Harriet Jacobs Born A Slave Analysis

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1) Harriet Jacobs chooses to start her biography with her childhood and how extremely fortune she is. The very first sentence is “[She is] BORN a slave; but [she] never knew it till six years of happy childhood ha[s] [went] away ” (8). The reason why she does not know she was born a slave is because “she never dream[s] [she is] a piece of merchandise” (8). Jacobs, Linda the protagonist, says “When [she is] six years old, [her] mother die[s]” (9), and that is when Linda realizes that she is a slave. This is why Linda believes that her childhood happiness ends due to the horrifying things slaves have to do. Another reason why Jacobs does not realize she is born a slave is because her mistress is really nice to her which is probably why she is fortunate. Linda says “[Her] mistress is so kind to [her ... ] with a heart …show more content…

However, Linda’s mistress dies and she becomes sad but later on, she realizes that she has to move on and think about what is going to happen to her, master wise. Linda has “some hope that she ha[s] left me free” (10), but Linda knows that nothing can save a person in the auction block. The main reason why Linda thinks she is lucky is when she gets a new mistress and master. Her master now is not the best but is cruel and Linda shows there, that she is truly lucky. The reason why slavery makes Linda lucky is because Linda now is stronger and has the ability to fight or stand up for herself. She can control her dignity and has complete control over her body. Linda says “[she] ha[s] not lived fourteen years in slavery for nothing […] The war of [her] life had begun; and though one of God’s most powerless creatures, [she] resolved never to be conquered” (19), Linda is portraying herself as a powerless person because she is slave but that should not bring her down. It should not make a person too sad because through slavery they will gain dignity and