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Summary Of Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs

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In the book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs argued that slavery should be abolished. According to Jacobs, slavery should be abolished because, "slavery is a curse to the whites as well as to the blacks” (Jacobs, 462) because of the intensive abuse imposed on all those involved in slavery. Jacobs used an exhaustive list of examples of physical, sexual, emotional and mental abuse in the book.
Although Harriet Jacobs had a very fortunate upbringing (Jacobs, 415), starting in her early teenage years in her life, Jacobs saw and experienced many forms of physical abuse to the slaves around her. If a slave was unwilling to cooperate and comply with the commands of his or her master, that slave would be "whipped, or locked up in jail, until he …show more content…

Jacobs was a witness to one of these occasions was when, at the age of 14, she witnessed the whipping of a plantation slave. She heard his cries and trembled at the sounds ringing through her mind for months after the event (Jacobs, 421-422). Later in her life, Jacobs fell in love with a free black man. When Dr. Flint, her owner, found this out, he called her into his study and questioned her. When she answered honestly, Dr. Flint "sprang on [her] like a tiger, and gave [her] a stunning blow” (Jacobs, 448). These inhumane acts of violence were not only present on Flint's property. One of Flint's neighbors, a lady named Mrs. Wade, on whose property was no "cessation of the lash" (Jacobs, 457). A slave described Mrs. Wade's house saying "It is hell in missis's house. 'Pears I can never get out. Day and night I prays to die" (Jacobs, 475). Another neighbor had a slave named James. James was caught in an attempt to escape and was subsequently beaten to the pleasure of the overseer, washed in brine to prevent a proper healing of his

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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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Although she did not receive any physical punishment by her master, she lived in a tight-knit community and was aware of the conditions of other slaves who received brutal punishments. For example, Jacobs notes that “every where men, women, and children were whipped till the blood stood in puddles at their feet.” (page 56). Female slaves lived in fear that they would be raped by their masters. Jacobs’ master, Dr. Flint, often made relentless sexual advances at her, and justified his behavior by saying that she was “made for his use.”

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Frederick Douglass & Harriet Jacobs Slavery has been noted as one of the biggest social issues in America. From the beginning of time, race has been seen as a barrier for some people despite their various attempts at equality none seem to yield any positive results. Frederick Douglas and Harriet Jacobs both have tried to be seen as equal to others but come up short due to the oppression of their skin color. But as a result of their power to not conform to being enslaved and treated like objects due to dehumanization is what leads them on their journey to becoming one of the few free slaves. “My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute.”

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The slave narratives by Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs show how the institution of slavery dehumanizes an individual both physically and emotionally. Jacobs states that women in slavery were treated far more terribly than men were endured. The horrible treatments that were lashed upon women slaves, she witnessed through her own eyes, so the argument that Jacob presents, "slavery is bad for men, but far more terrible for women is agreeable. African American women who were brought as slaves or who were born slaves were emotionally and mentally dehumanized by their owners. In Jacobs' narrative the young girl was mentally harmed for the account of the the girls "young mind" would be filled with "unclean images" by the master.

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In the same page, he also tells how a woman killed his wife’s cousin in the cruelest way. Afterwards, he talks about the horrible feeling this murder produced throughout the entire community. Douglass also recounts the experience of watching the slaveholder whip his aunt until she was covered in blood and the pleasure the slaveholder seemed to take in it. The graphic description of her abuse makes readers feel the same anger Douglass must have

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Hopkins remained but a short time in the office of overseer. Why his career was so short, I do not know, but suppose he lacked the necessary severity to suit Colonel Lloyd. ”(Douglass 32). Aunt Hester, a slave Frederick’s master owned, was stripped naked from neck to waist and beaten with a whip until she bled. Whipping is such as not getting up early or not doing your work fast enough, but other times it was just seen as a form of enjoyment.

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Harriet Jacobs writes about mainly mistreatment, but there

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In this book, Jacobs’ describes the living conditions as a slave and her own personal experiences; her descriptions show how violent and poor her living conditions were. Harriet Jacobs wrote, “Various were the punishments resorted to. A favorite one was to tie a rope round a man’s body, and suspend him from the ground. A fire was kindled over him, from which was suspended a piece of fat pork,” (Jacobs 41) . This is one of the many examples of how poorly slaves were treated on plantations and by their owners.

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In the issue of whether the name should be American Culture or American Cultures I believe that due to the vast variety and distinctness of the cultural groups that make up the United States the name should be American Cultures. To examine why we will look at sources from several different figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Jacobs, Jackson Turner, John D’Emilio, Gerda Lerner, and Fredric Douglas. To start, we will first look at Harriet Jacobs and her biography detailing her life as a slave. Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery, however was unaware of this until the loss of her protection, her father who was a skilled slave, she is shocked by the realization saying “I never dreamed I was a piece of merchandise”(Jacobs, 8)

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Those that were not within the trade heard rumors of the acts that were committed but many were apathic to the plight of others that did not directly affected them. However, once Douglass began to speak and write about his time as a slave recounting the at times unsolicited violence that occurred, the tides began to turn within the public opinion. It was no longer merely rumor, it was fact being presented by a survivor. Within the “NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, AN AMERICAN SLAVE” Douglass brought to life the everyday horrors that he had witnessed such as the treatment of his aunt, “The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest” (1184). This image of a woman being whipped and treated with such degradation was appalling to bear to the supporters of the abolition.

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Slaves were often beaten by their masters or overseers in order to keep them in line and stop them from disobeying their masters by instilling fear and a constant physical reminder

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She talks about how she was treated by Dr. Flint " But Dr. Flint swore he would kill me, if I was not as silent as the grave." Although in Jacobs narrative she was treated, in Douglass' his grandmother was whipped "The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped, and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped the longest." He also talks about how bad women had it "He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome, would he cease to swing the blood-clooted cowskin." Then he talks about how slavery was like hell "It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which I was about to pass."

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436 Words | 2 Pages

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass uses descriptive detail and pathos to delineate the evil and harsh realities of slavery and to illustrate why it should be abolished. In the very beginning of his story, Douglass precedes to give the readers a very harsh image of what he encounters. Douglass wanted people to know that even at a very young age, slaves witnessed and endured horrible actions. Douglass’s overseer was a very cruel man and when Douglass was just a child he witnessed him traumatically beat a relative. Douglass said, “I have often been awakened at the dawn of the day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered in blood”(15).

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It turns people inhumane as they perform such absurd acts without feeling remorseful. In his autobiography, Douglass reflects on the extreme torture that slaves suffer on the behalf of their masters. He demonstrates the actions of a slave master named Colonel Lloyd and how he treated the slaves. “They were frequently whipped when least deserving […]” (Douglass, 243). The slave owners abused their slaves only because they knew that they could.

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Disobedience was often punished by floggings, one of the most common forms of violence. Blacks were expected to do everything the white man insisted. They could not say or do anything without fear of angering their master. Within the story of Thomas Jones, there are multiple accounts of beatings. Jones recalls that “[my master] whipped me with great severity, inflicting terrible pain at every blow upon my quivering body, which was still very tender from the recent lacerations” (Jones, 103).

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