Aaisha Al Jabri

Block A

American Slavery in the book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

In this book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs relates

to the readers her experiences as a slave girl in the South. As the events

start to build up in the book, we witness how Jacobs life entirely changes

after her fathers death. After her fathers death, she learns that the happy

six years she had lived were just a lie. After these measly happy six years,

Linda was sold into slavery, which, in her case, meant decades of abuse.

Jacobs discusses the horrible reality of slavery and many topics like the

degradation and sexual exploitation that many black people had to suffer

because of slavery. Her personal account of slavery was shocking for many

people at that time, but it was a good portrayal of what many black women

had to go through. In her book, Jacobs mentions the suffering of a number of

people around her, themes like pain, fear and hope and a setting that

encourages slavery. Therefore, the book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is

an impactful portrayal of American slavery.

The suffering that the characters in Jacobs book had to endure is a

good example of what slavery caused for many black people in the American

History. Linda Brent, the main character, is a good example of how slavery

affected black women. Linda was left to face the brutal reality of being

owned by a morally corrupted master, who kept treating her in the most
degrading ways. She says about her struggles with her master, When he

told me that I was made for his use, made to obey his command in

everything; that I was nothing but a slave, whose will must and should

surrender to his, never before had my puny arm felt half so strong However,

she never lost her self-respect or her desire to have a normal home and

family. Linda never acceptd the fact that she is the property of another

person and kept fighting for a normal life. This determination marks most of

the slaves attitude towards slavery, but there was the minority who were too

scared to fight for anything. Lindas brother is also another slave in the book

who had a strong personality and was ready to fight for his freedom.

Although he was treated well by his master, he still ran away to attain his

freedom. This shows how freedom is definitely the most important thing to

anyone and how slavery has denied so many people this basic human right.

Lindas daughter is another character that shows how slavery affected black

children in America. She was taken out of school and suffered from measles

because her white father didnt keep his promise to take care of his children.

This was the fate of most of the enslaved children after they were taken from

their mothers. Jacobs narration of the characters in her book shows how the

American slavery has affected the lives of many black people.

The themes pain, fear and hope in Jacobs book build the same

atmosphere in which American slavery was practiced. The slaves lived in

constant fear of being punished, tortured and being torn apart from their

families. Fear was a theme that kept occurring consistently in Jacobs book,
which includes the many times Linda was afraid that her hiding place would

be discovered. Hope is also a common theme in Jacobs book, for example

Linda never stopped hoping for a better life for herself and her children. The

harsh life conditions in which the black people lived did not stop them from

hoping for freedom and a better life. Another theme that kept occurring in

Jacobs book is pain. The black people in the book suffered a lot of emotional

and physical pain because of slavery, which is similar to how slavery affected

black people in the American history. An example of the suffering that the

slaves had to deal with in the book is when a fifteen-year-old girl was

assaulted by a man forty years older than she is and when a woman's seven

children were sold away from her on the same day. The themes that kept

occurring in Jacobs book like pain, fear and hope relate to the lives of many

black people who suffered under American Slavery.

The setting of Jacobs book shows how American slavery started. In the

South, people were not very religious which affected the way they thought

and felt towards of slavery. Linda was able to see the difference between

Christianity in the South and Christianity in the North when she escaped to

the North. That is also when she realized how wrong the southerners were in

how they followed Christianity. She got to learn that because the people were

not very religious, they did not really see anything was wrong with how they

treated black people. People in the South were not very civilized and

educated, which also affected their views on slavery. Harriet Jacobs says in

her novel, Cruelty is contagious in uncivilized communities. For example,

the poor white people who went to search the homes of black people were

not even able to read. In the South, people needed slaves to work at the

plantation. In the book, at some point, Linda ends up working on a

plantation. The setting of the book gives us background information on what

caused slavery to increase in the South.

Many elements of Jacobs book, like the characters of the book, the

most occurring themes and the setting of the book, successfully portray

American slavery and how it affected the lives of many black people.

Knowing how the elements in Jacobs book relate to American slavery is

important to better understand the history of American slavery and what

caused it to develop.

Citations:

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." Shmoop.

Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 01 Feb. 2017.

SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2017.