The Life Of A Slave Girl By Frederick Douglass And Harriet...

Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs are both prominent influential authors of the Reform Era. Both writers, who spring forth from similar backgrounds and unimaginable situations, place a spotlight on the peculiar circumstances that surrounded the lives of the African American slaves. After reading and analyzing both Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; readers discover the horrifying truths that belong to the past in connection to slavery. Slavery is a cruel hand to be dealt, however, in the eyes of innocent children, it is as if they were like all other children except with a few chores. Douglass and Jacobs childhood experiences are quite similar and vary all the same. For†¦show more content†¦Like Douglass, Jacobs father was also white and her mother died when she was very young. The special thing about these two authors is that they both received some sort of education as a slave child. Jacobs received her education from her first mistress. Jacobs states, â€Å"While I was with her, she taught me to read and spell; and for this privilege, which so rarely falls to a lot of a slave, I bless her memory,† (922). She goes on to tell how she loved her mistress and how she hopes that her goodly, Christian mistress would love her enough to leave her free. Harriet learns this to be a false hope and is left to her mistress s niece. One of the unfortunate truths of slavery is that these people were seen as property like they were cattle. Many of the male slave owners would have forced relationships with their young female slaves, and this way they would have children. This occurred so often that they installed a law stating that, the child should follow the condition of the mother. Douglass was born a slave, fathered by a white man. During this time he was taught the Christian way (how ironic considering adultery is considered a sin). Religion was used as a way to keep slaves, â€Å"He that knoweth his master’s will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes,†(1041). As a young slave Frederick witnessed many terrible things including the beating of his Aunt. He recalls the encounter between her and his master,Show MoreRelatedThe Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs And Frederick Douglass1618 Words   |  7 Pagesthat slaves faced, and constructs a bridge that connects the gap between t he readers to the slaves who are subjected to the endeavors and hardships as seen through autobiographies of many former slaves such as Harriet Jacobs’s and Frederick Douglass’s. Jacobs’s â€Å"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl† and Douglass’s â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass† both illustrate great examples of the obstacles and barriers that slaves had to overcome. The protagonists in both stories, Harriet JacobsRead MoreThe Life Of Frederick Douglass And The Life Of A Slave Girl1475 Words   |  6 PagesJamiya Brooks Comparative Paper November 18, 2014 The Life of Frederick Douglass the Life of a Slave Girl The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and The Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl are both nineteenth-century narratives about Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs’s experiences born into slavery and as escaped slaves. The concept of gender makes each narrative have distinct perspectives’ of their version of what they endure during slavery and how it shapes their freedom. EvenRead MoreA Comparison Of Writings By Harriet Jacobs And Frederick Douglass1718 Words   |  7 PagesA Comparison of Writings by Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass In this paper I will compare the writings of Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass. I will touch on their genre, purpose, content, and style. Both authors were born into slavery. Both escaped to freedom and fought to bring an end to slavery, each in their own way. Both Jacobs and Douglass have a different purpose for their writings. Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass were both slaves that wrote about their strugglesRead MoreJacobs Douglass: An Insight Into The Experience of The American Slave1019 Words   |  5 PagesThe slave narratives of the ante-bellum time period have come across numerous types of themes. Much of the work concentrates on the underlining ideas beneath the stories. In the narratives, fugitives and ex-slaves appealed to the humanity they shared with their readers during these times, men being lynched and marked all over and women being the subject of grueling rapes. The slave narrative of Frederick Douglas and Harriet Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl themes come from the existenceRead MoreThe Life of A Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs Essay1272 Words   |  6 PagesA slave narrative is to tell a slaves story and what they have been through. Six thousand former slaves from North America told about their lives during the 18th and 19th centuries. About 150 narratives were published as separate books or articles most slaves were born in the last years of the slave regime or during the Civil War. Some Slaves told about their experiences on plantations, in cities, and on small farms. Slave narratives are one of the only ways that peopl e today know about the wayRead MoreCompare/Contrast Douglass and Jacobs1607 Words   |  7 PagesAfrican-American Slave; A Compare and Contrast Essay of Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass. The experiences, memories and treatment in any situation are viewed upon differently between a man and a woman. Obvious in the case of slavery, the two sexes were treated differently and so therefore their recollections of such events were-different. In the following short essay, we look closely at the perspective of the female slave, Harriet Jacobs in â€Å"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl†, and respectfullyRead MoreResponse 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 MoreEssay on Out of the Silence1445 Words   |  6 PagesThe slave narrative genre is an important part of American history. These stories are not only portraits of individual history, but also of American history. By reading the stories of the past we can better determine the path of the future. The personal stories of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs are two excellent examples of the slave narrative genre in American literature. To be sure, bondage and oppression had a lasting and profound effect on both genders; however, men and women experiencedRead 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 treated