Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Written under the pseudo name Linda Brent, Incidents in the Life of a slave Girl is a narrative of her own life by Harriet Jacobs. Through her story, Jacobs takes us back in time to reflect the heart-breaking situation of being a slave and women in a slave holding society of 18th century America. Her book is an outcry to all her readers who are distant from the evils of an institutionalized system that legally and coercively that controls the life the millions of helpless African American under…

Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl focuses on subject matter that is undoubtedly controversial for the period. Jacobs not only argues vehemently for the immorality of slavery amidst heated nationwide debate between abolitionist and pro-slavery lobbyists, she also accentuates the sexual oppression and abuse ingrained in slavery. Prevalent in Jacobs' account is the idea that slavery induces “widespread moral ruin,”1 which effects both masters and slaves. Throughout her…

increase the wealth of a nation. Most African American families were born into slavery as children. Families were separated more often than not. Women had many encounters with sexual abuse and losing their children. During the Antebellum Period, many slaves would escape to the North for their freedom. Something about the authors Fredrick Douglass was born in 1817 or 1818. Similar to most salves, he started as a young boy. Douglass never knew his father and only saw his mother a few times.…

that the life of the African in America was devastating and something must be done about it. In the book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, author, Harriet Jacobs explains the implications of injustice to the slaves in the antebellum era in America. Through imagery, direct quotes, pathos, and ethos, Harriet Jacobs…

are lost when slaves lack defiance. With humanity intact, slaves desire and fight for what they deserve: a necessity to life, a universal, God-given right, freedom. The fighters, the risk-takers, and the persisters, become the survivors. Resistance is the path slaves choose in the slave narratives, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs’ and, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, by Frederick Douglass’. The rebellious spirit helps slaves survive by…

In the book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs, she clearly states that she doesn't want fame or forgiveness, but action, “I have not written my experiences in order to attract attention to myself; on the contrary, it would have been more pleasant to…

Douglass and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl the characters begin their lives with nice families that accept them as human beings rather than slaves. However, this leads both of them having difficulties adjusting to harsher slave holders. Douglass begins his life as a slave; however, he never felt like a slave until he was “about twelve years old, and the thought of being a slave for life began to bear heavily upon [his] heart” (Douglass 50). In Jacobs’ novel, Linda, a determined girl…

Harriet Jacobs’ book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, was published anonymously in 1853. When she decided to publish her book, she used the pseudonym Linda Brent to tell everyone about her life while she was enslaved so that her and her children would not be harmed in any way. Jacobs’ story shows the pain and struggle that she went through for her entire life. For her whole life she is told by other people how she should live her life and when and what she should be doing at all times.…

theft in the night. In the novel, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs, Harriet describes the cruelty of her experience as a female slave. Frederick Douglass wrote Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass to illustrate the devastating pain of being a male slave. While white men and women viewed themselves above black slaves, and treated them gruesomely, gender determined a slave’s position in the household regarding their role as a slave. With starving stomachs and…

Jasmine Williams Dr. Gwendolyn Harold Southern Literature November 5, 2017 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Women in Slavery Linda Brent recalls her time spent as a slave in the book “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”. As other women during this period she suffered distress, misery, and torment for over twenty years. Brent gives her story so that readers would apprehend and have a better understanding of her journey from her firsthand insight on…