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

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Recommended: African Americans and slavery

Due to the fact that it was extremely dangerous and tough, African Americans seldom were able to find ways to resist the perilous bounds of slavery. Throughout the history of American slavery, blacks attempted to resist whenever possible, despite the odds against slaves succeeding at a rebellion or escaping permanently. Due to the power held over them, slaves tried to find ways within limits in which they could resist there owners, however, these efforts were highly ineffective at chipping away at the slave system. In “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” by Harriet Jacobs there is evidence of ways that this resistance is evident but surely unsuccessful.
As strong willed and persevering Harriet Jacobs was, she was faced with the inescapable grip of Dr. Flint to show his dominance in mind, body, and spirit. Based on the fact that Jacobs was brought up not knowing she was a slave shaped her independent mind set. One major event involved Jacobs falling in love with a free black carpenter that lived in her neighborhood. Her lover wanted to buy her freedom but Dr. Flint did not grant consent. Jacobs was again reminded of the power Dr. Flint had over her granted to him by the institution of slavery. When she argued that it was "right and honorable" for her and her lover to feel affection for each other, Dr. Flint struck her for the first time. In the end Dr. Flint had the power to do what he wanted to punish her disrespect gleaming the overall theme that in the end the power of slavery prevailed.
Another instance of the ineffectiveness of resistance is Jacobs attempt to allude Dr. Flint and his offer to build her a house. Dr. Flint’s plan to build Harriet a small house in a secluded place outside of town is so he could continue to pu...

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.... This tactic greatly bashed efforts to rebel solely based on the fact that most slaves were not intelligent. This led to the common assumption of the time that blacks were indeed the inferior race. Jacobs attacks the common assumption by writing that she does indeed agree that the black man was inferior but only because whites have made him so through their denial of education.
Although the risk for rebellion against slavery was immense, African Americans still attempted to resist within the limits of the institution of slavery. The success of these efforts was highly unlikely as the system of slavery grew more and more, backed by the laws of the land and the ever-growing spread throughout the states. Harriet Jacobs’ overall theme in her autobiography is the realization that the power of slavery proved to be in conquerable from the point of view of the slave.

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