Analysis Of Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs
analytical Essay
705 words
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... ... middle of paper ... .... 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.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that african americans rarely found ways to resist the perilous bounds of slavery, despite the odds against them succeeding at a rebellion or escaping permanently.
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs fell in love with a free black carpenter who wanted to buy her freedom but dr. flint did not grant consent.
- Analyzes the ineffectiveness of resistance in harriet jacobs' attempt to allude to dr. flint and his offer to build her a house.
- Analyzes how jacobs offers a look into neighboring plantations that reveal an in depth look at how slaveholders kept control over slaves and how cruelty became the norm facilitating to the lack of slave resistance.
- Analyzes how slavery used misinformation and the lack of access to education to keep slaves quiet and hopeless. this led to the common assumption that blacks were inferior.
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs' 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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- 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 this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs, in her story incidents in the life of a slave girl, explains how living in slavery was heinous and horrible.
- Analyzes how jacobs demonstrates the inner strength that these young girls had to develop to deal with their day-to-day lives.
- Analyzes how the women of the masters were not happy about the attention that their husbands gave to the young slave girls, and it was the slaves that most often got the blame for the husband’s infidelity.
- Explains that the strong religious beliefs that families held during this era made life unbearably difficult for these slaves and especially the women.
- Explains that slave owners would make the lives of these poor girls as difficult as they possibly could. they would sell them and their children to different plantations.
- Analyzes how linda, the protagonist of the story, realizes that the only way for her children to truly be safe and free is to be away from her current master.
- Opines that linda wanted her children to be free of the control of her current slave owner. she chose to work on his plantation and leave them at home with their grandmother.
- Analyzes how linda risks her life to save her children by running away from the plantation that her master owns.
- Analyzes how linda gave up part of her life and spent 7 years hiding in a coffin-like ‘garret’ attached to her grandmother’s porch to free her children from the current master.
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs uses her story to show how slavery was an abusive way of life, and how much difficulties female slaves had to go through.
1554 wordsRead More - Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girlanalytical essayHarriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl 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.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs's reflections on slavery and bondage are recurring themes in incidents in the life of a slave girl.
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs was born with a mind that only told her place in the world was that of the little girl. she had no capacity to understand the hardships that she inherited.
- Analyzes how harriet's view of death changed as she experienced the evils of bondage. the conflict in her mind must have been divisive because she valued life.
- Opines that harriet's upbringing was an important reason for why she was so elusive in her description of the raping.
- Analyzes how harriet was torn between the value of life and the freedom of death. she fell in love with a young man that gave her hope for freedom.
- Analyzes jacobs, harriet, and gates' the classic slave narratives.
1478 wordsRead More - Harriet Jacobs Incidents And A Slave Girl: An Analysisanalytical essaySlavery 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
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs, charles ball and kate drumgoold each shared their perspectives of being caught up in the world of slavery.
- Analyzes how kate drumgoold recognizes the importance of religion throughout the community and gives it high regard.
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs' incidents in the life of a slave girl follows the same path in regards to religion.
- Analyzes how charles ball, along with kate, praised god for his strength to withstand the severity of his situation. he recognizes god as the judge of one’s life.
- Analyzes the significance of the slave's ability to maintain reverence for the religion they practiced provided insight into what gave them hope.
- Analyzes how dr. flint, the master over the plantation where harriet jacobs lived, showed a great example of paternalism.
- Analyzes how drumgoold's story contrasts with harriet and charles'. she benefited from the paternalism shown by her owner.
- Analyzes how charles ball's lack of paternalism cannot be overlooked. his masters were less than kind to the poor during his enslavement.
1129 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Harriet Jacobs Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girlanalytical essayIn Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the author subjects the reader to a dystopian slave narrative based on a true story of a woman’s struggle for self-identity, self-preservation and freedom. This non-fictional personal account chronicles the journey of Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897) life of servitude and degradation in the state of North Carolina to the shackle-free promise land of liberty in the North. The reoccurring theme throughout that I strive to exploit is how the women’s sphere, known as the Cult of True Womanhood (Domesticity), is a corrupt concept that is full of white bias and privilege that has been compromised by the harsh oppression of slavery’s racial barrier. Women and the female race are falling for man’s
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs incidents in the life of a slave girl explores the struggles and sexual abuse that female slaves faced on plantations as well as their efforts to practice motherhood.
- Analyzes how the desire for a comfortable and safe home runs throughout the book, reflecting the notion of domesticity that would have been familiar to jacobs’s mostly white female readers in the nineteenth century.
- Analyzes how linda avoids being a slave by the grace of her own intellect. she does not condemn slaves for illegal or immoral acts such as theft or adultery, but argues that the slave system dehumanizes them.
- Analyzes how jacobs' work reflects the antebellum era, pre-civil war in america, and the cult of true womanhood.
