Ducharme 1
Hunter Ducharme
Professor Robinson
History 1301
15 April 2015
Incidents in The Life of a Slave Girl
I. Theme: The Struggle for Freedom
a. The struggle for freedom was one of extreme pain, misery, and constant stress. In chapters 17-20 Linda makes her first attempt at escaping from Dr. Flint’s chains and undergoes a grueling experience. She gets bit by a poisonous snake while hiding in some bushes, is under 24/7 stress by the thought of putting her family in danger, and also trying to remain concealed from her pursuers. The struggle for freedom usually entitled a very difficult position for the runaway slaves due to not knowing the conditions of their families after leaving, as well as their own personal struggles of fighting
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For example, in chapter 32 Linda writes to Dr. Flint to discuss the possibility of her sale, and asked him “… to state the lowest terms on which he would sell [her]” (153), because by law she still was the property of his daughter.
In response to her request, Dr. Flint states she must return herself to her “… rightful owners, then any request [she] might make would be granted” (153).
II. Theme: The Preservation of the Family
a. This self-narrative is as much about family bondage as it is about slavery. The theme of family is all throughout the book and is a major part of Linda’s life, as well as all slaves in general. Aunt Martha, Linda’s grandmother, has an astounding love for her children and grandchildren--so much so, that she was willing to open a baking business where each year she put some profits aside in order to “… purchase her children” (Jacobs 7). The love and preservation of family can also be seen in chapters 26-29 when Linda faces many internal struggles after numerous events occur in her family. Accompanied by the death of
Aunt Nancy, learning that she may not ever see her children again, hearing that
William escaped from Mr. Sand’s captivity, and almost being discovered by
Jenny, Linda decides to make a second attempt at securing her freedom. After being hidden in a shed attic for seven years, she decides she will not be able to endure it anymore if she doesn’t have the comforting nature of being able to see
Slavery is a condition in which individuals are owned by others, who control where they work and live. Slavery has been around since the 1600’s. Jacobs a young female who recounts her life in the book “Incident’s in the life of a slave girl”, gives us an in depth look into her life and how she overcame slavery and gained herself the title of freedom. Now life was not easy for Jacobs. She struggled for much of her life and the kids she had out of wedlock had to suffer because she was a slave. Slavery is not a status that anyone wants to have especially if you are a woman and a slave.
was the step-mother’s interest to make sure that his children were gotten rid of, for she wanted
In "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl", Harriet Jacobs writes, "Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women" (64). Jacobs' work shows the evils of slavery as being worse in a woman's case by the gender. Jacobs elucidates the disparity between societal dictates of what the proper roles were for Nineteenth century women and the manner that slavery prevented a woman from fulfilling these roles. The book illustrates the double standard of for white women versus black women. Harriet Jacobs serves as an example of the female slave's desire to maintain the prescribed virtues but how her circumstances often prevented her from practicing.
The understanding of the life of a slave woman is far beyond the knowledge of you or I, unless you have actually been an enslaved woman. These literary elements depicting the passage from this story are the only
Harriet Jacobs wrote, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” using the pseudonym Linda Brent, and is among the most well-read female slave narratives in American history. Jacobs faces challenges as both a slave and as a mother. She was exposed to discrimination in numerous fronts including race, gender, and intelligence. Jacobs also appeals to the audience about the sexual harassment and abuse she encountered as well as her escape. Her story also presents the effectiveness of her spirit through fighting racism and showing the importance of women in the community.
During the antebellum South, many Africans, who were forced migrants brought to America, were there to work for white-owners of tobacco and cotton plantations, manual labor as America expanded west, and as supplemental support of their owner’s families. Harriet Jacobs’s slave narrative supports the definition of slavery (in the South), discrimination (in the North), sexual gender as being influential to a slave’s role, the significant role of family support, and how the gender differences viewed and responded to life circumstances.
In this paper I’ll discuss the life of enslaved children and what those experiences tells us about the institution of slavery. Over the course of the semester we have been introduced to several readings concerning the enslavement of Africans. I will be basing my paper on information gathered from these readings, “African American Voices,” By Steven Mintz, “Prince Among Slaves,” By Terry Alford, “Lose Your Mother” By Saidiya Hartman and lastly a secondary piece of literature by Frederick Douglass, “My Bondage My Freedom.” The life of a child captive in slavery would vary depending on their environment and whom they belonged to. Their experiences ranged from what was perceived as normal, aside from the fact that they were slaves all the way to cruel and unusual punishment. Childhood is essential to understanding slavery, focusing on children brings attention to the brutality of slavery, and also brings to light the system of enslavement children and parents dealt with regarding its sufferings and horrors. Even though some enslaved children had normal lives and were unaware that they were slaves at all; slavery was very harsh for most children. They were expected to do adult work, and punished when unable to do so, also many children were separated from their families at a young age.
Harriet Jacobs’ work, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is a powerful piece. In the slave narrative, she is battling to become a freed person which makes it didactic because Jacobs wants slavery to end. There is elements of gothic writings because it was something that truly happens.
Incident in the Life of a Slave Girl had a different explanation narrative story than any other slavery stories we had read, especially with male-authored narrative because Jacob was engaging the readers with the issue she had challenged in her time period. Jacob mentions that her family was the most important people in her life because she gave us an idea that her family were depended to her emotional support (153-155). In fact, family was the most important mechanism for many slaves because they were dependent on each other for friendship, especially to maintain their confidence no matter what the situation they are going through.
she still offered her help to the members of the family in return for their
In "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl", Harriet Jacobs writes, "Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women" (64). Jacobs' work presents the evils of slavery as being worse in a woman's case due to the tenets of gender identity. Jacobs elucidates the disparity between societal dictates of what the proper roles were for Nineteenth century women and the manner that slavery prevented a woman from fulfilling these roles. The book illustrates the double standard of for white women versus black women. Harriet Jacobs serves as an example of the female slave's desire to maintain the prescribed virtues but how her circumstances often prevented her from practicing.
demise, she furthermore sacrifices her moral beliefs when she works as a prostitute to afford
No one in today’s society can even come close to the heartache, torment, anguish, and complete misery suffered by women in slavery. Many women endured this agony their entire lives, there only joy being there children and families, who were torn away from them and sold, never to be seen or heard from again.
‘Incidents in the life of a slave girl’ written by Harriet Jacobs and published by L.Maria Child (in 1831), is an autobiography by the author herself which documents Jacobs life as a slave and therefore
What would you do if your family had a woman working for them throughout your whole life? What about when you watch her get mistreated and find her sleeping in corners, watching her teeth rot, exhausted all the time and working as a mother and servant without pay?Would you defend her? Alex Tizon did. In “My Family’s Slave”, Alex Tizon tells a story about a woman named Lola who became a great part of his life. After understanding what Lola was as a young boy and watched how she was treated, the author reveals how as he grew older he tries to enhance Lola’s life. He confesses that by the time he starts to give her a taste of freedom she is 75 years old and cannot do much. But throughout those eleven free years, he tries to make up for everything.