Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
While reading the novel Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl written by Harriet Ann Jacobs, readers see how slavery was corrupted. This novel is a story about a slave named Linda and the hardships she endures. The story goes through her life and speaks about her journey to freedom. Linda goes through pain and sacrifice to get there. In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the theme of the corrupting power of slavery is shown through literary elements such as foreshadowing, conflict, imagery, and symbolism. Through foreshadowing, the author, Jacobs, is able to give the readers hints as to what will be happening next or later on in the book. Foreshadowing can tell readers or give them a hint that they …show more content…
Conflict shows the readers the corruption that comes with the power of slavery. As Jacobs writes from the perspective of a slave, a female slave at that, readers see the hardships that many people had to go through. Many stories are from a male 's point of view and Jacobs female’s point of view opened up different aspects of slavery. When Linda first became a slave, she had a seemingly wonderful and kind mistress that treated her very well. Time caught up with her mistress, though, and she ended up passing away. This meant Linda would have to be with a new master or mistress. Linda, “after a brief period of suspense...learned that [her mistress] had bequeathed [her] to her sister’s daughter” (Jacobs 4.) Linda would be placed with the daughter but quickly moved to a new home. The new home would be under Dr. Flints ruling, her new master. Dr. Flint would come “everyday; and [Linda] was [told]...insults [that] no pen can describe” (Jacobs 85.) Linda had so much hope that her mistress, who she loved greatly, would give her freedom in her will. Yet, she was sadly mistaken when she found out who she was going to be given to. The Flint family she was turned to was very violent and rude to her and all the other slaves they had. The father, Dr. Flint, would end up sexually abusing her and the mother would do anything to stop it and hated Linda. The mother would make Linda …show more content…
The last symbol that stood out is the loophole of retreat. This is the loophole that Linda would watch out of and it symbolizes two major pieces of her that were important in her act to escape to the North. These important pieces were her mind and her spirit. With these two important components, Linda could also get away and ward off the sexual abuse Dr.Flint put her through. Through all of these symbols, readers are able to interpret many ideas and situations as well as Lindas surroundings all throughout the book. Jacobs uses many different ideas and symbols in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl to help the reader truly understand what is happening throughout the whole novel, even when things may get complicated or
While reading the novel Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl written by Harriet Ann Jacobs, readers see how slavery was corrupted. This novel is a story about a slave named Linda and the hardships she endures. The story goes through her life and speaks about her journey to freedom. Linda goes through pain and sacrifice to get there. In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the theme of the corrupting power of slavery is shown through literary elements such as foreshadowing, conflict, imagery, and symbolism. Through foreshadowing, the author, Jacobs, is able to give the readers hints as to what will be happening next or later on in the book. Foreshadowing can tell readers or give them a hint that they …show more content…
Conflict shows the readers the corruption that comes with the power of slavery. As Jacobs writes from the perspective of a slave, a female slave at that, readers see the hardships that many people had to go through. Many stories are from a male 's point of view and Jacobs female’s point of view opened up different aspects of slavery. When Linda first became a slave, she had a seemingly wonderful and kind mistress that treated her very well. Time caught up with her mistress, though, and she ended up passing away. This meant Linda would have to be with a new master or mistress. Linda, “after a brief period of suspense...learned that [her mistress] had bequeathed [her] to her sister’s daughter” (Jacobs 4.) Linda would be placed with the daughter but quickly moved to a new home. The new home would be under Dr. Flints ruling, her new master. Dr. Flint would come “everyday; and [Linda] was [told]...insults [that] no pen can describe” (Jacobs 85.) Linda had so much hope that her mistress, who she loved greatly, would give her freedom in her will. Yet, she was sadly mistaken when she found out who she was going to be given to. The Flint family she was turned to was very violent and rude to her and all the other slaves they had. The father, Dr. Flint, would end up sexually abusing her and the mother would do anything to stop it and hated Linda. The mother would make Linda …show more content…
The last symbol that stood out is the loophole of retreat. This is the loophole that Linda would watch out of and it symbolizes two major pieces of her that were important in her act to escape to the North. These important pieces were her mind and her spirit. With these two important components, Linda could also get away and ward off the sexual abuse Dr.Flint put her through. Through all of these symbols, readers are able to interpret many ideas and situations as well as Lindas surroundings all throughout the book. Jacobs uses many different ideas and symbols in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl to help the reader truly understand what is happening throughout the whole novel, even when things may get complicated or