1019 wordsRead More - Slavery and the Life of Harriet Jacobsanalytical essaySlavery and the Life of Harriet Jacobs 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. The history of slave women offered by Davis suggests that "compulsory labor overshadowed every other aspect of women's existence" (Davis 5).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that slavery was a horrible event in the history of the united states, but the actual severity of slavery isn't as well known. the experiences of slave women presented by angela davis and the theories of black women shown by patricia hill collins.
- Analyzes how the life of harriet jacobs shows the severity of life for slave women and the obstacles that made slave life more difficult for black women.
- Analyzes how the relative security that often accompanied motherhood served to reinforce its importance. harriet jacobs avoided sexual encounters with her abusive master and chose to have a child with mr. sands.
- Describes collins, patricia, black feminist thought: knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment.
- Opines that jacobs, harriet, and yellin, jean. incidents in the life of a slave girl.
- Analyzes how the impregnation of jacobs arouses hostility from dr. flint and brings on harsher treatment.
1063 wordsRead More - Frederick Douglass and Slaveryanalytical essayAs the United States grew, the institution of slavery became a way of life in the southern states, while northern states began to abolish it. While the majority of free blacks lived in poverty, some were able to establish successful businesses that helped the Black community. Racial discrimination often meant that Blacks were not welcome or would be mistreated in White businesses and other establishments. A comparison of the narratives of Douglass and Jacobs demonstrates the full range of demands and situations that slaves experienced, and the mistreatment that they experienced as well. Jacobs experienced the ongoing sexual harassment from James Norcom, just like numerous slave women experienced sexual abuse or harassment during the slave era. Another issue that faced blacks was the incompetence of the white slave owners and people. In ...
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how frederick douglass's narrative, first published in 1845, is an enlightening and incendiary text. harriet jacobs was born into slavery and published letter from a fugitive slave.
- Compares the narratives of douglass and jacobs demonstrating the full range of demands and situations that slaves experienced, and the mistreatment that they experienced.
- Analyzes how jacob's sister endured sexual abuse and was forced to bear a child. most women slaves faced sexual harassment or abuse at an early age, causing psychological problems as they developed into mature women.
- Analyzes how douglass' narrative of the life shows how black males were treated with disrespect even after slavery had been abolished in the north.
- Analyzes the differences between jacob's and douglass' narratives. the themes of freedom and the need to end slavery were the same.
- Analyzes how gender separated the two narratives, and gave each a distinct view toward slavery.
- Analyzes how douglass and jacob's lives moved in different directions, but it is important not to miss the common will that their narratives proclaim of achieving freedom.
1020 wordsRead More - Harriet Jacob : A Slave, And Had Been Since The Day Sheanalytical essayHarriet Jacobs was a slave, and had been since the day she was born in 1813. However, she realized her enslavement when her mother died when Jacob was only six years old. She went through many hardships during her time as a slave. One being owned by Dr. Flint. This situation then led her to have kids with Mr. Sands, in which changed everything. She became determined to fight and do whatever possible for her and her children’s freedom.
In this essay, the author
- Narrates how harriet jacobs realized her enslavement when her mother died when she was six years old. she went through many hardships during her time as a slave, one being owned by dr. flint.
- Analyzes how harriet jacob talks about her family as an important element in her life. her father, brother, grandmother, and mistress helped her keep a positive outlook on life after her mother passed.
- Analyzes how jacobs' mistress created the belief that she had a good relationship with some of her white owners like her.
- Explains that dr. flint was a strict and selfish slave owner to jacobs. she refused to believe that she was property. after birthing her children, she became capable of doing anything for their freedom.
- Analyzes how nat turner's rebellion played an important role in jacobs life. the church emphasized love and brotherhood, while christians acted out in brutal behavior.
- Analyzes how jacobs made it clear that slavery is hard, especially under dr. flint. they did not have the right to do what they wanted.
- Recommends incidents in the life of a slave girl to anyone who likes history and wants to know about slavery from the perspective of one.
893 wordsRead More - Slavery In The Souls Of Black Folk By Harriet Jacobsanalytical essayThe greatest distress to a slave mother was realizing that her children would inevitably inherit her status as a slave. Jacobs writes of a mother who responded to the death of her infant by thanking "God for taking her away from the greatest bitterness of life (Jacobs 16). Furthermore, when Dr. Flint, her master, hurled her son Benjamin across a room Harriet experienced a fleeting moment of panic, believing that he could potentially dead; however, when she confirms that he is alive she could not determine whether she was happy that he son survived. Harriet experienced inadequacy and doubted her femininity in times that she could not protect her children from the harsh realities of the world in which they were born.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the narrative of harriet jacobs through the lens of the souls of black folk by w.e.b. du bois.
