American Slave Narrators: Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs
As former slaves lived in the same generation, both Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass devoted their professional lives to tell their story based on their own experiences. As a matter of fact, Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) and Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) are considered the most important works in the slave narrative genre. Thus, Jacobs’s and Douglass’s essays provide a ground for a meaningful comparison in terms of their respective accounts. Both writers provide a significant contribution to the genre of slave narrative, but not in an equal influence. By way of illustration, their publications reflect different literary and political circumstances that dominate the slave narrative genre between each period of their construction and publication. That is, in 1845, the Abolitionist movement was beginning to gain a political force when Douglass released his first Narrative of the Life. On the other hand, Jacobs’s Incidents publication’s in 1861 was coincident with the beginning of the Civil War.
Jacobs’s autobiography was received a little attention from historians and literary critics because they doubt its …show more content…
Both narratives depict their lives as slaves, and how slavery dehumanizes slaves (Kilcup 82). More importantly, they had a good relationship with a kind mistress in their childhood, which helped them to become literate. Both narratives touch upon the same issues to the readers. They lived during the same era and had to endure slavery in the Southern regions, specifically, Jacobs in North Carolina and Douglass in Maryland. At the end of their struggle, they eventually gained their freedom and became leaders in the abolitionist movement (Miller
As former slaves lived in the same generation, both Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass devoted their professional lives to tell their story based on their own experiences. As a matter of fact, Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) and Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) are considered the most important works in the slave narrative genre. Thus, Jacobs’s and Douglass’s essays provide a ground for a meaningful comparison in terms of their respective accounts. Both writers provide a significant contribution to the genre of slave narrative, but not in an equal influence. By way of illustration, their publications reflect different literary and political circumstances that dominate the slave narrative genre between each period of their construction and publication. That is, in 1845, the Abolitionist movement was beginning to gain a political force when Douglass released his first Narrative of the Life. On the other hand, Jacobs’s Incidents publication’s in 1861 was coincident with the beginning of the Civil War.
Jacobs’s autobiography was received a little attention from historians and literary critics because they doubt its …show more content…
Both narratives depict their lives as slaves, and how slavery dehumanizes slaves (Kilcup 82). More importantly, they had a good relationship with a kind mistress in their childhood, which helped them to become literate. Both narratives touch upon the same issues to the readers. They lived during the same era and had to endure slavery in the Southern regions, specifically, Jacobs in North Carolina and Douglass in Maryland. At the end of their struggle, they eventually gained their freedom and became leaders in the abolitionist movement (Miller