Jacobs Is The First Author to Write About Slaves in United State

Incidents in the Life of a slave girl by Harriet Jacobs, an African American Slave, is the story about slaves written by herself. Jacobs is the first author to write about slaves in United States. Jacobs in her story shows different phases of her life as a slave and how difficult life of slaves is. It also describes the ways slave owners destroys the life of slaves. Jacobs by her writing shows how terrible slavery is with different life experiences of herself. We do not know how difficult the life of slavery is this story gives perfect examples of life of slaves and their emotions.

In the beginning of the narrative Jacobs explains that she did not know that she was slave until she was six years old also her father was a carpenter by profession. She had brother named William who was two years younger than her. Jacobs was very loving to her maternal grandmother, known as Aunt Marthy. She was loved and respected person in the community. When Jacobs was six years old her mother died and then she knew herself of being slaves by listening to people around her. She was sent to her mistress house after her mother’s death and thus her life as a slave begins. Her mistresses was very nice and kind to her and taught her to read. According to me, this was the most beautiful time of her life after her mother’s death. But, after having good life, when she was twelve years old her mistress died and she was sent back to her grandmother. She was heartbroken after her mistress death. “ I felt sure that I should never find another mistress so kind as the one who was gone” (Jacobs 881) as Jacobs described. This was the story about her childhood and her emotions at different age of life in her childhood.

Jacobs experience the lustful attention of slave owners on slaves. Dr. Flint, her master, was one of them. Slave girls could often not live the good lives they wished to live in a society. The bodies of the slave were not only to serve their masters but their bodies were also seen as sexual oriented objectcs that belongs to their masters.and the masters believe that they could do anything with their slaves as they are the slaves and they don’t say anything to their masters.

In this story as it describes that slave people have no right to any family ties and they should not allowed to make or create the family of their own. According to me this should not be there in the society. Everybody should have right to choose on what their love interest should be whether they are rich people or they are slaves or poor people. As described in this story Dr Flint would not allow Jacob to marry the one she loved with. They believed that slaves have no right to get married and get settled in the life. Jacob felt in the love with the a young white carpenter who was in the neighborhood of the Dr Flint and they both want to marry with each other but Dr Flint did not allowed her to marry.

Cite this page