Confession of a slave girl
A circumstance common to all slaves in the South before the civil war was that of repression. Besides suppressing the rights of slaves, slave owners wanted to silence the voice of slaves as well. However, some of these voices eventually emerged to relay some of the most realistic tales of slavery. One such story was that of Harriet Ann Jacobs, who published Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl in 1861.Incidents in the life of a slave girl is a slave narrative by Harriet Jacobs, under the pseudonym of Linda Brent, that is a story of what it was like to be a woman born and raised in slavery. "Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs is more than a documentary of the experiences of a woman of bondage, the narrative is allso a confession. It is a story of faith and beliefs and the changes that take place in spirituality during a lifetime. Linda Brent reveals the unique brutalities that were inflected on enslaved women, which for
" He never allowed his offspring by slaves to remain long in his sight" The fear that the writer would have her future children detached from her makes the choice. ced her make choices coasing a spiritual coflikt in her. She writes "Everywhere the years bring to all enough of sin and sorrow, but in slavery the very dawn of life is darkened by these shadows" (Jacobs ). "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" is the story of a woman who claims her own identity. Her story ends with freedom but not in the usual way. Many women endured this agony their entire lives, there only joy being there children and families, who were torn away from them and sold, never to be seen or heard from again. Making this choice means that Jacobs willingly gives up her virginity outside her marriage,which contradigs with the moral values that she has. Later Jacobs, in order to protect herself from Dr. "Pity me,and pardon me,O virtuose reader" writes Harriet Jacobs for the choice she made. Her mind will never be free of the burdens of the conscious. "I know i did wrong" all these words that she says are not for an excuse but for a confession not so much directed to the reader but to herself. Jacobs says "Cruelty is contagious in uncivilized communities" (Jacobs ). Yes, i can excuse her,for she writes"a slave women ought not to be judged by the same standart as others".
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