The Irony Behind Valuing Property

Something short and sweet to think about...

Jacobs reminds her readers numerous times that slaves were the property of slaveholders. Slaves were seen as any other piece of property that a master or mistress could do whatever they wanted with because they owned that slave. However, Jacobs provides several examples of how slaveholders mistreated and abused their slaves, flogging them relentlessly if they tried to steal food or even putting a gun to their head if they tried to run away from the plantation. But if slaves were regarded as property, like any other cow or pig that the slaveholder owned, why then would they treat them in such a way? Would a master whip or beat a cow for wandering too far into the fields? Would they put a gun to the pig's head if they started nibbling on something they weren't supposed to? This just makes no sense to me. These slaveholders treated their "property" in such a desctructive way, without a care about whether the slave died or not. Even the most valuable slaves received the death penalty for behaving unaccordingly, no matter how good of a worker they were. It makes no sense that slaveholders wouldn't take care of something they "owned."

Overall Thoughts on Book

Overall, this book had a great impact on me. I felt as though it opened up my eyes to see the horrors of slavery for what they really were: horrors. Linda’s plight is not unlike many of theirs, and I feel it is extremely important to remember this time and remember these people. Linda’s story was not over with the end of this book; however her story was just beginning. She was still “owned,” but she could now work towards her dream. I feel as though this was a huge step for her. The reader leaves praying that Linda will someday realize her dream but knowing that part of her ordeal is over. She spent a lifetime running from men, but she also spent a lifetime trusting in God. I think that is what counts the most. Through it all, she never cursed God. I liken Linda to Job; she had every reason to be angry and bitter at the hands of her captors, but she remained consistently trusting in God. She comments on how she had “hard feelings” towards Dr. Flint, but she still puts God above it all. I think what struck me the most about this book was her unwavering faith and the faith of her grandmother. This book made me reconsider the plight of slaves; but more importantly, it reaffirmed my faith and compelled me to keep pushing forward even if all seems lost.

God's Faithfulness.

The joy that I felt soon diminished as I read the following chapter on the Fugitive Slave Law. As I read, I felt all of Linda’s hard work going down the drain, and I was scared for her. Then, while I was reading her escape letter, I felt that same feeling of hope that I had before. Linda was still optimistic even though she was not sure if she would see her children again. This was awesome to me, but I felt like I would feel so let down and scared. I would feel like the world had given up on me. Linda still faced this situation with the thought that “God will work all things out because we have been faithful.” What a statement to me. I feel as though she should have been angry and bitter, but she was not. I want to strive to have faith like Linda’s. I want to strive to have faith that, no matter what the circumstances, God will be faithful if I am faithful. And God was truly faithful to Linda, for in the end, her freedom was bought, and she was finally able to rest her head and know that she would never have to run again.

Linda's Daughter

I think that Linda’s whole life was about sacrifice. She sacrificed her freedom in order to escape safely; she sacrificed her innocence to become pregnant and regain her identity; and she sacrificed time with her child in order that her daughter have a better life in a better school. I believe that it all culminated to this point. She was free now, and her daughter had the options that she did not. This is so beautiful to me. When her daughter went to boarding school, I was excited and sad at the same time. I was sad because her daughter was not with her and she was alone, but I was excited because her daughter would be given a better life with a better future. And when her expenses were lessened because of her mother’s status, I felt like everything had come full circle. Instead of running because of her status, Linda was able to be proud that her daughter was going to have a great education, and she was going to pay less because Linda was brave and would not stand to just be a slave. This was one of the most beautiful parts of the book to me because I felt that, finally, Linda could be proud of herself and her family, and she could use her past to create a better future for those just like her.

Cruelty

I was going over the book in my mind, and I remembered something extremely important: the cruelty of some of the masters. We hear stories of kind slave owners, and we are surprised, but no one is surprised at cruel ones. However, Jacobs takes special pains to describe the cruelty of some of these men and women. She says "Cruelty is contagious in uncivilized societies."

