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Incidents in the life of a slave girl literary analysis
Incidents in the life of a slave girl literary analysis
Incidents in the life of a slave girl literary analysis
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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).
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
In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs tells of her experiences as a slave. She had to endure the hardships that came with both being black and a woman in 1861. As a slave she was supposed to serve and obey her master. As a woman she was supposed to be submissive to men. She describes several situations in her memoir that would make me oppose slavery if I were a Northern white woman in 1861.
May the blessing of God rest on this imperfect effort in behalf of my persecuted people" (Pg. 847). She begins her testimony talking about her family. She lived with her parents, Jacobs describes her father being a highly intelligent loving man. He worked
This exposure to oppression shaped her to be the person she is today. As her “Incidents” show, she was not afraid to use her past as a stepping stone for future success. Truth and Jacobs’ sacrifices demonstrate the evolution one might call rags to riches. In this case, however, the riches displays a sense of impact that both women achieve. They fought until their dying breaths and their legacy still holds strong
Harriet Jacobs writes about mainly mistreatment, but there
Jacobs' experience of slavery was distinct because she was a woman and her owner sexually exploited her. She was compelled to have children by her owner, and having to worry about the wellbeing of her offspring added to her hardships. Douglass, a man, on the other hand, endured physical assault and toil. Despite these distinctions, they both encountered the degrading impacts of slavery, which they
This meant that Jacobs life as a slave was worse that style of life that anyone could have; because she was a slave the fear of being raped or abused was always in her mind. Jacobs was dealt a life with a double edge sword; meaning that she did not have to be worry about being abused because her master did not allow it but her master had plans to make her his own when she came to age. Jacobs did not know the latter of her situation, therefore she like any woman of her time began to become a good woman. This consisted of he being pure holy and domestic. Since her purity was being saved for her master, her being a house slave the same as Douglass, also the love for god came easy to her; she believed that she was a good woman.
Jacobs later began “to contribute her life story to the abolitionist cause in a way that would capture the attention of Northern white women in particular, to show how slavery debased and demoralized woman” (Baym, 921). Jacobs wrote an autobiography on her life as a slave little girl. In her book she described the kind of treatment African
Being a mother, Jacobs had the capacity impart a totally distinctive and a great deal more itemized viewpoint of the family unit. Having children made another feeling of earnestness in Jacobs to acquire freedom for herself and her children. Moreover, her activities were constantly made because of her two children's best advantage. Jacobs settled on innumerable difficult decisions, including the sending ceaselessly of her children. She did this reluctantly, however realized that the choice expected to be made for their wellbeing and prosperity (Bulgrin, 2006).
Jacobs, a woman, was subjected to sexual exploitation by her owner, which made her experience of slavery unique. She was forced to bear children by her owner, and her struggles were compounded by the fact that she was responsible for the welfare of her children. On the other hand, Douglass, a man, was subjected to physical abuse and hard labor. Despite these differences, both of them experienced the dehumanizing effects of slavery, which
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
(Jacobs, Ch 1, Par 6). Jacobs and many other enslaved people were told to “treat others the way you want to be treated”. It was expected that they would treat everybody with kindness. Yet this is not how things worked the other way around, seeing the cruelty and horrors of slavery. Another point of contradiction is in Chapter 13 of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
Jacobs decided to write her autobiography “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” in order to share the true life of enslaved women, since men wrote most autobiographies. She wanted a woman’s perspective and she thought she was obliged to write it because she was well educated for a black woman during the times of slavery. Her life and other people alike her had their lives greatly affected by Andrew Jackson and his political roles during the late 1920’s to early 1950’s. Jackson’s policies, politics, and societal roles during and after his presidency affected the lives of enslaved women in the United States between 1828 and 1850.
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,
