As a female African American slave, Jacobs had no voice in telling the empty audience of followers the truth about the horrors slavery has instilled upon her and countless others of her kind. This is why I believe Jacobs uses a second persona in aiding her to retell her stories, which is an attempt to draw remorse and sympathy from her readers, as well as a way to unravel the truth behind slavery to those that overlook and accept it in society. In Jacobs’ Incidents in the life of a slave girl, Jacobs uses the maternal character and narrative aspect of a fictional slave girl to highlight, through the many angles, the effects of slavery on African American individuals, families, and lives. By doing so, she hopes to motivate, inform, and engage others to strive for change by telling her personal life experiences through a fictional character so that slavery can be addressed as the root of all problems, first hand. Before analyzing the narrative, I would like to address Jacobs’ choice in writing a fictional narrative instead of a personal narrative told in first person. I believe this decision also contributes to the craft that Jacobs writes with in that the fictional narrative allows for a window of reaching out to the reader, while the personal narrative approaches the reader directly. By using a fictional narrative, Jacobs is able to form a connection and bond between her character and her reader by having a beginning, middle, and an end to her novel. This medium allows for
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.
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.
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.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs is a personal story that highlights the injustice of slavery. This book was based on the author’s
In these two tales of brutal bondage, Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Frederick Douglass' Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the modern reader can decipher two vastly different experiences from circumstances that were not altogether that dissimilar. Both narratives tell the story of a slave gaining his or her freedom from cruel masters, yes, but that is where the most prominent similarities end. Not only are they factually different, these stories are entirely distinct in their themes.
The feminist movement sought to gain rights for women. Many feminist during the early nineteenth century fought for the abolition of slavery around the world. The slave narrative became a powerful feminist tool in the nineteenth century. Black and white women are fictionalized and objectified in the slave narrative. White women are idealized as pure, angelic, and chaste while black woman are idealized as exotic and contained an uncontrollable, savage sexuality. Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl, brought the sexual oppression of captive black women into the public and political arena.
The autobiography Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl written by Harriet Jacobs illustrates the life of a former slave in the South who was subjected to mental and physical abuse by her slaveowner and details her escape to eventual freedom. After living through a long and tumultuous life of enslavement and abuse at the hands of her master, Jacobs was eventually able to escape to the North and write an autobiography of the horrors and hardships she faced. The institution of slavery was a destructive system in which thousands of African Americans were separated from their families, forced to work hard labor, and abused
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
In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Jacobs argues that many slaves were treated with extreme punishment and inhumanly in the south. She shows that slaves were treated more similarly to property than as workers or actual humans and the fear that they have because of it. This fueled many believers of the antislavery to take action in the abolition of slavery. Throughout Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Jacobs gives multiple examples that show the extreme treatment that many slaves encountered.
Jacobs, Harriet, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Child, Lydia M., Boston, 1861, 186 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is a nonfictional account of Harriet Jacobs who uses the pseudonym Linda Brent to keep her identity safe. Jacobs begins the story talking about her childhood and how she was unaware of her being a slave until six years of happy childhood had gone by. After experiencing the death of her mother and her mistress, Linda was bequeathed to her mistress's niece, Emily Flint who was the daughter of Dr. Flint and Mrs. Flint. Even her Brother William was under the control of the same master, Dr. Flint. Linda speaks on how her and her brother earnestly wished for freedom.
What if you were forced back into the milieu of slavery as a black, would you be capable to adapt to the pernicious time period? Knowing that whites often are scrutinizing the area for more slaves to obtain in their possession. The only thing you can do is comply to their standards. They make you a piece of their property and flagellate those who do not adhere to them. When reading Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass: An American Slave by Fredrick Douglass, and Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, each demonstrated the horrendous actions of coercive power used by the proprietor in the context of each story. The owners of the slaves were able to do whatever they pleased since the beginning of their ownership. This much power was terrifying for the average slave, and this power can turn any being into what can be described as, corrupt.
A slave narrative is to tell a slave's story and what they have been through. Six thousand former slaves from North America told about their lives during the 18th and 19th centuries. About 150 narratives were published as separate books or articles most slaves were born in the last years of the slave regime or during the Civil War. Some Slaves told about their experiences on plantations, in cities, and on small farms. Slave narratives are one of the only ways that people today know about the way slaves lived, what they did each day, and what they went through. There are three famous slave narratives in history, Incidents in The Life of A Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs, Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
“Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” is a slave narrative written from a woman’s perspective by Harriet Jacobs. She provides a rare glimpse into the life of women enslaved during the nineteenth century. While Jacobs’s experiences are atypical of most enslaved persons, she provides an insightful perspective of slavery, motherhood, women’s duties and expectations. Jacobs’s tale debuted under the pen name of Linda Brent but later was attributed to her. The narrative portrays the injustice of slavery but also highlights the predicament of all women.
The way that Harriet Jacobs describes slavery in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was not a surprise to me. I believed that slaves were treated poorly and often times were hurt, the way that I thought of slavery is just like it is described in the book if not worse. I will discuss what I believed slavery was like before I read the book, how slavery was according to the book using in text citations and examples and also explain my thoughts on why the treatment was not a surprise to me.
To begin, Harriett Jacobs carefully formulates a narrative that depicts the lives of slave girls and women as it truly was lived. Rather than conform to the readers' tastes and avoid the horrible gruesome details of the lives of female slaves, Jacobs grasps these events and passionately depicts them to her readers in hopes of some form of compassion. She knows her readers are never going to completely understand what women in slavery went through (it would take living it to comprehend) but she feels to protect them from these truths is only greater blurring the understanding of these issues. Jacobs details her life in hopes that her audience will begin to understand the hardships undertaken by innocent black women in the south and no longer sit quietly by and watch. Jacobs states that slavery is far more appalling for women; "they have wrongs, and sufferings, and mortifications peculiarly their own" (825). In order to truly touch her intended audience, she brings up topics that all women, free or enslaved, can understand - adultery, family, love. She hopes that by creating a piece that touches the personal lives of women, she will make it difficult for them not to stand in her shoes, even if just for a moment.