The Fight For Freedom By Harriet Jacobs - 2100 Words

Mallory Bruns Prof. Wall English 2327-001 21 November 2014 The Fight for Freedom Harriet Jacobs, in her narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, was born into slavery in the south. While her youth contained â€Å"six years of happy childhood,† a few tragedies and mistresses later, Jacobs spent many years in pain under the possession of her cruel five-year-old mistress, Emily Flint, and Emily’s father, Dr. Flint. Once able to obtain freedom, Jacobs spent most of her life working for the Anti-Slavery office in New York, in hope that one day she could make a difference in the world. â€Å"She sought to win the respect and admiration of her readers for the courage with which she forestalled abuse and for the independence with which she chose a lover rather than having one forced on her† (Jacobs 921). Linda Brett, the pseudonym that Jacobs uses to narrate her life story, endures the harsh behavior women slaves were treated with in the south during the nineteenth century. The dominant theme of the corruptive power and psychological abuse o f slavery, along with symbolism of good and evil, is demonstrated throughout her narrative to create a story that exposes the terrible captivity woman slaves suffered. The reality of slavery in the past, versus slavery today is used to reveal how the world has changed and grown in the idea of racism and neglect. Slavery has existed for thousands of years throughout America. Though slavery in men is what is revealed in most books, women slavesShow MoreRelatedResponse to Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass Readings1204 Words   |  5 PagesCritical Response on Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass Both Douglass and Jacobs were inspirational icons for the African-Americans in American history. Their contributions to the abolition of slavery and liberalism of the African-American race in the U.S. are very notable and important too; not only for honor but also important to American literature. They both lived during the period of the Antebellum (1820 - 1865) when the abolition of slave trade was a big issue in the country. At this timeRead MoreResponse to Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass Readings1192 Words   |  5 PagesCritical Response on Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass Both Douglass and Jacobs were inspirational icons for the African-Americans in American history. Their contributions to the abolition of slavery and liberalism of the African-American race in the U.S. are very notable and important too; not only for honor but also important to American literature. They both lived during the period of the Antebellum (1820 - 1865) when the abolition of slave trade was a big issue in the country. At this timeRead MoreFrederick Douglass Vs. Harriet Jacobs987 Words   |  4 PagesFrederick Douglass v. Harriet Jacobs â€Å"We are not Americans; we are Africans who happen to be in America. We were kidnapped and brought here against out will from Africa. We did not land on Plymouth rock--that rock landed on us (â€Å"Malcolm X†).† Slavery began when Americans brought Africans to Virginia in 1619 to complete any field work that plantation owners did not want to do themselves (History.com Staff). Slavery lasted in America for 246 years and even after, African Americans were still treatedRead MoreJacobs Douglass: An Insight Into The Experience of The American Slave1019 Words   |  5 Pagesnarrative of Frederick Douglas and Harriet Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl themes come from the existence of the slaves morality that they are forced compromise to live. Both narrators show slave narratives in the point of view of both men and women slaves that had to deal with physical, mental, and moral abuse during the times of slavery. (Lee 44) Violence was almost an everyday occupancy in the life of a slave, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs had to accept that from the startRead More The Powerful Ideal of Freedom Essay1484 Words   |  6 PagesThe Powerful Ideal of Freedom Developed in Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Blood-Burning Moon, by Jean Toomer, and W.E.B DuBois’ The Souls of Black Folk Slavery played an overwhelming role throughout the history of the United States. The riches created by the unpaid labor of African Americans helped to guarantee the country’s industrial revolution and succeeding economic strength. Yet, that wealth created incredible political power for slaveholders and their representativesRead MoreSummary Of Harriet Jacobs And Frederick Douglass702 Words   |  3 PagesSlavery (noun): a condition compared to that of a slave in respect of exhausting labor or restricted freedom. Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass were both born into slavery, and both suffered the consequences of American ignorance. Jacobs and Douglass provided a brutally honest truth through their poetry about slavery, and how white Americans interpreted slavery. Everyone was subject to Jacobs and Douglass’ assessment on how differently people interpreted what slavery meant – just a means of laborRead MoreEssay about Fredrick Douglas And Harriet Jacobs1717 W ords   |  7 Pageswho were able to read and write always rebelled more against their masters. Frederick Douglass, author of A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, were prime examples. Both slaves had been taught how read and write at a young age, and both gained their freedom by escaping to the northern states. What they had learned also helped them stay free while in the northern states after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 which leftRead MoreThe Life Of A Slave Girl, By Harriet Tubman And The Fight For Freedom1394 Words   |  6 Pagesbeholder, the notion of freedom varies according to the person describing it. In the context of slavery, for example, the concept of freedom is different in the perspective of enslaved women, enslaved men, or white women. To black women, the idea of freedom was conceived around the concept of family. For white women, freedom meant achieving equal footing with men, and getting their natural rights. And, for the enslaved black man, the idea that they could grasp their own freedom was first found throughRead MoreHarriet Jacob : An African American Slave And Feminist1071 Words   |  5 PagesHarriet Jacob: An African American Slave and Feminist â€Å"Reader, be assured this narrative is no fiction† (Author). Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, is her narrative as a slave who lived in a slave state for twenty-seven years before escaping to live as a free woman in New York (Jacobs preface). Jacobs’ was motivated to write her story by a deep desire to share her experience in an effort to bring to light what slavery really was, a â€Å"deep, and dark, and foul experience thatRead More Octavia Butlers Kindred vs. Harriet Jacobs Incidents In The Life of a Slave Girl1021 Words   |  5 PagesOctavia Butlers Kindred vs. Harriet Jacobs Incidents In The Life of a Slave Girl According to the conventions for slave narratives, it is possible to categorize Kindred by Octavia Butler as a slave narrative. However, the circumstances that take Dana back in time are imaginative and fantastical compared to slave narratives such as Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs. While reading Kindred, one doesnt really get the experience of the slaves, but how Dana feels as she