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Slavery is a term that can create a whirlwind of emotions for everyone. During the hardships faced by the African Americans, hundreds of accounts were documented. Harriet Jacobs, Charles Ball and Kate Drumgoold each shared their perspectives of being caught up in the world of slavery. There were reoccurring themes throughout the books as well as varying angles that each author either left out or never experienced. Taking two women’s views as well as a man’s, we can begin to delve deeper into what their everyday lives would have been like. Charles Ball’s Fifty Years in Chains and Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl were both published in the early 1860’s while Kate Drumgoold’s A Slave Girl’s Story came almost forty years later I believe there were things overshadowing Charles’ attention. While the man does give credit to a supreme being, his relation to the Christian culture comes from his encounters to which he documents in great detail with fellow slaves. As previously stated, I believe the significance of the slave’s ability to maintain reverence for the religion they practiced provided insight into what gave them hope. The story of Exodus is linked to many slave narratives and it was no different for these three Slave-owners looked upon the African Americans as lesser people who were in desperate need of support. They were not capable of surviving on their own without white guidance (Boston). Dr. Flint, the master over the plantation where Harriet Jacobs lived showed a great example of paternalism. He cared for Harriet but in a possessive way to which he continuously sought the woman for his personal needs. For Dr. Flint, the slaves he owned should be grateful towards him and be willing to do what he asked with no rebuttal. This wasn’t the case with Harriet. She simply refused him at every chance which only angered the slaveholder. Jacobs resisted the doctor and his paternalistic ways. Harriet Jacobs sheds light onto the self-interest that drives the paternalism displayed by the masters. The slaves were property and who wanted to showcase poorly groomed property? If there was someone visiting, the slaves, except for those within the house, would be hidden away and those who worked within the master’s home would dawn nicer clothes and better meals would be prepared all in a show for the
In the autobiographical writings Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs’ reflects on the times that her master Dr. Flint consistently tried to molest her sexually. In spite of her fears of horrible repercussions such as beatings or torture if she refuses to submit to him, Harriet always manages to evade his proposals to become his mistress by out-smarting him. She defends herself from his numerous attempts to seduce her, by the power of her mental strength and intelligence, and her Christian morality. While she fears him each time he secretly approaches her with his sexual propositions when he caught her alone, she could always think of ways to protect herself. For example she protects herself from the dangers of his sexual advances by removing herself from the master’s presence any opportunity she gets. She sometimes stays with her grandmother or aunt at night to protect herself from him. They are both Dr. Flint’s former slaves too who live on the plantation where she lives. Even though he threatens to kill her if she tells anyone, she tells his wife about his sexual advances, and Mrs. Flint invites Harriet to sl...
It is well known that slavery was a horrible event in the history of the United States. However, what isn't as well known is the actual severity of slavery. The experiences of slave women presented by Angela Davis and the theories of black women presented by Patricia Hill Collins are evident in the life of Harriet Jacobs and show the severity of slavery for black women.
A recurring theme in, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, is Harriet Jacobs's reflections on what slavery meant to her as well as all women in bondage. Continuously, Jacobs expresses her deep hatred of slavery, and all of its implications. She dreads such an institution so much that she sometimes regards death as a better alternative than a life in bondage. For Harriet, slavery was different than many African Americans. She did not spend her life harvesting cotton on a large plantation. She was not flogged and beaten regularly like many slaves. She was not actively kept from illiteracy. Actually, Harriet always was treated relatively well. She performed most of her work inside and was rarely ever punished, at the request of her licentious master. Furthermore, she was taught to read and sew, and to perform other tasks associated with a ?ladies? work. Outwardly, it appeared that Harriet had it pretty good, in light of what many slaves had succumbed to. However, Ironically Harriet believes these fortunes were actually her curse. The fact that she was well kept and light skinned as well as being attractive lead to her victimization as a sexual object. Consequently, Harriet became a prospective concubine for Dr. Norcom. She points out that life under slavery was as bad as any slave could hope for. Harriet talks about her life as slave by saying, ?You never knew what it is to be a slave; to be entirely unprotected by law or custom; to have the laws reduce you to the condition of chattel, entirely subject to the will of another.? (Jacobs p. 55).
In her story Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs presents what life was like living as a female slave during the 19th century. Born into slavery, she exhibits, to people living in the North who thought slaves were treated fairly and well, how living as a slave, especially as a female slave during that time, was a heinous and horrible experience. Perhaps even harder than it was if one had been a male slave, as female slaves had to deal with issues, such as unwanted sexual attention, sexual victimization and for some the suffering of being separated from their children. Harriet Jacobs shows that despite all of the hardship that she struggled with, having a cause to fight for, that is trying to get your children a better life
In “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” by Harriet Jacobs, Jacob’s writing demonstrates to challenge the acceptance of slavery during the 1800’s. Jacobs, who is writing inside a “contact zone” tries to connect both societies in this story.
