Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Harriet Jacobs
Rather than have a more traditional essay on Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, I’d like to hear your informal thoughts on the book. What did the book teach you about slave life? What were some of the most moving passages for you? What disturbed you the most? Was the book an optimistic one? Are there any moral lessons we can take from it to assist us right now in our lives? Please consider these or suggest your own questions as you ponder the life of Harriet Jacobs.
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14 comments:
My personal thoughts on this book are all over the place. In the beginning of the book I was falling asleep because there wasnt anything intersting and i think part of the reason for that is because there was practically no dialogue. the reason for this i believe is that we are seeing how slavery was in the eyes of linda brent and shes describing to us what she thought of it. however i felt this book just kept repeating itself over and over again and it was monotonous. the book was boring however i do understand what the history department was trying to show us. they were trying to show us that just talking about slavery isnt enough and we really need to read to it in depth however even reading it isnt enough and i got this isntilled in my head. im not sure what to think of linda's descriptions of differnt characters because i thought they were either too vague or too specific. i felt if the book told more story using dialogue it would appeal to readers and students of harvard westlake to read the book.
First of all, I think that it is very admirable for Linda Brent to have written about her horrifying experiences. I admire that after enduring such excruciating pain she is still able to write about her experience and bring knowledge to others on the evils of slavery. The imagery in this book really makes slavery seem so much more real. Of course we have read about slavery in history text books, but to read about someone's personal experience is so different. Linda's story evoked emotions in me such as sorrow and fury because of what she endured. Sometimes it is hard to believe that anyone could be treated so horribly, but reading Linda's story made me understand that these abuses really did occur. Reading this book made me realize something that i had never thought about before: the term "slave" is used so lightly now in our society. The first example that comes to mind is stupid, but the term is used in Britney Spears' 'Slave for You' song. Thinking about it now it is almost unfathomable that the word "slave" can be used so lightly even today without being offensive.
what i found most interesting about linda's story was that it presented a unique view. there are certain aspects of slavery that are talked about very often and have almost become "cliche", disturbing as that thought is. however, i felt that linda stuck to two themes that are not as commonly discussed, a woman's view of slavery and the injustice of looking at slaves actions through the moral compass of free people. she stressed the dilemma of being a female slave, how a slave's beauty was her worst curse.the element that was probably the most disturbing to me was linda's distrust. linda is repeatedly unwilling to trust because of the abuse she has suffered and, what is worse, is that she is usually right. even those who are well intentioned seem to betray linda. despite the horrors of linda's story, those who help her along the way show the beauty that emerges in difficult times.the woman who freed linda's grandmother, the captain of the boat linda escapes on, linda's loyal friend, the bruces etc. these people's compassion as well as linda's rememberence of them was extremely touching.
I think that nisha brings up a good point in addressing the sentimental part of the book. It is remarkable that she wrote all of her horrors down and simply for someone to read that is quite disturbing. I really wish Linda Brent would have written her story in a different style though and that was one of two things that bugged me. I never really got hooked on the book to the point where i could just stop reading. The other thing that annoyed me was how the book in my opinion just kept repeating itself. I do commend Linda Brent though for surviving through those tough times especially as a woman. It is hard to fathom that such horrors could happen to someone. I wish Linda when she was writing was more meticulous in her style but overall the book opened my eyes and it was really treacly.
it is incredibly admirable that linda ,or harriet i guess, wrote incidents. it's so important that we have individuals' experiences when we learn about the past. people like harriet ensure that the horrors of our past are never forgotten. also, nisha brings up a really great point. the reason we study history is so that we can apply the leasons of the past to our current society. racism is deffinetly still rampant in our society, yes, even with those who are "just joking," and slavery is often used much too lightly.
also, shawn i really appreciate you being so honest. there were deffinetly aspects of the book that were a little unrelateable and even boring. i feel awful saying it, because her life was so terrible, but i'm glad you brought it up. 'm not sure what it was, the tone of the book, or the repetativeness...however, much of the book was still very compelling and horifying.
I respect Harriet Jacobs for not only giving a detailed account of the reality of slavery in order to educate people, but also for having the strength and courage to put onto paper all of the horrible experiences and abuses she endured. It was clearly dangerous for her to do so, and that is why she used the pseudonym Linda Brent, but she was determined to reveal the undisguised truth and put herself at risk.
Although the novel did get boring at some points, I think it is really great that the history department requires us to read it. In the textbook, we get accounts of the vast numbers of slaves. There are lists and passages dedicated to showing just how many slaves there were in the world. But sometimes it is hard to realize that each of those millions of slaves is actually a human being, a person with feelings and families. We lose track of this, and by reading such a gruesome account of a single slave, it makes us realize that there are millions of stories just like this, and some even worse (Harriet was never whipped or tarred and feathered like most other slaves, and she even said that the first years of her life she was relatively well off).
