Review of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”

Incidents in the Life of a striver Girl A study Harriet Jacobs wrote Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl to show Northern surr residueer people what was actu on the wholey happening to knuckle downs. She hoped her happen stories would convince them that they should speak up against thralldom and unite in the effort to end it. She was especially interested in covering extra white women the difference amidst her life and theirs. She hopeed them to see that umpteen things they took for granted were denied knuckle down girls and women.Jacobs was enquire discontinue people to look at break ones backholding through her eyes and imagine the irritation, both physical and emotional, that she and different knuckle downs were coerce to endure. counterbalance though she was a slave, her first half-dozen old age were happy ones. Her father had skills that do him valu satisfactory to the white people so he was allowed more freedom than the aver term forth slave. Her gra ndmother was the daughter of a slave holder. She was granted freedom barely thusly recaptured. She was allowed to make money by change crackers after her slave duties were done.An injury Jacobs describes early in her book is the pain suffered by slave families who are garbled when one member is auctioned off to the highest bidder. She tells astir(predicate) this happening to her grandmother who helplessly watched as her son was auctioned off at the age of ten for $720. Jacobs knew the pain of a family being torn apart would weaken a free womans leap out on sla real. Males were auctioned off more than females because owners were more likely to commemorate females as charge up partners and to father minorren by them.Slave owners made promises to slaves hardly never felt obligated to keep those promises. Jacobs grandmother had been promised freedom when her mistress died. The executor of the 2 estate, Dr. heartless, instead sold her for $70. In suffer of what the will sa id, he got away with marketing her because she was property and no one held him trustworthy for this unlawful act. She alike was never repaid when she change her life savings to her mistress. Two of the roughly(prenominal) chilling heretoforets Jacobs reports witnessing are on pages 15 and 16.She tells of a male slave who was brutally beaten by Dr. Flint because the slave argued with his wife after finding out their child was really the son of Dr. Flint. She goes on to tell the story of a junior slave girl in motor delivering her masters child. The masters wife stood by mocking the modern girl as the newborn died. The slave girls mother watched as her only child withal died during child birth. Jacobs wrote, The poor black woman had simply the one child, whose eyes she see determination in death, while she thanked God for pickings her away from the greater bitterness of life. practically of the book explains Harriets attempts to avoid Dr. Flints sexual advances. When she reached the age of 15 he began a relentless avocation of her. She was disgusted by his attention. She did not want to lose her virginity to her master as she saw m both other slave girls do. She prayed for a way to get away from him. She endured the jealousy of Dr. Flints wife who accept what was going on. She was in love with a free black man but her master forbid her to have any contact with him. After she convinced her caramel brown to go away, Harriet met Mr. smoo whence.She became intimate with him in other effort to leave out the unwanted advances of Dr. Flint. She had children with Sands but still was not able to get free. ultimately she ran away. She hid for 7 geezerhood in a cramped wince space at her grandmothers house. Jacobs goes into detail about her escape to the North and the people who were kind passable to help her in her efforts to stay in contact with her family and to stay hidden from Dr. Flint. He continued his search for her until he died. Jacobs then hid from his family who began a search for her. Harriet learned she couldnt depend on Mr.Sands for help in getting their children 3 freed. She lived for a condemnation with Isaac and Amy Post who were activists working for the Underground Railroad. Eventually a woman named Mrs. Bruce bought Harriet Jacobs from Flints children for $300 and she gave her her freedom. Her grandmother got to see Harriet free but died shortly after that. Harriet prime out that her children, Emily and William, already knew things like who their real father was and where she had been hiding for all those age.Jacobs is very graphic when she describes bondage and the terrible intercession of slaves. She is very good at expatiate her thoughts and reactions to the horrible things she saw and experienced. She reminds free women that most women have the same dream of a loving husband, children and a happy home. She also makes it sort out that only free women throw out live their dream. She often ex presses the belief that slavery is worse than death. On page 47 she challenges doubtful readers to visit the South and witness the in on the buttonice of slavery for themselves.Im reliable that the book does not include all the events that made Harriet Jacobs who she was. There were probably just about good memories she could have shared but that would not have supported her agate line or fulfilled her purpose. It is not clear to me why Dr. Flint was constantly asking for Harriets affection and never forced her to have sex with him. He did with other slave girls. I wonder if he actually loved her and wanted her to make to him willingly. He also searched for her for many years until his death. Why didnt he just rape her as he believed he had a right to?This book is light(a) to read, interesting, and well written. I dont really believe a slave could write that well though. I also doubt she could have lived in a crawl space for seven years without more serious physical and cordia l harm. Some things might have been magnify to accomplish the authors goal. She succeeds in showing readers how unjust slavery was. Its a good book because, even today, we need to be reminded about how ignorant, uncivilized and evil people can be. non all of Americas report is good. We should never forget how the slaves suffered.