Frederick Douglass was not born the prolific abolitionist as he is known today. Douglass observed and faced experiences that helped shape his decision to escape and try to end slavery. Frightening and sadistic scenes like Aunt Hester's whipping were what opened Douglass's young eyes to slavery, eyes that were then innocent in the face of slavery's atrocities. Since realizing the reality of his situation, Douglass achieved the mental and physical freedom that would help transform the slave Frederick Bailey into the man Frederick Douglass. As shown in Douglas's autobiography Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass first gained his mental freedom through education, a door that opened for him by learning to read. His physical freedom would not be so easy to claim, as seen in his rebellious fight against Covey. Instances like these are what gave Douglass the power to gain freedom and fight to end slavery. During the early years of slavery, Douglass was "far from the bloody scenes that often occurred on the plantation." (Douglass, 20) Captain Anthony's flogging of Aunt Hester made the brutality of slavery crystal clear to young Douglass. Being the first time Douglass witnessed such brutality, Aunt Hester's flogging was a major and horrific moment for Douglass; Douglass would eventually experience many more of these terrible crimes against humanity, but this first experience changed his entire worldview. If he wasn't afraid of his master before, then he certainly was at this point. Life for him would not be happy and free, but cruel and harsh, just like Aunt Hester's beating. Clearly slavery was already real at that time in the 19th century, but this is the most... middle of paper ......imore and his free status strengthened Douglass's belief in the possibility of gaining his own freedom. Frederick obtained his freedom by boarding a train dressed as a sailor. The uniform was provided to her by Murray along with some of her savings to pay for the trip. His freedom was marked by his arrival in New York and the entire journey took about 24 hours. Once he arrived, Douglass sent for Murray. Murray played a crucial role in helping Douglass gain his freedom. Douglas' narrative sheds a dazzling light on slavery through the eyes of the slaves themselves. The story of Douglass' life as a slave and his growth into the man he eventually became is nothing short of impressive. The way Covey tried to break Douglass ultimately only strengthened him. The abolitionist movement, no, the world would not be the same, if Frederick Douglass had not been born.