- Analyzes how jacobs and du bois experienced a moment of realization in which they came to terms with their identity, as determined by society.
- Analyzes how non-consensual sexual relations between slaveholders and their female slaves perpetuated the degradation of the negro race.
- Analyzes how the practices of slavery stripped harriet of her femininity, as pertaining to motherhood; she could not fulfill nor enjoy the pleasures of being a mother.
- Analyzes the narrative of harriet jacobs in the context of the writings of w.e.b. du bois to demonstrate how slavery prompted the weary and self-denigrating attitudes of negro americans during the reconstruction period.
841 wordsRead More - Harriet Jacobs And Moodyanalytical essayThe quest for freedom is a reoccurring theme throughout the lives of Harriet Jacobs and Anne Moody in their respective biographies Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Coming of Age in Mississippi. Both narrators’ families are trapped: Jacobs and her children by dehumanizing bonds of slavery and Anne and her family by institutional poverty in the rural South. The roles these women take on to free themselves from these burdens define their notions of freedom, as well as their later activism. Harriet Jacobs’ and Anne Moody’s respective desires to be maternal and fiscal protectors of their families defines their notion is freedom, which in turn effects their beliefs and actions in their respective reform movements.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the quest for freedom is a reoccurring theme throughout the lives of harriet jacobs and anne moody in their respective biographies incidents in the life of a slave girl and coming of age in mississippi.
- Analyzes how harriet jacobs longs to protect and maintain a maternal relationship with her children, which she finds impossible under slavery.
- Analyzes how anne moody's conceptualization of freedom stems from her upbringing as a provider for poverty-stricken her family.
- Analyzes how anne moody's involvement in the civil rights movement focuses more on the practical issues of employment and poverty relief than ideological battles.
- Analyzes how jacob's activism is to take her personal accounts of attaining freedom and make her narrative a rallying cry for emancipation from slavery.
- Explains that the definitions of freedom formed by their familial bonds drive harriet jacobs and anne moody's involvement in reform, in both the content and function of their works.
- Analyzes how both accounts are heart wrenching and personal in their content, yet their individual aspirations serve as catalysts for change.
1495 wordsRead More - In the book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, who, for her safety, called herself Linda Brent in the book. Harriet begins by talking about her childhood. She doesn’t know she is a slave until after her mother dies at the age of six. Her earliest years were not very pleasant, but she is soon given to the daughter of Dr. Flint and his wife Mrs. Flint. Dr. Flint was wealthy and cruel, and Harriet and her brother William found only in the kindness of their elderly grandmother Aunt Marthy. This grandmother was highly favorited in the south where the story take place, and another elderly woman purchased her freedom for her when Harriet was still a kid. Harriet talks about the horrors of slavery, dwelling on the theme of mothers being divided from their children and any sense of individuality or humanity in a slave being routed out by avaricious slaveholders. Her uncle Benjamin refuses to stand for the cruel treatment he receives, and eventually runs away to the north. Harriet 's grandmother helps free
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes harriet jacobs' book, incidents in the life of a slave girl, where she talks about the horrors of slavery, dwelling on the theme of mothers being divided from their children.
- Analyzes how harriet's sexual feelings for dr. flint haunted her as she grew older. the mistresses of slaveholders were jealous of the young female slaves their husbands lusted for.
- Analyzes how harriet talks about slavery, the lies about the north, and the horrors of being a slave woman or girl.
- Analyzes how harriet's children, benny and ellen, grow older and bring joy to her spirits. dr. flint renews his persecutions of her and her family.
- Analyzes how harriet works at the plantation of young mr. flint and his wife. she overhears that her children would be sent there to experience the full force of slavery.
- Narrates how a slave-trader working with mr. sands purchased william and the children from dr. flint, who was furious. the search for harriet led to the discovery that she was not safe.
- Describes harriet's uncomfortable situation in the shed, where she cannot stand, experiences extremes of heat, cold, rain, lack of air or light, and can't tell her kids that she is there.
- Analyzes how harriet decides to feign that she is in new york so dr. flint won't find her, and writes a letter dated from that place.
- Analyzes how harriet visits her daughter in brooklyn and is discouraged that she seems to be in a dangerous slave-like situation in the home of mrs. hobbs.
- Narrates how harriet's presence is finally set out by mr. thorne, mrs. hobbs' dissolute brother, who promises to help her elude dr. flint.
- Narrates how harriet lives with ellen for two years in boston and returns to the bruce household, where there is a new, equally kindhearted mrs. bruce.
- Narrates how harriet learns that dr. flint has passed away and left his family in poor financial straits. she is afraid of what miss flint, now mrs. dodge, and her husband might do.
- Analyzes how harriet admires her freedom, but feels like a heavy burden has been lifted from her shoulders. she continues to work for mrs. bruce out of duty and love.
1886 wordsRead More