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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
The story I will be discussing is entitled Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs. This book is relative to more than a few of previous topics that have been discussed in class during lectures. The book touches on the struggles that enslaved women faced on a day to day basis. It follows the life on author Harriet Ann Jacobs and does an excellent job demonstrating how women in bondage unlike their free white counterparts, had no male figure to protect them. At the same time it showed that black women were not the only ones who subject to unfair treatment. Although not as harsh her book does illustrate how white women too are victimized by the harsh reality of slavery. White women …show more content…

This is because her first masters were considered to be kind and treated her as kindly as one could treat a slave at that time. Her mother dies at the age of 6 and her mistress is a kind woman who even teaches her how to read which was frowned upon at this point in time. After her mistress dies she is given to the Flints. It is at this moment that she realizes that cruel cards she has been dealt. In the beginning her new mistress treats her kindly, but this quickly comes to an end when Mrs. Flint suspects that Mr. Flint and Linda are having sexual relations. Although her claims are untrue this is only because Linda refuses to give into Mr. Flints undesired advances. In order to escape Mr. Flints advances and to minimize her chances of being rapped she begins an affair with her white neighbor. It is with this man Mr. Sands that she gives birth to two children. Wanting to escape and afraid that her children will be punished due to her actions Linda pretends to run away. She spends 7 year hiding in an attic afraid to flee and refusing to abandon her family. She is motivated to flee after Mr. Sands takes her daughter with him when he moves to Washing D.C after he marries a white woman and becomes a congress man. Although years have passes her former owner Mr. Flint still searches for Linda tormenting her for a number of years. The story ends after Mrs. Bruce her employer offers to purchase her. Instead of being initially grateful that Mrs. Bruce has

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