one of these people. Her and her husband, Mr. Hugh Auld, were a kind couple that took in Frederick for help watching over their son, Thomas. In the meantime, Mrs. Auld was teaching Frederick the alphabet and how to read. A good deal had been taught to Frederick when Mr. Auld found what his wife had been up to and made her stop immediately. He claimed to her that if a slave was to have knowledge he was worthless. Frederick, hearing this, was now determined to learn as much as he possibly could. Without the further help of Mrs. Auld, he moved on to neighborhood kids that were attending school for education.
