Harriet Jacobs Personal Narration of Slavery

This aspect led to the development of slavery where strong men were taken from Africa and taken to America to work in the plantation since they were considered to provide cheap labor. Slavery was associated with maltreatment of Africans since they were forced to work against their will and tortured so that they submit to their masters. Different accounts have been made by different individuals on how slavery was undertaken and the effects that the aspect had on their lives. Such stories have been utilized to develop a rich literature which is used to explain the different activities involved in the different periods from the beginning, the development and the end of slavery in America. This paper will explain the different aspects of slavery based on the narration, "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" which is an autobiography of the writer Harriet Jacobs.

Based on the narrative, Harriet views freedom as the attainment of an individual's permission to do according to their will. This entails doing things without being forced or being scared of being victimized by other people in the name of masters. Freedom meant having rights to own their own bodies and having the right to choose what happens to their bodies and whom to own it (Yellin, 486). The lack of such aspects in the life of Linda made life difficult for her and she had no choice but to do as required by her master. She could not question what the master wanted to do with her and despite her great will to escape she would lose hope and go back to her master's house (Garfield, Zafar, & Gelpi).

The laws did not provide any protection to the slaves and this gave total ownership of the slaves to the slave masters who had the rights to do anything they wished to do with the slaves be it good or evil since. Harriet states that such laws reduced an individual to the level of a chattel (Blidariu, 33). These aspects of the law greatly inspired her to escape to the north and become an activist where she began advocating for the rights of the slaves and fought for freedom. Harriet's story is perceived by different scholars as a true account of the different events which occurred to African American women in the time of slavery (Blidariu, 32). This shows how cruel and discriminative slavery was too young Negro women who were deprived off of their rights as humans and as women.

The narration tells the story of the lives of the Negro women during the times of slavery. It tries to explain the kind of freedom that the slaves longed for over the years. The incidence shows the struggles that Harriet went through so as to ensure that she will attain freedom for herself and for her children. It also explains how the whites had made laws which enhanced slavery and which gave power to the slave owners over their slaves. The life of the slave girl as she moves from one different place to another and the people she relates with shows the different characters of the whites. Jacobs, Harriet Ann. Incidents in the life of a slave girl: Written by herself.