Misfortunes In Harriet Jacob's

The narratives written by Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs show the lives of slaves in great detail. They describe the ways in which they were abused and dehumanized both physically and mentally. Jacobs once said “Slavery is bad for men, but is far more terrible for women,” and when you sit down and think about it, she’s right. Women in slavery suffered much more than the men for a few reasons.

February 11, 1813 in Edenton, North Carolina Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery. Harriet Jacobs’s parents were Elijah and Delilah Jacobs mother and father of Harriet and her older brother John Jacob’s. Elijah Jacob’s was a skilled carpenter, who made enough money so that his family could all live together. Harriet Jacob’s grandmother Molly Horniblow played a major role in the Jacob’s family life. At the age six Harriet Jacob’s mother passed away Harriet was sent away to live with her mother’s owner and his mistress. “I was born a slave; but I never knew till six years of happy childhood had passed away.” Harriet felt as if she was living a good life until her mother passed away. Even though she was born a slave she did not feel

Mary Rowlandson and Sojourner Truth were both prominent women who had stories about their captivities. Mary Rowlandson was a White woman who was kidnapped by Native Americans during a raid on her village. While Sojourner Truth was born into slavery and remained property until 1826. Both ladies had differences on among their captivities and encountered oppression in unique ways.The difference between Sojourner Truth and Mary Rowlandson emphasis on individuality, time and historical moment and institutional oppression they both endure.

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.

Life as a female slave was particularly difficult and full of many hardships. Black female slaves would face discrimination through both racism and sexism. Female slaves were used mainly to perform basic housekeeping chores as well as a reproductive role in the plantation, having children that would grow to be laborers in the plantation. Many enslaved mothers would have to watch as their children were abused in the fields by cruel masters or sold away to slave traders to work in some field never to be seen again. Another hardship faced by female slaves was the sexual abuse many would face by their masters. Many female slaves were either sexually harassed or sexually assaulted. Some female slaves would be forced into having affairs with their masters to have opportunity for their children to not endure abuse in the fields. Harriet Jacobs was no exception, she was sexually harassed by her master, Dr. James Norcom (Dr. Flint in Incidents). Jacobs even went so far as to commit to an affair with a

Men and Women’s treatment has been different as long as the two have been around to notice the difference. Even in the realm of slavery women and men were not treated the same although both were treated in horrible ways. Harriet Jacobs and Fredrick Douglass’ story is very similar both were born into slavery and later rose above the oppression to become molders of minds. In time of subjugation to African Americans these two writers rose up and did great things especially with their writing. Both Douglass and Jacobs’ experienced different types of slavery, it shaped their perspective on everything and it also shows the importance of their freedom.

Often times when talking about the institution of slavery in the United States of America, men are at the center of the discussion; whether they were owners or slaves, men are presented first. Black women are pushed in the background except for the most famous like Harriet Tubman and Sally Hemings. In North America, specifically the United States, more than six hundred thousand slaves were brought in from Africa and the Caribbean between 1620 and 1865, the laws regarding slaves were condensed into slave codes that varied from state to state. Female slaves usually received the worst of it. Abusing them was legal, since the were considered property and as long as the owner wanted, he could have his way with any women he chooses on the plantation. Female slave were subject to harsh punishment for refusing the advances of the master. As one of, if not, the most vulnerable group in America at the time, female slaves had more threats to their existence than black men.

The title of this book comes from the inspiring words spoken by Sojourner Truth at the 1851, nine years prior to the Civil War at a Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. In Deborah Grays White, Ar’n’t I a woman her aim was to enrich the knowledge of antebellum black women and culture to show an unwritten side of history of the American black woman. Being an African- American and being a woman, these are the two principle struggles thrown at the black woman during and after slavery in the United States. Efforts were made by White scholars in 1985 to have a focus on the female slave experience. Deborah Gray White explains her view by categorizing the hardships and interactions between the female slave and the environment in which the

For both Harriet Jacob and Phillis Wheatley, their authority comes through narration in establishing the authenticity of their character and their, which becomes a significant aspect in both Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and On Being Brought from Africa to America. Both the narrative and poem challenges the literacy framework in which their work reflected. From the beginning, Phillis and Harriet identify their social identity as young African-American women forced into slavery. Harriet begins her narrative and states, “I was born a slave; but I never knew it till six years of happy childhood had passed away” (1). Her narrative focuses on the horrendous conditions in which slaves, especially women slaves endured at the hand of their white masters. Although it fits with the framework of a melodramatic style that also copies resemble elements of romantic novels, Harriet works outside the framework, but

Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass were both slaves that wrote about their struggles and pain during their years of slavery. Both stories were the same but also very different. Both Jacobs and Douglass were born into slavery. The stories were written by authors that finally gained their freedom from slavery. Jacob’s wrote “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” and Frederick Douglass wrote, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave”. Jacob’s wrote it in a woman point of view and gave us a look at how the women that were slaves experienced life; whereas Douglass wrote as a male slave and the brutality.

Among many abolitionists of slavery in early America were former slaves, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs who lived to tell the stories of their quests for freedom during their time as slaves. Harriet Jacobs, known for her narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, was born into slavery like many African Americans at the time. Frederick Douglass who was also born into slavery was best known for his “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.” Through these narratives both Jacobs and Douglass each portray their own experiences of slavery in contrasting ways.

Harriet Hanson Robinson and Harriet Jacobs may have shared a name, however their lives as a whole were quite different from one another. Both born in the early 1800s, Robinson and Jacobs led very different lives; Robinson, who lived in the North, was a mill girl, Jacobs, who lived in the South, was a slave. Even just by simply reading this statement, it is quite obvious that although they were born roughly around the same time, their lives and experiences did not overlap much at all. Although there are some similarities in respects to early life and slightly later on in life, most of the experiences that Robinson and Jacobs lived through were specific to the time and location they lived during. Harriet Hanson Robinson and Harriet Jacobs lived lives that were slightly reminiscent of each other, however, overall, their lives were far more different than they were similar.

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.

Slavery was a horrible institution that dehumanized a race of people. Female slave bondage was different from that of men. It wasn't less severe, but it was different. The sexual abuse, child bearing, and child care responsibilities affected the females's pattern of resistance and how they conducted their lives. Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, demonstrates the different role that women slaves had and the struggles that were caused from having to cope with sexual abuse.

Harriet Jacob was the first African American women to have authored a slave narrative in the United States and was instinctive into slavery in Edenton, North Carolina. Living a good life with her skilled carpentered father and her mother, Jacob didn’t much of being a slave. However, when her mother had passed away, Jacob and her father were reassigned to a different slave owner were her life as a women slave began. Because of this change, she fled to New York where she started working in the Anti-Slavery movement. During this period, she focused more on her family then she did the issue of slavery. Family is an emotional anchor in the Incident in the Life of a Slave Girl because Linda was devoted to her children. She uses symbolism, imagery, and allegory because she wants to demonstrate what families should be like.