Harriet Jacobs in many occasions had to learn there was segregation of African-Americans and White-Americans. “I found the same manifestations of that cruel prejudice, which so discourages the feelings, and repressed the energies of the colored people”(144). For African-American to live in the free states did not mean that were equal to White-Americans, African-Americans were not allowed to share the same public spaces as white people, cabins and restaurants. The Fugitive slave law was a danger for Jacobs and many other people in her situation, she still was a slave in the south and feared the persecution of kidnappers who would take her to the south. Jacobs often would find herself rushing and walking through the back streets whenever she had to do an errand (157). Jacob experienced what many other fugitives experienced, the lack of security to walk with freedom in the streets. When fugitive slave went to the Free states they realized that they were not actually free, they had to encounter segregation as well as the persecution of kidnapers and owners from the south. This constant inequality and fear of being taken back to the south therefore slaves could not resist
I will begin with a comparison of the two books, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” and “Harriett Ann Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” with their title pages. Douglass’s title is announcing that his entire “life” as an “American Slave” will be examined. While, Jacobs’s title offers a contrast and proclaims that this will not be the story of her full life, but a selection of “incidents” that occurred at specific times in her life. Jacobs refers to herself in the title as a “slave girl,” and not an “American slave,”. It is the voice of a woman telling the story of having survived a horrifying childhood and identifies herself as a slave mother. Douglass’ and Jacobs’ works symbolize the pressure between
Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl. 2nd Edition. Edited by Pine T. Joslyn. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, INC., 2001.
Lee, Desmond. “The Study of African American Slave Narratives “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” and “Narrative of Frederick Douglass”.” Studies of Early African americans. 17 (1999): 1-99. Web. EBSCO
Slavery has always been viewed as one of the most scandalous times in American history. It appears that the entire institution of slavery has been capsulized as white masters torturing defenseless African Americans. However, not every slave has encountered this experience. In this essay I will present the life of two former slaves Harriet Smith and Mr. George Johnson and how similar as well as different their experiences were based on interviews conducted with each of them. The negative aspects of slave life were undeniably heinous and for that reason especially, it is also important to also reveal the lives of slaves whom were treated with dignity and respect.
Article 4 from The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is dedicated towards the abolishment of human slavery. To clear up any confusion, verbatim it states, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” The United Nations General Assembly created The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. A time where slavery was non-existent in the United States. In fact, slavery in the modern United States is viewed as an inhumane act by a majority of the population. Yet when the United States gained its’ independence from the British, slaves existed. To be a slave meant to be a piece of property or merchandise as depicted in Harriet Jacobs’s Incident In The Life Of A Slave Girl. The United States started off viewing slavery as just a natural part of life, but many of the challenges the United States faced helped redirect that belief into the modern day one where slavery is deemed as an
In Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Jacobs recalls her experiences of being a slave through the eyes of Linda Brent. Linda held no knowledge of being a piece of property through her childhood. When she turned six, her childhood vanished. Although she was still a child, she had to mature at a much accelerated rate than children who were not slaves, or of color. Throughout Linda’s life of a slave girl, she depended on substantial family tethers as a source of perseverance, support, and aspirations for a superior life. In a few ways, these tethers can be perceived as a blessing in disguise. Even though Linda’s support system served as an extensive force ultimately leading her to
The issue of Slavery in the South was an unresolved issue in the United States during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. During these years, the south kept having slavery, even though most states had slavery abolished. Due to the fact that slaves were treated as inferior, they did not have the same rights and their chances of becoming an educated person were almost impossible. However, some information about slavery, from the slaves’ point of view, has been saved. In this essay, we are comparing two different books that show us what being a slave actually was. This will be seen with the help of two different characters: Linda Brent in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Frederick Douglass in The Narrative of the life of Frederick
...e that chattel slavery was a cruel, perverse institution that no human should ever have to endure. Most people realize today how hypocritical it was to call oneself a Christian, while treating slaves so horribly. Throughout her book, Harriet Jacobs, in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself, revealed Americans everywhere that slave owners were hypocrites, and calling themselves Christians was perhaps the greatest sin of all.
After reading the slavery accounts of Olaudah Equiano 's "The Life of Olaudah Equiano" and Harriet Jacobs ' "Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl", you gain knowledge of what slaves endured during their times of slavery. To build their audience aware of what life of a slave was like, both authors gives their interpretation from two different perspectives and by two different eras of slavery.