Reflection #2 - Grade: B PDF

Preview

Summary

A synthesized short essay about Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl...

Description

Reflection Paper #2 In “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” by Harriet Jacobs, the author uses the pseudonym, Linda Brent, to narrate a first-person account of slavery. Faith, family, and friends hold pertinent roles in Linda’s journey from birth to escaping to the North. These values represent the hope, motivation and strengths needed in order for the narrator to successful complete her journey. The aspect of faith differs from slaveholders to slaves. It is visible that many slaves in the story, including the author, use faith as a guiding tool. Christianity represented a way out of the cruelty that is their lives, it represented heaven, unity and love. For example, Linda described that her family “never seem so happy as when shouting and singing at religious meetings…they are sincere, and nearer to heaven than other long-faced Christians” (60). This quote was used to show that black people are capable of being devout worshippers, and that they exemplified the idea of Christianity more than their white “masters” ever did. Most importantly, this shows an aspect of faith where it provided a chance for joyous unions. However, to the slaveholders, religion and faith were used as instruments of evil to suppress slaves. This can be seen when “the slaveholders came to the conclusion that it would be well to give the slaves enough of religious instruction to keep them from murdering their masters” (59). This quote shows how the elite slaveholders hired a free black man for the sole purpose of delivering sermons to their slaves on the importance of obedience. The examples mentioned above display how people in different situations use faith for their benefits, but it is often at the expense of others.

There are plethora of examples in the text where family serves as safe havens for the author. However, a more interesting facet of family is the dynamic between biological loyalty versus slaveholder loyalty. Learning the differences between these two categories at a young age provided Linda with valuable advantages for her journey. For example, when her brother, William, was called upon by both his father and his mistress, the boy answered his mistress first. This lead to his father saying “You are my child, and when I call, you come immediately, even if you have to pass fire and water” (11). It can be seen here that William is confronted by this loyalty struggle between his parents and his master/mistress. On one side, the parents hold the birth rights, but under slavery, the slaveholders have their property rights. Understanding this dynamic resulted in Linda choosing biological loyalty over slaveholder loyalty; that is the reason why she hid in the attic for years until her own children can be freed. Friendships contributed to Linda’s successful journey by providing a different perspective of emotional support. However, similar to faith and family, the idea friendship was unfair and thus, resulted in contrast between slaves and the slaveholders. This is evident when Linda observed a white child and her slaved half-sister, she commented “I foresaw the inevitable blight that would fall on the little slave's heart….from childhood to womanhood, her white sister’s pathway was blooming with flowers, and overarched by a sunny sky” (27). This quote implies that even though friendships in slavery provide substantial support, it is merely a temporary dose of happiness when the free friend’s live is compared to the slave friend’s life. The white friend will receive an education, marry a fellow white, and start a family; while the black friend will be sexually harassed, never marry, and spend her life in servitude.

In conclusion, the path to Linda’s freedom was shaped by multiple situations and conditions. However, faith, family and friendship played important roles, and essentially guided Linda’s escape to the North....