Comparing Douglass Incidents In The Life Of Fredrick Douglas And Harriet Jacobs

Essay A:

Before the abolishment of slavery that took place after the American civil war of 1861-1863, slaves used various methods to resist slavery. Some of these methods included performing the work slowly and running away. Slaves employed the method of running away to escape the harsh treatment. They would run away in a nearby forest or visit their relatives in a nearby plantation. The abolishment of slavery in the northern part of the country allowed slaves to move to the northern part of the country to seek freedom. The slave masters used various means to control slavery such as whipping slaves who underperformed in the plantation field. Those who run away were also open to being shot dead. Two of the most broadly read American slave accounts were Frederick Douglass' “Story of the Life of Fredrick Douglas” (1845) and Harriet Jacobs' “Incidents in the Life

Her autobiography "Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl" (1861) gives the insight about the struggles and difficulties the slaves went through in an attempt to seek freedom. She faced sexual harassment while she was young which was very common for female slaves. “For years, my master had done his utmost to pollute my mind with foul images, and to destroy the pure principles inculcated by my grandmother, and the good mistress of my childhood.” (2013) Her resistant to slavery was her rejection to Norcom thus initiating a relationship with the Samuel Tredwell Sawyer, who was the white neighbor of Norcom. She ran away later after a continuous harassment by Norcom. She hide in small attic spaces as she feared being seen hence being mistreated (Jacobs, 2013). Norcom would later look for Jacobs without any success. She later moved from Edenton to New York. While in New York, she would later develop into female abolitionist and later she becomes an ant-slavery female freedom fighter contributing a lot in the war against