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A Comparison Of Incidents And The Life Of A Slave Girl

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Kayla Potvin March 7, 2024 EH 200: Intro to American Literature Professor Libersat Comparing and Contrasting Incidents and the life of a slave girl, The Cask of Amontillado, and Helping to Understand Their Influences On Society and Eachother. Incidents and the life of a slave girl, The Cask of Amontillado, as well as the modern day book and movie The Help, give elements of revenge and life as an African-American woman. Incidents and the Life of a Slave Girl romanticizes the agony of being a slave to powerful men. The Cask of Amontillado is a popular and enduring tale of revenge. Now in modern day, The Help, takes in points of revenge and the pain of wanting to get back at those who did them wrong. Exploring the movie The Help, points where a ‘shit pie’ was made in order to get revenge similar to Amontillado getting back at …show more content…

Bringing light on the experiences and life of being a woman, specifically an African-American woman in a man-run society. Incidents and the life of a slave girl, Cask of Amontillado and The Help demonstrate the heart ache of wanting revenge on aggressors who wrongfully mistreat others and effectively show how the stories of Incidents and the life of a slave girl and Cask of Amontillado inspire the modern story of The Help. Incidents in The Life of a Slave Girl, an autobiography. A retelling of Harriet Jacob’s heartbreaking story about her life. Using the pseudonym Linda Brent, she in her early years had a considerably happy life with her family. Linda was born a slave, but it takes her six years after her mother and her first mistress dies, when she realizes who she was. Linda is bequeathed to a new master, a relative of her early mistress. These new masters show Linda the cruel reality of being an African American woman during the 1800’s.

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Chapter IX of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, titled “Sketches of Neighboring Slaveholders”, provides true imagery of the brutality of slavery. The author, Harriet Jacobs, who goes by the name of Linda, goes through a process of dehumanizing experiences by a multitude of slave owners in her city, Dr. Flint and Mrs. Flint. In the book several neighboring slave owners are mentioned including: Mr. Litch, Mrs. Wade, and Mr. Conat. To start, though, Mr. Litch, who creates unique ways in torturing his slaves by means of even starvation and murder.1 In addition to this torture, Harriet mentions a neighbor of Mr. Litch, Mr. Conat, who was not as discussed in the book, punished a slave by forcing him to spend a winter night outside and naked. Following this, a neighboring

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Life as a slave was hard enough and being a slave mother only made it harder. “When I lay… I felt how much easier it would to be to see her die than to see her master beat her… The spirit of the mothers was so crushed by the lash… ‘broken in’ to that degree” (Jacobs 96-97)? With showing how distinct life was for both white free mothers

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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was originally published anonymously in 1861 and written by Harriet Jacobs. With the help of Lydia Maria Child, one the most renowned abolitionist, intellectuals, and writer of the 19th century, helped lead this book to the historical phenomenon that it is today. The autobiography accounts for the journey of Lynda Brent, the pseudonym Harriet Jacobs used in order to protect herself. Harriet Jacobs didn't leave much to the audience's imagination, as it was deemed "too shocking" for the readers back in the 1860's. She accounts for her life born into slavery that was overshadowed by the American Civil War.

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Living in the Flint’s home, Linda and William are experiencing intense abuse and harrassment. Linda especially is being continuously harassed by Dr. Flint, and Mrs. Flint becomes very jealous and aggressive. Linda describes her as lazy when running her home, but energetic when whipping her slaves. Rather than find sympathy for their enslaved, many plantation mistresses would turn against them for “seducing” their husbands. Linda tells the story of an enslaved mother giving birth to her master’s child with extreme complications, while her mistress stands above her jeering that she deserves to die.

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Harriet Jacobs writes, “No pen can give an adequate description of all [the] pervading corruption of slavery.” In the book, Incidents in the Life a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs recounts her time as a slave before escaping the cruelties of slavery to freedom. This quote from the book outlines the intelligence Harriet Jacobs has about the torment in slavery. In the beginning of the book the preface and the editor’s introduction to the book outline Harriet Jacobs story. Both the preface and the author’s introduction give a realness to Harriet’s story before reading the text.

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She then becomes pregnant with her first boy and is considered a disgrace to their master and her grandmother is really disappointed. He is born prematurely but grows to be healthy. She later has her daughter after the realization that if she manages to escape her and her two children could be free. So she plans to escape. She stays at this white women’s house in secret until it is no longer safe.

