¶ … Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs relates to the readers her experiences as a slave girl in the Southern part of America. Her story started from her sheltered life as a child to her subordination to her mistress upon her father's death, and her continuing struggle to live a dignified and virtuous life despite being a slave. Her struggle involves her constant degradation from her master; the danger of being sexually exploited by her mistress' husband, Dr. Flint; her broken relationship with a free colored man; her pregnancy to a man named Mr. Sands; and her fight for her and her children's freedom from slavery. All of these experiences helped Linda learn to fight justly for her right to become a free individual, but most of all, to be subordinated to Dr. Flint, the man who wanted so bad to exploit her, yet, was not able to because of Linda's vigilance and determination not to be forever bounded by the rule of slavery, that is, that she, her children, and her descendants will forever be the slaves of the Flint family.
The book discusses various degrees of "humane" treatment of slavery. The South is portrayed as the most harsh and horrendous place to be a slave, while the North, even though Linda initially described it as worse than the South, is actually a lot more fairer in its treatment of the slaves; the North is also a place wherein African-Americans can no longer be slaves, rather, they will be able to live freely and in more humanistic terms than in the South. Being a free colored man in the South, meanwhile, is still binding since most free colored men aspire to free their families from the bondage of slavery; however the families manage to keep the free man's loved-ones. The rule that a slave is forever the property of a family (unless they were sold or freed) still holds and is strictly followed (to the great advantage of the white Americans). This paper will discuss in depth the slavery problem in America before the Civil War, and will present the plight of African-Americans in America as illustrated in Harriet Jacobs' point-of-view. In providing the readers a clear concept of what slavery is and its effect in the society, examples from Jacobs's book will be given for a better illustration of the African-American's struggle for freedom and equality. The paper will establish the stance that slavery is a prevalent practice all throughout America before its abolishment, although there are varying levels or degrees of freedom in each area. As what has been said a while ago, African-American slaves were, in Jacobs's book, treated differently from the North and the South, and colored free men were also treated and achieved freedom up to a certain degree.
Linda's (Harriet Jacobs) story started as she narrated her life as a child. She stated that though she came from a family of slaves, she was not aware of her being a slave until she reached the age of six, wherein she experienced being sold and subjected to slavery when an old mistress of her mother had died. She described how slaves were treated as properties, things that should be sold, hired, or traded, whenever their mistress/master suits their purpose. Slaves were passed on form generation to generation of white Americans, and all the slaves' descendants will also be servants of the descendants of the white American family. Linda's family is an example of a black American that has long been subjected to the sufferings of slavery; their ancestors were once free men, but due to unfortunate circumstance related in the book, Linda's ancestors where once again subjected to slavery.
The second part of the book describes a slave's life inside the Flint's household. Maltreatments were always given to the servants, and constant punishments such as floggings and other "ingenious" forms of abuse were given if the master sees a slight hint of disobedience or stubbornness on the slave's behavior. Any violation from the "rules" given to slaves (not eating scraps from leftover foods) and inefficient work will result to an immediate, harsh punishment. Linda's deep resentment to the inhuman treatment of black Americans in the Flint household is seen when she remarked how the family's dog was well treated as compared to the slaves in the household. Linda also gave the readers an illustration of what Dr. Flint was really like, and how Linda described him as a man who takes advantage of the woman slaves in the house, sexually...
Martha Ballard and Harriet Jacobs When we talk about Martha Ballard and Harriet Jacobs, we have to remember that both were the pathfinders for women in the occupation that they had undertaken. As a nurse, it may be true that Martha Ballard cannot be compared with Florence Nightingale, but at the same time, one has to remember that the social background of Florence Nightingale was totally different from Harriet Bleacher.
When Jacobs was transferred to the Norcoms, the reality of slavery suddenly hit the author hard because prior to her being sold to them she enjoyed a relatively happy childhood in a secure home environment. Dr. Norcom frequently made advances on Jacobs and she was forced to find solace in the arms of a white lawyer to help resist Dr. Norcom. She had two children by the lawyer, and
Though Cartwright's concern and opposition to slavery was evident in his "Autobiography," an important observation that must be noted in studying his text was that his opposition was not mainly based on the detriments that slavery had on the slaves themselves, but only for the white American society. Slavery was a 'moral evil' because it made white Americans more vulnerable to moral degeneration, thereby putting into peril their belief in
She thought that these women deserved more than what they were receiving. As I stated before, appearances seem to be something very important in this excerpt. Everyone appeared to be one thing, while secretly being another in order to cover their tracks. Slave owners fathered children left and right with the slaves and some didn't even claim the children, even though it was so apparent and obvious. The slave girl
Throughout the story readers are given glimpses of human kindness and human cruelty working side by side, using slaves as the rope in the tug-of-war. The narrative provides heartbreaking stories of children being sold away from their parents and never seeing them again. In today's culture it is hard to imagine such practices taking place and being accepted. One of the most important things that the story does is serve as a
Life of a Slave Girl In Harriet Jacobs' novel, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the narrator takes several steps to assert her status as a person and to make a case against the dehumanization inherent in slavery. The dehumanization of Jacobs' and other slaves in the novel is clearly shown through the sexual exploitation that they face, and the separation of women and their children. Jacob's continually
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