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Analysis Of Harriet Ann Jacobs Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl

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Harriet Ann Jacob's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiography by Jacobs that describes her life under the pseudonym Linda Brent, in which she describes her journey from slavery to being a free woman. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was first published in 1861 during the Civil War and explained the painful experiences she had to undergo as an enslaved person. Jacobs had to undergo countless hardships during her duration enslaved to become free. Jacobs' autobiography is an important book that brings to light the first-person experiences that resulted from slavery and the risks enslaved people such as Jacobs put themselves through to escape and become free. Throughout Jacobs' incidents in Incidents in the Life of a Slave …show more content…

One of the most recurring themes in Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is the brutal and harrowing nature of slavery. Jacobs describes the different forms of abuse she experienced and witnessed throughout the book while enslaved. A significant example of the cruel nature of slavery portrayed in the autobiography comes from the incident that James experienced. Jacobs describes how "little boy, James, was sold to a good sort of master. He became involved in debt, and James was sold again to a wealthy slaveholder, noted for his cruelty. With this man he grew up to manhood, receiving the treatment of a dog" (Jacobs 75). James' contrast between the two slave masters shows to be very disturbing since it mentions the steep distinction between the enslavers' personalities. While the first master that James had was a 'good sort of master,' James' second master was the polar opposite in that he treated James like an animal and abused him severely. This quote also shows how scarce it was to see enslavers treat enslaved people correctly. The enslavers manipulated the enslaved people so much that the most minuscule of compassion would make the …show more content…

Although freedom is a term that can have a different meaning from one person to the next, Jacobs' primary definition of freedom is to escape being enslaved and captive. An excellent example of Jacobs' strive towards freedom occurs when Jacobs decides to escape from slavery for a free life due to her new role as a mother. Jacobs writes in the passage, "In order to protect my children, it was necessary that I should own myself" (Jacobs 253). This quote shows to be very profound and shows how selfless Jacobs has become after becoming a new mother. Jacobs wants to ensure that her children live free lives, and to do so, Jacobs herself has to be free. This quote shows that Jacobs is willing to bear the risks of escaping, becoming a fugitive, and potentially even dying to prioritize her children's safety and security. Although Jacobs' personal desire to escape captivity is evident, Jacobs' reasons behind wanting to escape develop and change throughout the book, with her reasons becoming more for others than for herself as she matures. With freedom being such a reoccurring theme in this book, it becomes evident that Jacobs had many different reasons to strive toward becoming a free person for herself and her family. As Jacobs' experiences of both slavery and motherhood evolved, her

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As a woman, Harriet Jacobs faced unique challenges in the slave society. She was forced to endure sexual abuse from her owner and struggled to protect her children from the same abuse. This experience is clear in her narrative, which focuses mainly on the sexual misuse of female slaves. She writes with passion, using her own experiences to gain the attention of free women in the North (Jacobs).

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When Jacobs escapes to New York, she is employed as a nurse to a white family and often accompanies them to dinners and events. This experience teaches Jacobs that even though most people in the North considered themselves abolitionists, they were still racist toward African Americans. While at a dinner with the family she is employed by, she is asked to “seat the little girl in the chair, and stand behind it and feed her,” (page 144) when she sits the child in her lap. She emphasizes the fact that no matter where she goes, slavery and racism will always follow

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1360 Words | 6 Pages

In Incidents In the Life of A Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, Harriet shares her experience in slavery and how she overcame trials presented in the form of her master and mistress, and how she battled constant separation from her family and children. In order to protect herself from her master, who constantly attempts to pressure Harriet into a sexual relationship with him, Harriet becomes involved in a relationship with a white man and gains two children. However, in order to escape slavery, Harriet stays for seven years in a small shed in her grandmother’s home and eventually gains her freedom. The book shows that in a system of slavery, family ties and the idea of motherhood are two things that are almost unachievable due to the uncertainty

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Harriet Jacobs focuses mostly on detailing the maltreatment of slaves and the impropriety of slave masters during the first part of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. By sharing facts about these incidents, she shows how slaveholding warps humanity and morality to a measure that would be considered deplorable outside of slavery. Jacobs describes the inhumane treatment of slaves when discussing a neighboring plantation. She shares how this plantation commits many cruel murders of its slaves. For example, she discusses how one slave had a “fire kindled over him, from which was suspended a piece of fat pork.

