Response Paper on Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl According to the encyclopedia Merriam Webster, slavery is a condition in which one human being is owned by another. However, we can define slavery as an institution and holocaust that has been set in place by insecure and greedy individuals with inhuman desire to physically and morally use and abuse other human beings to acquire wealth and status in the society. In her book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs autobiographically writes about her family and friends’ slavery journeys as well as hers in the South of America. Going through Jacobs’s memoir helped me see slavery from a slave’s perspective, but it made me question religion and the capacity of slaves to measure immorality. It is more than pleasant and cheerful to read the story of a slave girl written by the slave girl in question.
Her Arab owners called her "Yebit," or "black slave." She was subjected to appalling physical, sexual, and mental abuse. She wasn't treated or viewed as a human being, she had no rights nor privileges. Normally, Mende's story never would have come to light. But seven years after she was seized and sold into slavery, she was sent to work for another master—a diplomat working in the United Kingdom.
The fact that Thomas Jefferson, one of the writers of the Declaration of Independence, who fights for freedom and equality for all, would allow his biological daughter to be put up and sold at auction just shows the great deal of hypocrisy during the time of slavery. Brown’s novel also focuses on the tragedies and struggles experienced by mulatto men and women in slavery. Brown used his first hand experiences to create the fictional characters in Clotel which would provide a sense of the suffering endured by slaves while in captivity. Through his first-hand experience in the world of slavery, Brown provides a vivid picture of what life was like as a slave woman on the plantation. Although the novel is fictional, Brown’s use of real memories, events, and news stories from his time as a slave provides a realistic look into the pain and suffering endured by slaves at this time.
1 Lauren Sternbach Sex in American History 27 September 2013 Taking Control Throughout the nineteenth century, when slavery was at its peak, many masters took sexual advantage of their slave girls. It was common ideology throughout the South to view slaves as the master’s property, a view that justified the licentious actions of masters against their female slaves. A majority of these slaves were unsuccessful in controlling their sexuality; they submitted to their master’s desires and frequently bore bastard children as a result. In the autobiography Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs tells the story of her experiences as a slave and how she evaded her master’s sexual advances. Jacobs ultimately controlled
There are books about the past that allow people to realize the horrible times there have been in the United States. For example, slave narratives. Linda Brent’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is a true slave narrative because in her novel, she talks about the hardships during slavery and rebellious experiences of several slaves. Olney states that a slave narrative must include examples of hardships people came across during slavery (Olney 1). In her novel, Brent states that many slaves, including herself, would have preferred to die then to keep living through slavery.
Celia, A Slave The story of Celia, a slave who raped and then tried for killing her master in an attempt to stop him, gives us an insight into one of the most disturbing time periods in American history. Her trial was greatly influenced by the ongoing debate of slavery in Missouri during the mid 1800s. Through reading Celia’s story we learn about the institution of slavery, the laws that came from it, and the harsh realities of sexual abuse between slaves and their masters. We also learn how the color of her skin deeply affected the outcome of her trial. Celia’s story teaches us about slavery in Missouri during this particular time period and the laws that went along with it.
Although the majority of slaves had no legal protection against rape, Celia took a stand to protect her own vulnerability. The fact that Celia was found guilty and sentenced to death for killing the sexually abusive Robert Newsom, is just completely unjust and discriminatory. The life of Celia truly demonstrates the hardships that slaves experienced in the Antebellum South, such as, the many ignored sexual exploitation acts of slaves by slave-holders and the weighted social positions of white and black women in history. In spite of the fact that Celia’s attorneys fought awfully hard, and although she was put to death, Celia’s courageous soul will shine on and continue to open modern society’s eyes to the
We can also tell this by Ellen Craft. Ellen was born in the South of America from a slave mother and a master who was her father. She was treated really badly by her mistress-the master's wife. She was given as a wedding present to her half-sister at the age of 11 who treated her badly as well. This means that the master had an impact on the slave experience because it could determine whether or not you had a good experience.
Both are horrific practices prominent across the world and evident throughout history. Alice Walker, an African American author and activist, who grew up in the South, witnessed the effects of domestic violence and racism firsthand. Both domestic violence and racism are cyclical practices that play a prominent role in Walker’s debut novel, The Third Life of Grange Copeland. Under the domination of white men in the sharecropping system, Grange Copeland begins the pattern of domestic abuse, eventually driving his wife to commit suicide. The cycle continues with Grange’s son, Brownfield, as he brutally abuses his wife and children—murdering his wife in the end.
Narrative of an American Slave Douglass' Narrative begins with the few facts he knows about his birth and parentage. He knows that his father is a slave owner and his mother is a slave named Harriet Bailey. Here and throughout the autobiography, Douglass highlights the common practice of white slave owners raping slave women, both to satisfy their sexual hungers and to expand their slave populations. In the first chapter, Douglass also makes mention of the hypocrisy of Christian slave owners who used religious teachings to justify their abhorrent treatment of slaves; the religious practice of slave owners is a recurrent theme in the text. Throughout the next several chapters, Douglass describes the conditions in which he and other slaves live.