Slavery During The Society Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs

Since its institution into American society, slavery played a salient role in the Southern economy as blacks were the backbone of labor and plantation success. Yet, the life of a slave was not the most pleasant and they suffered greatly. Slaves were mistreated and abused by their masters in a way that they were dehumanized and stripped of all rights that should have been morally available. An insight into the life of a salve, particularly of a woman, can be seen in Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, which gives a first-hand account of the pain and suffering of a girl who more than anything wanted freedom. Jacobs argued that women suffered the most from the inhumane slave system but such argument did not see into the lives of the men who too suffered at the hand of savage masters. Jacobs was not one to shy away from detailing the suffering of enslaved women with the account of her character, Linda Brent. Linda was born into a relatively comfortable lifestyl e as a slave, her mother and grandmother were privileged slave women who enjoyed the good treatment and respect of their owners. Linda’s life was enjoyable until the death of her mother when upon her death, the life of Linda and her family changed. Although they had been promised freedom and aside from her father’s efforts to buy the freedom of Linda and her brother, such promise and effort never became a possibility. They were transferred to the service of other family members where they came to seeShow MoreRelatedEssay Harriet Jacobs Life of a Slave Girl1322 Words   |  6 Pages Harriet A. Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Jacobs’s construction of black female empowerment despite the limitations of slavery Harriet A. Jacobs Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiography written under the name of Linda Brent. This autobiography is a detailed account of her life or lack thereof. 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