Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

When Douglass states that, "Mr.Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eyedied; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!" how does this passage portray the mental and emotional state of a slave who has been dehumanized? What images does the passage bring to mind?