Sal brings up a good point about the major themes of the book. I also found it interesting that Linda notices that if a female slave is beautiful she is at risk. I also found it interesting that Linda justified the actions of some slaves who killed their masters. She felt that slaves cannot be judged by their sometimes rash actions because they had been so poorly treated that at times their only option was to escape and fight back against their masters. Another part of the book that i found to be not only interesting but also ironic was Linda's shelter in her grandmother's attic. Linda had been enslaved for so long and was looking for an escape which she found in her grandmother's attic. But the attic proved to be yet another place of confinement in which she certainly was not free.
If I had to describe in one word what this book invoked in me, it would have to be "awareness." Harriet Jacobs uses images, stories, and many other tools to try to make everyone that reads the book aware of the hardships of slavery. Our history book, despite having an entire unit devoted to slavery and the slave trade, did not nearly discuss the brutality of the whole thing. I think that this book was a good addition to the curriculum because it provides a human side to our history book, and really makes readers more aware and connected to the harshness of slavery. By connecting us with certain characters throughout the book and talking us through her own story, Jacobs uses her real life experiences to portray to readers the real side of slavery. Her goal in writing this book was to make people more aware, and I'm not sure if she succeeded in doing so with everyone, but certainly with me.
I sort of disagree with Shawn and I liked the style in which this was written. I think the style in which Jacobs wrote it was very important in making readers feel the way Jacobs wanted them to feel. I also agree with Nisha in that slavery is referred to very lightly nowadays, but having everyone read this book could make everyone reevaluate the lightness in which they refer to it, at least at H-W. Also, I never realized feminism played such a big role in slavery, and Nisha brings up a good point that pretty slaves had a harder time than most others. It seems logical to me, but I never really thought it would be so before this book. Jacobs really drives home this point, probably because, like me, most did not know that pretty slaves had it harder.
In response to Shawn's dislike of the repetition in the book, I think that it really added to Harriet Jacobs's point. The life of a slave was repetetive: abuse after abuse after abuse. Slaves knew that each day would be just like the last. There seemed to be no hope. Nowadays, we frequently say, "Tomorrow will be a better day," but as demonstrated through the book's repetition, slaves were unable to believe this saying. If anything, the next day would bring even more horror than the day before. Yes, this may have gotten a bit boring for us as readers, but imagine what it must have been like to live in constant dread of waking up the next morning. It was so horrifying that Linda was always hoping to die and the only thing keeping her alive was the thought of her motherless children. The fact that a slave's life was so repetetive, harsh, and cruel that they would only wish that they may die truly proves that slave life was unimaginably awful.
I thought it was very interesting to hear the personal story of a slave at that time. The fact that she was brave enough to record it is very admirable. I think she deemphasized how much she suffered because a lot of the book was just a retelling of facts. However, I was actually surprised that she was treated comparatively better than other slaves. Although that may sound really wrong to say, linda brent did say that other slaves were whipped daily and lived in shacks and were not treated anywhere near the level she was treated. It was also surprising that there was little/no racial prejudice in Britain. Didn't they start the idea of enslaving Africans in the western world?
I kinda disagree with shawn's first comment. But i guess it's a matter of personal opinion. I think Sal made a good point that Brent offered a different perspective on slavery and one woman's life as a slave.
It was also shocking while reading the book that Brent was so extremely intelligent, besides being able to read adn write. Her judgment was pretty correct and she showed wisdom that far exceeded the capacity of her masters, Dr. Flint and his family. It's terrible that someone like her had no oppurtunity to become something else because she was under the laws of slavery.
My favorite parts in the book were those in which Harriet Jacobs made more observations about the institution of slavery as a whole. Her personal story, though moving when heard outside of the book, was not as interesting. It seemed like so many of the main points were cushioned with boring, irrelevant details, and would have been much stronger in a conciser context. But the points that I was able to digest--once i managed to separate them from a haystack of tediousness--were powerful. Harriet revealed to us first-hand how the life of a slave woman is different, and often times worse, than the life of a slave man. She describes the harmful effects of slavery: a permanent feeling of mistrust. A happiness always tainted with the notion that your loved ones aren't safe. The pains of motherhood when you know your helpless to protect your children.
She brings up some interesting political issues as well. She claims that slaves should not be held to the same moral standards as free blacks or whites. She disdains upon the unabashed hypocrisy of the white Christian slave owners. She gives us insight on how black americans felt betrayed by the Fugitive Slave Law enacted in the North, as if the Northern people were bloodhounds for the Southern slave owners.
And yet, throughout her journey, Harriett is eventually able to regain her sense of trust and see the world with open eyes. She realizes that education is the key to freedom: "The more my mind had become enlightened, the more difficult it was for me to consider myself an article of property," (205). I think this is a beautiful message, and if the book had been shorter I might have been able to enjoy reading it.
I agree with Nisha in that Harriet Jacob's accomplishment in writing this book is very impressive. I know it is one of the rare personal accounts of slavery that is on record today, and it was very bold and brave of her to tell her story. I guess I would suggest that for future years, you only require us to read a short biography of Harriet Jacobs, and then some of the more meaningful passages in the book. I would not suggest getting rid of the assignment all together, because it is an interesting story and the test helps boost peoples' grades if they aren't doing so well.
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