Harriet Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Henry England
This is a book that does not acknowledges Harriet Jacobs as the author and is actually published under Linda Blunt although the book is based on Jacobs writings. Growing up as a female African American slave, Harriet Jacobs shares her life through personal writings, including memories of growing up as a slave, up to letters she sent dear old friends that reflect about the changing rights of the Colored. Jacobs shows the reality of what slavery was like through a slaves eyes and her writings are some of the most resourceful documentation the country has in understanding slavery in the South during the 1800’s. “With bitterness and insight, Jacobs exposed the hypocrisy of the …show more content…
This allows historians to not only obtain an analysis of the life of just one slave, but of what slavery was like in general during the 1800’s. One thing that can be seen as a positive for slaves is that many were able to keep close ties with their closest friends and family. If a slave was to have a sibling or family member under the same owner, they were usually able to stay very connected. Characters in the story such as Uncle Benjamin was actually completely separated and disconnected from his family once he finally escaped and used his lighter skin to pass for white. In Incidents, William is a character who is able to keep close ties with Linda Brent even after escaping. Through his writings, he is always there to help Linda and look out for her. Even after he escapes from his owner, Mr. Sands, William plays a large role in Linda’s own eventual escape and when she does escape, William is there to lead her the rest of the way. Slaves were constantly surrounded by an awful environment that had many more negative aspects than positives. Being born into slavery and then seeing others undergo lifetimes as slaves was very degrading. Life of a black person during the 1800’s was completely different than that of a white persons. For instance, a black women’s life as a slave was not on the same “sentimental track” as a white woman. In Harriot’s …show more content…
Although all the readings in the book are true, the use of sentimental fiction is used by Jacobs to help readers understand the wicked tales. Jacobs concludes the book saying “I and my children are now free! We are as free from the power of slave holders as are the white people of the north; and though that, according to my ideas, is not saying a great deal, it is a vast improvement in my condition.” This quote has the intention of giving Incidents a happy ending, but in reality, Jacobs still is without a home, she is just glad to finally be free and to have her family after the long “life of a slave
Henry England
This is a book that does not acknowledges Harriet Jacobs as the author and is actually published under Linda Blunt although the book is based on Jacobs writings. Growing up as a female African American slave, Harriet Jacobs shares her life through personal writings, including memories of growing up as a slave, up to letters she sent dear old friends that reflect about the changing rights of the Colored. Jacobs shows the reality of what slavery was like through a slaves eyes and her writings are some of the most resourceful documentation the country has in understanding slavery in the South during the 1800’s. “With bitterness and insight, Jacobs exposed the hypocrisy of the …show more content…
This allows historians to not only obtain an analysis of the life of just one slave, but of what slavery was like in general during the 1800’s. One thing that can be seen as a positive for slaves is that many were able to keep close ties with their closest friends and family. If a slave was to have a sibling or family member under the same owner, they were usually able to stay very connected. Characters in the story such as Uncle Benjamin was actually completely separated and disconnected from his family once he finally escaped and used his lighter skin to pass for white. In Incidents, William is a character who is able to keep close ties with Linda Brent even after escaping. Through his writings, he is always there to help Linda and look out for her. Even after he escapes from his owner, Mr. Sands, William plays a large role in Linda’s own eventual escape and when she does escape, William is there to lead her the rest of the way. Slaves were constantly surrounded by an awful environment that had many more negative aspects than positives. Being born into slavery and then seeing others undergo lifetimes as slaves was very degrading. Life of a black person during the 1800’s was completely different than that of a white persons. For instance, a black women’s life as a slave was not on the same “sentimental track” as a white woman. In Harriot’s …show more content…
Although all the readings in the book are true, the use of sentimental fiction is used by Jacobs to help readers understand the wicked tales. Jacobs concludes the book saying “I and my children are now free! We are as free from the power of slave holders as are the white people of the north; and though that, according to my ideas, is not saying a great deal, it is a vast improvement in my condition.” This quote has the intention of giving Incidents a happy ending, but in reality, Jacobs still is without a home, she is just glad to finally be free and to have her family after the long “life of a slave