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Summary Of 'Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl'

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Slave narratives were a key piece to abolishing slavery some of these stories include slave narratives by Harriet Jacobs and Solomon Northup. Jacobs and Northup's narratives are two very different stories, but all have the same underlying theme of slavery. Each one of these narratives show a different level of slavery based on the audience they were wanting to connect with. While these narratives have very different purposes they all tend to share the same aspects of hard physical labor, sexual abuse, and physical abuse. These authors both tell their story, but each author has tweaked their writing style to fit the audience and their overall purpose.
The main purpose of Jacobs "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" was to try to sway people's …show more content…

This is probably the biggest difference between the two pieces. In the slave narrative " 12 years as a slave" the author knows that the best way to connect with the audience is to show as much detail and show the person watching exactly what was happening. He either showed exactly was happening in the situation or made it inherently obvious what was happening. Whereas Jacobs doesn't exactly explain everything that is going on in great detail and leaves it up to the readers imagination to picture what is happening. As for which slave narrative is more effective a person can argue either way, but the effectiveness can only depend on who the audience is. In the movie a person is able to clearly see exactly what was happening on the screen whereas with Jacobs piece the details aren't as clearly laid out. Not having all the pieces right in front of the audience lets the imagination run wild and leaves the reader with an earie feeling of not knowing exactly what was going on, but only being able to suspect what was actually happening. Sometimes in a situation like this the mind can paint a more vivid picture than could ever be put on a movie screen. So, while the movie "12 years as a slave" is very effective at clearly depicting the life of an average slave on a movie screen Jacobs piece might be more effective overall. The reason why is that Jacobs piece does not clearly lay all the answers in front of the reader. This makes the reader think about the situation and when the reader truly has to think about the situation it tends to leave a lasting

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Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass are two American slave narrative authors. Both were born into slavery, and their real life stories provide a unique insight into the brutal conditions faced by slaves in the 19th century. However, even with their shared experiences, their narratives diverge significantly. Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass’s history need to be compared, to be able to understand how gender influenced their experiences and writing styles, and whether they experience the same kind of freedom.

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In their respective narratives, both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs expose slavery as a brutal and degrading institution. Though the tone and approach they incorporate in their individual narratives differ, both seek to renounce the romanticized view of plantation culture and reveal the harsh actualities. Jacobs also seeks to debunk the stereotypical notion that house slaves lived a more privileged life than plantation slaves. Furthermore, Jacobs goes on to explain the role of the slave-mistress and how that complicates the life of a slave girl growing up in a house with a licentious master and his jealous wife.

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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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After having read both Frederick Douglass’s Narrative and Harriet Jacobs’s Incident 1. How were Douglass and Jacobs similar and different in their complaints against slavery? What accounts for these differences? In both the inspiring narratives of Narrative in the Life of Fredrick Douglass by Frederick Douglass’s and in Incidents in the life of a slave girl by Harriet Jacobs the respective authors demonstrate the horrors and disparity of slavery in there own ways.

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When it come to slave narrative Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs are some of the ones who come to mind. Both were in a situation that was evil in every sense of the word, but both new that life could offer more than their owners had in mind. They had an idea on what a good life could be so, both chose to follow a path that took them in the directions of their dreams. The path of Douglass was brought on by an event early in his life.

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Jacobs narrative can be seen in many different ways and she provides several different themes. One of those themes is Christianity; Christianity was very important in the lives of every slave because it united them with their families and God. Jacobs narrative provides one truth about Christianity and slaves; Slaves were the only real Christians during the 1800s. White men were all hypocrites because they thought that by going to church meant they were the best Christians ever.

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Slavery Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacob’s stories vary vastly from previous narratives; as former slaves rather than as white northern abolitionists. While both write on their own personal experiences, each autobiography varies deeply in how they chose to write their stories. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Douglass has a primary focus of slavery on a larger level, while in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Jacobs focuses her individual relationships and the effects of slavery on them. Although Douglass relies on the power dynamics of slavery to promote abolition, Jacobs uses the communal relationships amongst slaves and slave owners to achieve the same purpose, therefore both use their relationships

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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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I agree that Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Frederick Douglass' Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass are very different because of their different genders. The difference can be seen in the style of writing and how they used rhetorical tools. First, the main difference in Jacobs’ and Douglass’ narratives lies in the style in which they are written. Jacob modeled her narrative on the sentimental or domestic novel popular at the time with Northern middle class white women.

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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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(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.

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In Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs narrative they show how the institution of slavery dehumanizes an individual both physically and emotionally. In Jacobs narrative she talks about how women had it worse than men did in slavery. While men suffered, women had it worse due to sexual abuse. The emotional, physical, and sexual abuse was dehumanizing for anyone.

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