In Harriet Ann Jacobs’, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, saying African Americans were mistreated is a grave understatement. The more common issues that come to mind with racism and slavery are usually abuse, hardships, and a slew of physical and verbal harassment. However, there were so many other horrendous situations slaves had to painfully endure throughout their lifetimes that many people aren’t sufficiently informed about. Slaves suffered through bouts of starvation, physical torture in the form of violent whipping, and sometimes the consequence was even murder. To put it into perspective, just so slaves couldn’t eat the leftovers, some mistresses would spit in the pots and pats after they were done serving dinner to the family.
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Many slaves, especially women, had wishful and perseverant hopes of being reunited with their families someday and escaping to the free Northern states that all southern slaves had grown to romanticize in their thoughts. They all had a deeper motivation to keep living in those conditions and endure the adversities. Many slaves had such a deep-rooted faith that they believed that it was in God’s plan for them to be suffering in this way, and they trusted that one day God would reward them for the humility and selfless work they had to painfully endure. The morals and values they held close to their hearts helped slaves strive to do as much good in their every day lives as they could. They knew that God would save them from the pain and suffering if they remained faithful until the end. This powerful mindset is what kept them going without rebelling against their masters.
Although education was a privilege never granted to slaves, Harriet Jacobs was taught how to read and spell by her childhood mistress, an indispensable and rare gift that the majority of slaves are never blessed with. Apart from that, she started teaching herself how to write when she was a slave in the Flint household and her note passing with Dr. Flint must have significantly helped to develop her writing skills. All of
Many slaves, especially women, had wishful and perseverant hopes of being reunited with their families someday and escaping to the free Northern states that all southern slaves had grown to romanticize in their thoughts. They all had a deeper motivation to keep living in those conditions and endure the adversities. Many slaves had such a deep-rooted faith that they believed that it was in God’s plan for them to be suffering in this way, and they trusted that one day God would reward them for the humility and selfless work they had to painfully endure. The morals and values they held close to their hearts helped slaves strive to do as much good in their every day lives as they could. They knew that God would save them from the pain and suffering if they remained faithful until the end. This powerful mindset is what kept them going without rebelling against their masters.
Although education was a privilege never granted to slaves, Harriet Jacobs was taught how to read and spell by her childhood mistress, an indispensable and rare gift that the majority of slaves are never blessed with. Apart from that, she started teaching herself how to write when she was a slave in the Flint household and her note passing with Dr. Flint must have significantly helped to develop her writing skills. All of