He was treated cruelly by his master. The first prompt that made Frederick Douglass think about running away North was the cruel treatment he received from his master, Edward Covey. Covey was a "slave-breaker," and he used physical and psychological violence to break the spirits of his slaves. He would beat Douglass frequently, and he would also make him work long hours in the fields. Douglass's treatment at Covey's hands made him realize that he could not live his life as a slave any longer.
Read enslaved persons who had escaped. Another prompt that made Douglass think about running away North was the stories he read about enslaved persons who had escaped. Douglass learned to read and write while he was a slave, and he used his literacy to educate himself about the abolitionist movement. He read stories about enslaved persons who had escaped to freedom, and these stories gave him hope that he could also escape.