9.

The Battle with Mr. Covey is an excellent example of realism in multiple ways. It shows incredible detail describing slavery and the brutailty that kept it up and running. It also shows explicitly the feelings that Douglass has during his ordeal of a slave.

The story uses intense descriptions of slave life to illustrate the tale it is telling:

"He came to the spot, and, after looking at me awhile, asked me what was the matter. I told him as well as I could, for I scarce had strength to speak. He then gave me a savage kick in the side, and told me to get up. I tried to do so, but fell back in the attempt. He gave me another kick, and again told me to rise. I again tried, and succeeded in gaining my feet; but, stooping to get the tub with which I was feeding the fan, I again staggered and fell. While down in this situation, Mr. Covey took up the hickory slat with which Hughes had been striking off the half-bushel measure, and with it gave me a heavy blow upon the head, making a large wound, and the blood ran freely; and with this again told me to get up."

This vivid description shows how horrible life as a slave was. It also shows the very realistic traits that the author is using in his writing. He is not leaving anything up to your imagination. He wants you to see how horrible life as a slave really is.

Through these intense descriptions of the atrocities that took place under slavery the reader is made aware of the social issue that Douglass wants to address; which is slavery itself. The story shows a reader who is not aware of the crime that is slavery how bad it really is. The story, in my opinion, is also a warning to slave owners in the south that the slaves can and will rise up from their appaling treatment eventually. The story effectively raises awarness of the social issue to those who are not in the know and threatens those who know what is happening, but are willingly taking part in it.