Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs

His master had a plentiful garden on the property which some slaves could not stop themselves form eating from, if a slave was caught eating from this garden they would be submitted to a public beating. Fredrick’s master also had an impressive stable with horses and carriages. He left two slaves a father and son in charge of running the stable taking care of his horses. The master was strict about how his horses where kept and often whips both men for simple mistakes in the horses treatment that even they themselves cannot even control. No matter how much discrimination and unfair treatment slaves got they where not allowed to complain about anything to their master.

Of course, one of these is the poster child of slavery: whipping. Douglass clearly retells multiple accounts of these punishments seen by his own eyes many times in the book. However, in some situations, this abhorrent style of discipline was not enough. He tells the story of a slave named Demby, who would rather have been killed than be whipped by his master, Colonel Lloyd, who “ran and plunged himself into a creek, and stood there at the depth of his shoulders, refusing to come out. Mr. Gore told him that he would give him three calls, and that, if he did not come out at the third call, he would shoot him” (19-20). Unfortunately for Demby, Colonel Lloyd stays true to his word, kills Demby, and receives no consequences for the murder. Sadly, this is an emotional passage for some to read, because similar instances still occur in America today, where (hate) crimes go unpunished and forgotten

Why was Cruelty to the slaves' so popular?” Slaves face it every day of their lives, whether they deserve the punishment or not. The slaveholders find satisfaction in beating and whipping the slaves. Slavery abuse was very common in this time period. Cruelty was one of the biggest factors in the book “Narrative Of The Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave”.

The “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” is an autobiography written by Harriet Jacobs. It is a narrative about her personal journey as a slave to freedom. She was born into enslavement, and while there, she was taught to read at an early age. Beginning in 1825, Jacobs was sexually harassed and abused by her enslaver. Also, in her teens, she gave birth to two children, whom she had with her neighbor.

The use of blunt language constantly throughout his narrative conveys the lives of suffering slave during the 1800’s. The author states that “He dealt sparingly with his words, and bountifully with his whip” when discussing how the slaveholders treated the ones they thought

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs strongly speaks to its readers by describing the brutalities of slavery and the way slave owners can destroy peaceful lives. After reading and rereading the story have noticed certain things regarding how Jacobs tries to educate her readers and her intended audience which is the women of the North. As if we do not know enough about how terrible slavery is, this story gives detailed examples of the lives of slaves and provokes an incredible amount of emotions. She uses several tactics in her writing to reach her desired audience and does so very well.

Women were forced to bear master's children. Slaves were beaten unwarranted by their masters cruelly. Slaves had no rights or education, slaveholders maintained inhumanity and afraid slaves would become unmanageable. One of Douglass's family member died in the forest alone, even served the master for years.

Harriet Jacobs' words in Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl clearly suggests that the life as a slave girl is harsh and unsatisfactory. In this Composition, Jacobs is born a slave, never to be freed. She struggles through life in many instances making life seem impossible. The author's purpose is to state to the people what happened during slavery times in the point of view of a slave. Her life is so harsh that she even hides from her master for 7 years in a cramped space in the top of a shed without any room to walk. The theme of the story is a statement on how slavery was a much harder way of life than many people may have thought. Many people during these times thought that slaves were happy where they were and that their lives

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a story about slavery and the many unkind effects it had on human nature. One of the things apparent in this story is the way the slaves were dehumanized. From the time they were born until their last breath every aspect of their life was painful and forced. Women forced to breed, children removed from their parents at birth, lack of food and dignity, and unnecessary killings are just a few of the examples that could be used for the ways they were dehumanized . Both mental and physical abuse were the slave owners’ way of controlling other humans and letting them know that they were not equal.

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”- Nelson Mandela. The quote is describing how freedom is not only being out of chains but to be able to be in society with respect from all. Freedom can also mean a lot of different things depending on the person. For example to a teenager freedom could mean them getting out from under their parents supervision or parental control. But, freedom to an adult that works everyday of the week, their freedom can be, not have to work on the weekends, which gives them their freedom to do anything they want to do. In the slave narrative Incidents of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs about her life as a slave, freedom means Linda (aka Harriet Jacobs) being free from slavery, being away from Dr. Flint, and to have her family free with her. She tries to achieve her freedom in many different ways. She confesses to Mrs. Flint about the advances Dr. Flint makes towards her, she falls in with a free black man, and gets pregnant by Mr. Sands. She uses these to achieve her freedom from Dr. Flint’s advances. She also achieves her freedom by running away to her grandmother’s attic, and running away to the North. Linda also achieves her freedom when Dr. Flint had died and when Mrs. Bruce being her savior.

Slavery was common in the eighteenth century. Slaves were seen as property, as they were taken from their native land and forced into long hours of labor. The experience was traumatic for both black men and black women. They were physically and mentally abused by slave owners, dehumanized by the system, and ultimately denied their fundamental rights to a favorable American life. Although African men and women were both subjected to the same enslavement, men and women had different experiences in slavery based on their gender. A male perspective can be seen in, My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass. A female perspective is shared in Harriet Jacobs’ narrative titled, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Upon reading both of the viewpoints provided, along with outside research, one can infer that women had it worse.

Historically, many authors have enhanced their arguments by appealing to their audience’s emotions. Frederick Douglass does expertly this throughout his narrative by making the reader feel horrified and sad for him when he was a slave. The feeling of horror is repeatedly shown through his detail in explaining how the slaveholders and overseers treated the slaves. The first graphic account comes four pages into the narrative when Douglass describes his master Captain Anthony and the overseer Mr. Plummer, he details that Plummer would “cut and slash the women’s heads so horribly… master would threaten to whip him if he did not mind himself”(22). Although he doesn’t go into a lot of detail, the fact that a master would whip his overseer for being too cruel is enough to horrify the reader.

Slave punishment was bad in both plantations and cities, but the punishment of slaves was relatively less severe in cities. Slave owners on plantations treated their slaves terribly. “Such abusive owners might whip their slaves dozens of times, creating extensive blistering on their victims’ backs” (McNeese 78-79). This quote is one piece of evidence that detailed the horrors and brutality slaves had to face. Slaves were never safe from punishment, especially if their owners were known for being cruel to slaves. When Douglass lived on the plantation he witnessed many horrific events at a young age. Douglass explains how even the most minute offenses can cause severe punishment. If a slave ate a piece of fruit that they were not supposed to then they were whipped. If they did not brush the horses in a certain direction then they were punished. If they snuck off of the plantation to see someone they loved then they were punished. Any offense, no matter how small, had an extremely severe punishment. Slave owners were known for being brutal, and Douglass' owner was no exception to that rule. When Douglass was a young child, he witnessed his aunt get whipped by their owner.

The act of violence also contributes to the dehumanization and the “breaking down” of the slaves. Slaves were beaten, and whipped daily, subjected to cruel torture. Northup describes these acts of violence in his narrative very vividly.

The fact that when it rained “They squatted in muddy water, slept above it, peed in it” (p.110) was very shocking and unpleasant in this novel. The other thing that was at the same camp was the "breakfast". This was really cruel and seemed weird. The white men considered the African Americans to be animals, yet they still made them perform oral sex on them. This was quite possibly the most bothersome and abhorrent item that occurred to the slaves in the