Uncivilized? I thought this was America. We are civilized, we were civilized, but maybe we were not. This was a shocking statement for me to read, but I never thought about that era as uncivilized. That was the era of "Southern Gentlemen" and "Southern Bells." Society was all about impressions, but to the slaves, these men and women were brutish and mean. They would push the slaves until the point of death and then let them crawl back to their huts to regain enough life to be pushed again. What kind of society was this? We comment on the cruelty of the Nazis in WWII or the abominations in the Sudan, but have we ever stopped to think about what we have done? I haven't. Honestly, I really just ignored the cruelty and just accepted that slavery was wrong. Humanity was never meant to be this way, and it makes me wonder what drove these men and women to do these things. What do you guys think? What drives someone to be so cruel to other humans? Is it the sport of it? Is it the brute's own shortcomings or insecurities?

What makes a society uncivilized? Is it their economy or their governmental system? I believe that Jacobs is saying it is the way that humans treat each other. If humans are kind to their own--no matter the race--then that is "civilized." And, if that is the case, is America even civilized now? Are we even close?

Perseverance

I'm certain that I could not do what Linda did. Hiding in a hole for years and years, imagining escape, thirsting for it and yearning for more. I'm not entirely sure what drove her there--I mean, we obviously say that it was the slavery and the harsh treatment--but could you do it? Could you survive such conditions on a glimmer of hope? I like to think that I could have the perseverance to do it. However, I think it was more than perseverance that drove Linda to do this. I think it was massive amounts of hope. I firmly believe that hope drove her. This seems like an elementary thought, but as I was reading a few of the parts about how she was in the hole, I thought about putting myself in that situation. This elementary revelation that I had was quite profound. This is less of a literary critique and more of a literal spiritual thought that I had while reading.

I believe that, sometimes, we are in situations that test all that we have. I believe that--figuratively--we are stuck for days and days and months and months and years and years in the same hole--waiting for the chance to escape, the glimmer hope, a breeze of change. Something inside of us drives us to persevere. The prospect of a better life away from the pain and inhumanity drove Linda to keep reaching and praying for hope, and sometimes that is all that we have. Sometimes, the only glimmer of hope that we have is a little hole in our situations that we can barely see through; however, we can see something. Light will pour through the hole, and we will remember that there is still light. I believe that Linda had a little tiny place that she could look and see the light and feel the breeze. Light will always pour into our dark places. Even if we can't see anything in the darkness and despair of a hole in the ground, we will be able to see enough to remember that Jesus doesn't forget that we are buried. We may not be able to see everything, but we can see him. Just as Linda could still hear her Grandmother's voice in that pit, we can still hear the voice of God and see His light.

God does interesting things through literature. I'm not a slave, and I've never face what Linda faced, but I understand the idea of being constricted by circumstances and waiting to be let out of them and being able to finally breathe.

The Crux of the message of Harriet Jacobs "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"

In her narrative, Jacobs recounts many "incidents" in her life before she finally obtains freedom. Although she may have left out some of the story, her mistreatment and the mistreatment of others of her race and gender is clear. In Chapter 14, she sums up the crux of her messages when she writes:

"Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women. Super added to the burden common to all, they have wrongs and sufferings and mortification's peculiarly their own."

The biggest obstacle that Jacobs had to triumph over in her life involved Dr. Flint and his merciless, undesirable sexual molestation of her. Jacobs' narrative centers on the sexual debasement that she as well as many other women slaves had to bear.

She is saying that whether of not they are whipped, starved or worked to death, all female slaves suffer the horrible mental anguish of rape and sexual harassment, as well as the loss of their children. The shame for young girls and women who have been sexually victimized by white men were as difficult to bear as any kind of physical torment and torture, and perhaps even more so. Her message is that the slavery of the American South was a true abomination....to God and to the human beings that He made....All of them.