Young black slave girls were expected to work around the age of five. Their jobs were to carry buckets of water to the fields, care for the animals around the plantation, and to chase away the birds that would eat or damage the crops. Around the age of seven, the young slave girls would help watch the younger children while under the supervision of the slave grandma. This also applies to the white children. It was demanded that these young girls help their own mother cook meals, wash clothes, as well as clean and maintain the cabins that the slaves lived in. At a very young age, those girls were expected to help the white women inside the household by assisting them with their clothing or by combing their hair. Around the ages of eight or nine,
Slave life was hard back in the day. Slave went to the fields before sunrise, they stayed until sundown. Planters kept slaves busy every single day and slaves were getting tired and sometimes
Linda’s account of the incidents she encountered during her 27 years as a slave shows us the harsh, terrible, fearful conditions in which slaves lived. Especially, the life endured by slave girls. In fact, these girls grew up side by side with the children of their masters, but at age fifteen they would become subjects of the morbid attention of their masters. If these girls were blessed with beauty, then they would endured even harder situations due to the attraction that their masters had towards them. Linda recalls how she used to play with her master’s daughter until she turned fifteen.
In “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” Harriet Jacobs gives a detailed account of the life story of “Linda Brent” which is the pseudo name for herself, outlining the events which primarily focuses on her escape from her slave master, “Dr. Flint.” After learning that Dr. Flint has already fathered 11 children from his slaves, it is hard to imagine why he is never able to successful pursue Linda. After all, just based on the sheer number of his incidents of sexual relations with his slaves, it would seem highly unlikely that he will be they type that would be polite enough to wait for a mutual consent. The fact that Linda is able to be able to avoid having any sexual relations, despite countless pursuits by her master shows she
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.
Autobiographical narrative that has been written by african-american female from North Carolina by the name Harriet A Jacob, who depicts horrors of normal life of a slave, beginning her story with description of her childhood memories of her family and people who were their owners. Harriet adopts a pseudonym of Linda Brent, and assigns different from reality names to anyone important in her narrative, in order to be able to share the story of her life and probably save important to the author people since the time of publication meant, certain investigations or unwanted interest from the opposing side of the civil war. In the preface of the narrative, the author, importantly explains significance of her ability to share her story to the people of free states, in order for them to decide their future, but more interestingly she was able to set up a tone with a beginning quote, a tone of understanding the reality of the situation as a whole, a certain type of disrespect to the authorities who execute what is needed in order for the system of slavery to function. Since she begins with description of her family starting with her father who seems to be caring and responsible person, even trying to buy freedom for his children. The story of her grandmother is tragic as well, but through it we can judge the importance of family ties that Harriet was able to absorb from her relatives, especially her opportunity to live among her grandmother and
From 1775-1830, America saw its slavery institution expand. One major factor that contributed to the growth of enslaved African Americans was the increase in agriculture in the South. Cotton, a long standing staple crop of the southern states, was a very labor intensive crop to harvest. Because of this need for labor, many plantation owners and farmers continued to purchase slaves. In addition to the fact that cotton was very laborious to pick, plantation owners wanted more and more land to plant the crop on because it was such a success. As more land was obtained, more slaves were needed to work the land. In 1793, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. This invention sparked an increase in the number of enslaved African Americans in the South
The slave narratives Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jones are similar but different in many ways. The narratives tell from the perspective of a man and woman the struggles of slavery and their journey to freedom. Their slave narratives help us to better comprehend the trials and tribulations that happened during slavery. The main difference between Douglass’s and Jacobs’ narratives is their gender. Their gender has a direct impact on the experiences they had and how their got to their freedom.
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.
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.
