In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass depicts his life as a slave on a plantation, providing in-depth accounts for Christians and poorly informed Northern reformers. of the physical and emotional cruelties of slavery. As Douglass recounts his relationship and interactions with the harsh Mr. Covey, he challenges the basis on which Southern slaveholders defended slavery. Douglass refutes their claims that they encompass a Christian duty to civilize blacks whom they deemed naturally inferior by proving how they actively worked to prevent slaves from assimilating and contributing to society. Southern slave owners claimed that they were fulfilling their Christian duty by engaging in slavery and rescuing the slaves. of a life of struggle and infidelity. Douglass dispels this myth by exposing the many flaws in Mr. Covey's morality, shocking Northern Christians with his Christian hypocrisy and flawed character. Douglass presents Mr. Covey as a “nigger breaker,” denouncing his capacity for human emotion and sympathy (79). Douglass evokes a sense of ethics and judgment in his Northern audience as he questions the authenticity of Mr. Covey's faith: "I truly believe that he was sometimes mistaken in solemnly believing that 'he was a sincere worshiper of the most high God' (82). By pointing out Mr. Covey's self-deception, Douglass indicates a distinction between true Christianity and false Christianity. Douglass implies that Mr. Covey was not a "sincere worshiper", thus proving that the slaveholders' Christianity was not proof of their true goodness, but only a hypocritical facade they maintained to reinforce their complacent brutality. In doing so, Douglass counters the argument that black people acquired a healthy faith after being enslaved. He is... middle of paper... act, whether out of sympathy, nationalism or selfishness. Among so many abolitionists and unyielding Southern voices struggling to be heard in a disunited America, Frederick Douglass was a very influential person in the anti-slavery movement because of his rhetoric. It uses captivating modes of persuasion, strategically addressing specific audiences with different arguments. Douglass makes evident the dehumanizing effects of slavery on slaves, appealing to feelings of sympathy in the North; however, he also appeals to the agitators of slavery – the slave owners of the South – by emphasizing how the corrupt and unaccountable power they enjoy is detrimental to their own moral health. By showing the immorality of slave owners and their families due to the perpetuation of slavery, Douglass argues that slavery should be abolished for the greater good of all society..