Throughout the history of mankind, power has been being used as the theme of million books because power is endemic in the relationship among human beings. Power itself leads to the three fundamental questions, “What does power mean?”, “Why is everyone looking for ways to attain power?” and” How to use power efficiently and correctly?” In the books such as Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, Spider Woman’s Web by Susan Hazen-Hammond, the theme of power were used frequently. However, the theme was reflected differently with the male and female characters, regarding of their position as the ones who were in charge of the power or the ones who were the victim
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Therefore, the narrative was written under a completely different perspective because the author, Harriet Jacobs, had various struggles as a female slave. Linda Brent represented the lowest class because her mother was a slave and she was born a female. According to Linda Brent, she was a slave, however, things got worse when she was a slave and simultaneously, a woman. In the society at that time, she had no power at all. Her master, Dr. Flint, and his family can do whatever they wanted on her without considering legal responsibility because they were white and they have the power to do so. Besides living under the harsh condition, Linda Brent had to face the risk of being raped by her owner, Dr. Flint. Luckily, because of Dr. Flint’s obsession and seduction toward Linda Brent, he didn’t use her as a birth machine to gain his property. He preferred to have Brent for himself. The hardship of being a slave was unbelievable that Linda Brent determined to spend seven years hiding in her grandmother’s small attic just to escape Dr. Flint and flee to the …show more content…
Douglass observed the cruelty when his first master, Captain Anthony, used his power to torture Aunt Hester, a slave. The observation of the torture was the first fundament for Douglass’s future desire to escape slavery. Frederick Douglass began to experience the hardship of being a slave when he was transferred to different slave owners; one of them was Edward Covey. Although Mr. Covey was a poor slave owner, he knew how to use his power to release his weariness by using the slaves as much as possible and whipping them whenever he desired to do so. On the other hand, Frederick Douglass didn’t experienced what Linda Brent experienced as a woman, but he recognized this kind of brutal behavior. In Douglass’s narrative, he recounted the dreadful situation of Caroline, a slave that was owned by Mr. Covey. Caroline was used like a birth machine when Mr. Covey hired a married man to sleep with her every night. The result was when she gave birth, he would gain the number of his
Therefore, the narrative was written under a completely different perspective because the author, Harriet Jacobs, had various struggles as a female slave. Linda Brent represented the lowest class because her mother was a slave and she was born a female. According to Linda Brent, she was a slave, however, things got worse when she was a slave and simultaneously, a woman. In the society at that time, she had no power at all. Her master, Dr. Flint, and his family can do whatever they wanted on her without considering legal responsibility because they were white and they have the power to do so. Besides living under the harsh condition, Linda Brent had to face the risk of being raped by her owner, Dr. Flint. Luckily, because of Dr. Flint’s obsession and seduction toward Linda Brent, he didn’t use her as a birth machine to gain his property. He preferred to have Brent for himself. The hardship of being a slave was unbelievable that Linda Brent determined to spend seven years hiding in her grandmother’s small attic just to escape Dr. Flint and flee to the …show more content…
Douglass observed the cruelty when his first master, Captain Anthony, used his power to torture Aunt Hester, a slave. The observation of the torture was the first fundament for Douglass’s future desire to escape slavery. Frederick Douglass began to experience the hardship of being a slave when he was transferred to different slave owners; one of them was Edward Covey. Although Mr. Covey was a poor slave owner, he knew how to use his power to release his weariness by using the slaves as much as possible and whipping them whenever he desired to do so. On the other hand, Frederick Douglass didn’t experienced what Linda Brent experienced as a woman, but he recognized this kind of brutal behavior. In Douglass’s narrative, he recounted the dreadful situation of Caroline, a slave that was owned by Mr. Covey. Caroline was used like a birth machine when Mr. Covey hired a married man to sleep with her every night. The result was when she gave birth, he would gain the number of his