I will be looking at the methods used by Jacobs and Anaya in attempting to generate respect from their readers regarding racial or ethnic minority groups, starting with Jacobs’ book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. I feel as though the entire book is attempting to get the white reader to respect and understand what life as a slave was all about. This life is something that no white person will ever be able completely understand, nor to truly feel as though they have walked a mile in her shoes. Especially white women, and women who are mothers themselves. In Xenia Xayasene’s culture presentation, her opening line said it best; “Imagine growing up having no idea what is going to happen in the near future when all you dream of is being a regular kid.” Also imagine being the mother that must carry a baby for nine months, and give birth, to then proceed to watch them grow up, knowing what their future holds. We will never know what it’s like to be a black woman who has lived life as a slave, enduring the trials and tribulations that women of this era had to go through. “If God has bestowed beauty upon her, it will prove her greatest curse. That which commands admiration in the white woman only hastens the degradation of the female slave” (p 28). Yes, to some beauty is a curse no matter what race you are. But a person cannot help but to have some respect for those women who were beautiful enough to have their master force them into things that they did not want to be forced into. And then having to face their mistresses once the secret has been let out. These women had the strength and courage to carry on and live their lives every single day.
2. My name is Caroline, I am 18 years old. I work for the household of the head owner for the tobacco factory in Virginia. I work for the headmistress of the house. I clean around the house, run errands when she has any. My father and mother were also working in Virginia for the tobacco plantations. Once I was born, my older brother and sister were sold off to other owners of the rice plantation. My parents were also sent off to work in the rice plantations, so I was separated from my parents since I was young. I grew up in the central part of Virginia, while the husband of my headmistress went to go and check up on the farmers. My headmistress has two little boys and a younger little girl. I look
Resistance is an action that usually gets a negative connotation to it, and anyone who dares to embody it is considered insubordinate. This false pretense typically comes from people who are comfortable with ignorance, and have no motivation to investigate why one must go through these measures. When one resists, it’s usually against an oppositional force, something in the way of them achieving their desires. This is a proposition a slave knows all too well. There is nothing more desirable than freedom. Enslaved people had to constantly resist against whites for their freedom. That’s why it is hard to think of resistance without thinking of the enslaved. Harriet Jacobs, a former slave who went on to publish a book about her trials and tribulations as a slave in a book named Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl knows this firsthand. The book tells the problematic life of an enslaved Jacobs, giving herself the false name Linda Brent. In the story, one can see just how difficult it was to be a woman in slavery, and see just how far Jacobs was willing to go to gain freedom. Jacobs in her narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, show elements of active resilience.
Nowadays there is no doubt that slavery is a terrible thing. However, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was written during a time where slavery was accepted by half of the country. Though those who were against slavery had very strong opinions, it had been such a staple in American life that many believed that resisting was ineffective. Abolitionist literature was a cornerstone of the anti-slavery movement, giving readers insight on how slavery feels from the perspective of actual slaves. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl has multiple themes, such as the reality of slavery and family, that make it a perfect, and important, example of abolitionist literature.
The novel, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” makes careful arrangements to demonstrate that there can be no "great" slave experts. She contends that bondage annihilates the profound quality of slaveholders, practically no matter what. Slaveholders, for example, Dr. Stone get to be coldhearted beasts. With no legitimate scouts their conduct, they cause each possible sort of torment on their hirelings. Most slave master believes slaves as meager more than creatures or articles, never recognizing their mankind. In any case, even "sympathetic" slaveholders, for example, Mr. Sands, show themselves equipped for double-crossing their slaves when it is advantageous or productive. In a quote from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, “I would
My name is Elijah Johnson and I was born a slave. I say I was born a slave because that was what became my identity for the first fifteen years of my life. It did not matter that I was a boy, a child, a brother or a son. I was looked upon as a slave and treated like one all through my formative years. I was born in the year 1850, on the 23rd of October. I know because like every other child born on the plantation my birth was recorded too. Even as a baby I was seen as a future worker for the master of the plantation. The plantation where my parents worked was not huge. It was a mid-sized plantation and mama told me that when they started working there there were about 60 slaves in the plantation. Mama and Papa were sold to Mr. Jackson when they were quite young and they never got to meet their families after that. When Mama and Papa