In “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, Harriett Jacobs illustrates the abuses of slavery throughout her childhood, the battle for African American slaves to find a self-image and self-respect, and stresses the trials and tribulations faced by female slaves, particularly through sexual abuse and the anguish of slave mothers who are separated from their offspring. Jacobs’ story provides a representation of African Americans, along with narratives particularly in this passage that show this representation Jacobs’ has illustrated for us, as well as challenging this representation and creating a new representation of blackness. The unique, real and truthfulness of the book makes it so exciting and heartfelt to read, which in my opinion is a
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Jacobs’ depicts the African American lifestyle as grueling, a slave girl does not only endure physical pain but also emotional pain. The theme of African Americans being treated extremely poor during the mid nineteenth century, reminds me of another book we read in class “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”. In particular, the Frederick Douglass talks about a day when a slave owner whips a black slave named Demby, who then runs into this creek to avoid and cure the pain. When Demby refuses to come out of the creek the slave owner gives Demby to the count of three to return. When Demby does not respond, the slave owner shoots him o the spot. Similar to Douglass, the physical brutality and deprivation that slaves were forced to endure, Jacobs does not ignore the issues, but more so focus on slaves’ mental and spiritual anguish. As a slave with a relatively “easy” life, Jacobs’ does not have to endure constant thrashings and hard brute labor. However, she and many of the other slaves around her suffer greatly from being denied basic human rights and legal protection. Men and women were not permitted to marry whomever they pleased and they often were not allowed to marry period. African American women were frequently forced to sleep with the masters they so utterly hated. What’s most concerning is that families were torn apart, with children sold away from their parents. This gave slave mothers who were not necessarily beaten or starved, stripped of their humanity. When Jacobs’ states that she would rather be a desperately poor English farm laborer than a “pampered” slave, she emphasizes the point that slavery’s mental cruelty is every bit as devastating as its physical cruelty. This leads to her saying in the passage that slavery is worse for women but has an affect on all. I believe when Jacobs’ states that “the
Jacobs’ depicts the African American lifestyle as grueling, a slave girl does not only endure physical pain but also emotional pain. The theme of African Americans being treated extremely poor during the mid nineteenth century, reminds me of another book we read in class “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass”. In particular, the Frederick Douglass talks about a day when a slave owner whips a black slave named Demby, who then runs into this creek to avoid and cure the pain. When Demby refuses to come out of the creek the slave owner gives Demby to the count of three to return. When Demby does not respond, the slave owner shoots him o the spot. Similar to Douglass, the physical brutality and deprivation that slaves were forced to endure, Jacobs does not ignore the issues, but more so focus on slaves’ mental and spiritual anguish. As a slave with a relatively “easy” life, Jacobs’ does not have to endure constant thrashings and hard brute labor. However, she and many of the other slaves around her suffer greatly from being denied basic human rights and legal protection. Men and women were not permitted to marry whomever they pleased and they often were not allowed to marry period. African American women were frequently forced to sleep with the masters they so utterly hated. What’s most concerning is that families were torn apart, with children sold away from their parents. This gave slave mothers who were not necessarily beaten or starved, stripped of their humanity. When Jacobs’ states that she would rather be a desperately poor English farm laborer than a “pampered” slave, she emphasizes the point that slavery’s mental cruelty is every bit as devastating as its physical cruelty. This leads to her saying in the passage that slavery is worse for women but has an affect on all. I believe when Jacobs’ states that “the