What is a real man?

 What is a real "man"? Being a real man to Frederick Douglass meant being free, but not just free from slavery, but free to think your own thoughts, free to improve your intellect, and free to respect yourself. Douglass grew up watching fellow slaves being beat and wiped; there was no respect for the slaves and this caused them to have no respect for themselves. After being kicked and wiped himself Douglass had enough of being stripped of his manhood, so he decided the fight Mr. Covey as his wiping was starting, and after fighting for two hours, he was let go with a sense of relief.  This fight had "rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom and revived within me a sense of my own manhood" (Douglass 73). In choosing to fight Mr. Covey he gained back his metal freedom of respecting himself which allowed him to feel like a man again.

The freedom to improve your own intellect was important to fitting Douglass's idea of what a real man is. Being a man is being determined to accomplish your goals no matter the barrier. These barriers to Douglass achieving intellectual freedom allowed him to develop the determination to grow. For example, after Douglass expresses his disapproval of him learning to read that inspired him "with a desire and determination to learn" (Douglass 64). The freedom to learn and going against the oppression of the masters is what makes Douglass a man, not just to himself but to all.