Mr.Covey and Fredrick fight

greenspun.com : LUSENET : americanlit : One Thread

When Mr.Covey and Fredrick had a major fight, Fredrick faught back however why did Mr. Covey not kill him? Either then or later as he had the means too. He would have been able to justify it somehow. I wonder if Mr. Covey was a coward underneath all his powerful/controlling slave master personality..

-- Anonymous, February 05, 2000

Answers

I would agree that Mr. covey was a coward. As a "nigger breaker" he relied upon his fine reputation to procure slaves to do his field work. The two hour fight that Covey did not win proved that he could not break Douglass. Perhaps, Covey feared the next whipping would incite another fight with Douglass. If it became known a slave had beaten him in a fight his reputation would be tarnished in the community. Other slaveholdrs might not allow Covey the use of their slaves and he would suffer financially.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2000

I believe the reason Mr. Covey did not kill him was simply because Fredrick was not considered his property. Covey was to use and break Fredrick in a one year period. After that, Covey was to return Fredrick to his owner. Killing Fredrick would not have made this possible.

-- Anonymous, February 08, 2000

Moderation questions? read the FAQ