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The Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl Analysis

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Harriet Jacobs was a freeborn African American woman, who wrote a narrative called, The Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. She was the first woman author to write a slave narrative. She is an African American writer who escaped from slavery. Being a slave in the South was probably the most horrific event that men and women had to go through. In her novel she introduces herself as a young child, who is six years old. In her novel The Incidents in the Life of Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs discusses many important themes in this novel. In the novel, The Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs discusses the importance of family and childhood, the safety of her life and, exposes the sexual abuse and exploitation of female slave in the South during this time period.
One of the themes that Harriet Jacobs addresses in her narrative is the importance of her family and the effect they had on her as a child. Her family provides love, compassion and assistance in escaping from slavery. In the beginning of her novel she describes her family as a normal family. She felt …show more content…

The way African American female slaves were treated the way Harriet Jacobs describes in her novel is they were property. Her master would whisper foul words into her ears. (Gates, 231) Harriet Jacobs and other female slaves were looked upon as sexual objects that existed for their masters. Her master stalked her and her master made her a little home for to live in. Harriet Jacobs discusses how women at this time were subjected to rape and were forced to bare children with their masters. Many young girls and women, Harriet discusses were taunted and insulted. Harriet Jacobs was not allowed to marry the person she wanted to marry instead she was forced to be with her master and treated very cruel until she got pregnant from another white

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