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1015 Words | 5 Pages

The book Incidents in the life of a slave girl written by herself, Harriet Jacobs, we follow her life as a slave in North Carolina during the Antebellum period of the United States before the Civil War. This book describes Harriet’s life as a slave in detail, something we would not usually get from a book around this time. Some important insights we get from this book are, instability of life, difficulty to escape slavery, family life, and the struggles of female slaves. Harriet Jacobs was born in Edenton, North Carolina, in 1813. The first child of Delilah Horniblow and Elijah Jacobs.

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169 Words | 1 Pages

In Harriet Ann Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, a personal memoir, Jacobs tells her story about her experiences as a slave and her son followed escape from slavery. The story was written with no effort to disguise her political message. From the excerpt we read, it can easily be seen that she wants to do everything she can to help the millions of people who are still slaves. “Jacobs was very family-oriented and relationships were the main focus of her life” (InscriptionsJournal 3). This is proven many times as she talks about her grandmother and kids and their well-being.

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886 Words | 4 Pages

This lead Douglass on a trail of being loaned out to other masters until he could save money and escape to New York. Jacobs had her children indirectly due to the master she had and the people she knew while Douglass had to fight his master to eventually earn his way to

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The life of Harriet Jacobs, as relayed in “Incidents,” reveals that there is no true freedom even upon escaping for enslaved Black people in the United States, yet unlike the typical slave’s life, she had a relatively less harsh life by being a house slave. Her life shares the fear Black slaves have to live with, particularly even after escaping. However, she does have her own experience in slavery that does not correspond with other slaves. Regardless, both her shared and personal experience illustrates the life of enslaved Black people.

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Harriet Jacobs took a great risk writing her life as a house servant in the south and a fugitive in the north. Her story confronts the issues of female slavery, sexual abuse and rape from a woman's perspective. For example, Douglass focuses on the quest for the ability to read and free speech, while Jacobs focuses on the rights of women to protect their families and raise their children without interference from a "master". And although Douglass' narrative revolves around the fight for freedom of a sole individual, Jacobs' describes the struggle for freedom of a woman who is supported by her family and community. Without a doubt, Jacobs presents a unquestionably feminist view of

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1258 Words | 6 Pages

This quote highlights the fact that the current laws in America, allowing slave owners to travel through supposedly free states in order to recapture or kill escapees from the South. This cumulates in a sense of dread for Jacobs as neither she nor her children can ever truly free herself from her past as she will always be on the run. While both she and her children may be freed from their physical imprisonment south their familial bond has been forever tainted by the threat of

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512 Words | 3 Pages

At the fourth paragraph, Jacobs changes her tone considerably. Previously, Jacobs was describing the mild discomforts of slavery, and her compartment. However, she changes to describing how brutal other slaves have it. Jacobs describes the separation of families, the brutal beatings slaves would endure, and how some slaves felt death was a better fate than bondage. She also describes how slave masters did nothing to improve the lives of slaves, often thinking of it as a “great moral, social, and political blessing; a blessing to the master, and a blessing to the

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923 Words | 4 Pages

Jacobs’ choice to flee her master’s plantation exemplifies her fierce desire for independence and self-determination. It exhibits her unwavering character in the face of overwhelming suffering and the lengths she will go to secure the fundamental right to freedom. Her battle for freedom becomes a guiding force in the story, highlighting the unbreakable spirit and tenacity of enslaved people who dared to resist the harsh institution of slavery. In addition, Jacobs’ efforts to free others from slavery show her purpose to stir the readers’ morals and motivate them to take a stand against the heinous institution of slavery. She wants to highlight the injustice and violence inherent in the system by discussing her experiences as an enslaved person.

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520 Words | 3 Pages

The emotional and sexual abuse was awful for Jacobs. In her narrative she talks about how horrible it really was for women "My master began to whisper foul words in my ear." Her master told her she was property "He told me I was his property; that I must be subject to his will in all things." She says how she had to give up their children "The children were sold to a slave-trader,

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769 Words | 4 Pages

At the age of six, her mother died and she was forced to live with Margaret Horniblow, the mother’s owner. The mistress took a good care of Jacobs and taught her how to read, write and sew. Her father was always telling her to feel free and do not feel someones property. While her grandmother was always teaching Jacobs respect and manners. She was always telling her about principles and ethnics.

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1132 Words | 5 Pages

The main purpose of Jacobs "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" was to try to sway people's

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