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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs is a moving, agonizing story about both struggles and liberation. Harriet went through a great deal in her life within the shackles of slavery, but her determination and strong will pushed her forward to a positive outcome. From a young age Harriet knew she wanted to be free, and when her master, Dr. Flint, made uncomfortable advances on her, she wanted to make this dream a reality. She had two children with a wealthy white man in the area because she believed it would push Dr. Flint to sell her, but it did not work. She eventually ran away and lived in hiding underneath her grandmother’s house for seven years.

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When Dr. Flint forbade Linda from marrying the man of her choice, Linda felt the necessity to involve herself with a white unmarried man, who felt a great deal of sympathy toward and wished to aid her. In him, she found the “freedom of having a lover who (had) no control over you.” (Jacobs 929) Two children sprung from their union, but having the first child was the scariest. When Linda continued to refuse Dr. Flint’s continual sexual advances, he would threaten to sell her child.

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In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs argues that slavery is a horrific crime against humanity and slavery should be ended. Jacobs wrote that the reason for her writing down her experiences was not so the reader would pity her but to spark compassion for the people who were still enslaved (Jacobs, 54). In this moment, the reader is presented with a direction to read this book. The direction being to open one’s mind and hearts to the real life struggles that the African American people were suffering through and to inspire the reader to do something about the injustices brought down on them. Jacobs also shows humility here because she told the read not to feel bad or worry about the things that happened to her but to help

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Harriet Jacobs Racial and Gender Oppression 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.

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The mistress being such a hypocrite by supposedly being in love with Jesus, being kind and all that sort of stuff when in reality she would brutally overpower her slaves. Once she passed, Linda’s life seemed to come crashing down the road; starting to realize that she was not unlike the other girls, Linda was forced into slavery. Something she had never underwent nor really experienced by the fantasy/power her parents left her mind set on because of the same thing, so obstacles would never be that big of a problem and she would hurdle them and continue on her life. She begins to live with masters who completely neglect her and see her as nothing but something that is going to be a waste. Due to the fact that she was not very good at working since she never really worked because her mother was the one sacrificing everything and taking care of her really good not letting her know that she belonged to someone.

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179 Words | 1 Pages

“The Cask of Amontillado” is a classic short story by Edgar Allan Poe, based on true events to an extent. The story demonstrates a theme of revenge, as do the true events and the parodies made. Although, all forms get the primary storyline across. Examples beyond “The Cask of Amontillado” would be the music video for “A Little Too Late” by singer Toby Keith, “The Other Man in the Wall”, and “The Story Behind The Cask of Amontillado”. All of the previously-mentioned works have the same plot, yet contain a variation of characters.

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2053 Words | 9 Pages

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl opens with an introduction in which the writer, Harriet Jacobs, expresses her purposes behind composing her life account. Like all other slaves, her life story was story was horrific and shocking enough that she would have rather kept it private, however she felt that making it open may help the abolitionist development and will probably make others aware that what all of them went through. An introduction by abolitionist Lydia Maria Child puts forth a comparative defense for the book and she thus keeps the story of Jacobs’ in front of the world. In the book, Incidents in the Life of Slave Girl, the author as by the pen name of Linda Brent tells her story of twenty years spent in slavery with her master Dr. Flint, and her

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1137 Words | 5 Pages

‘Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl’ is the tale of Harriet Jacobs, who, for her wellbeing, called herself Linda Brent in the account. Harriet starts by examining her youth. She has described her life starting “I was born a slave…his strongest wish was to purchase his children…she was a little girl and she was captured…” (1). She doesn't know she is a slave until after her mom passes on when she is six. Her most punctual years were not unpalatable, but rather she is soon given to the little girl of Dr. Flint and his wife Mrs. Flint.

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Edgar Allan Poe is most famous for the gothic themes he presents in his writings, this was no exception for Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”. Several important ideas are brought up about the story’s central theme of revenge. These ideas can be broken down into 3 parts: the incentive, the extent, and the reaction of the person partaking in revenge. It is essential to consider these ideas while reading Poe’s story, in order to comprehend his views on revenge. It also provides the reader the ability to question their own views on revenge as well as compare it with Poe’s.

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