Overview Of Slavery In Harriet Jacobs And Fredrick Douglass

Harriet Jacobs and Fredrick Douglass are both very incredible and powerful writers who narrated their enslavement encounters in a passionate and compelling manner. Jacob’s narrative describes the abuses she had to go through personally especially because of her gender. She describes how the women slaves were exploited not only for their productive capabilities but reproductive ones as well. This is why she remarked, “Slavery is terrible for men but is far more terrible for women”. This is a clear indication that in addition to being enslaved, Jacob’s had to overcome the hurdle of being a female as well.
The aim of this paper will be to point out some crucial factors which ultimately shaped the understanding of slavery in the lives of Jacob

Jacobs’s narrative is mainly focused on family and the role of the woman. Once she became a mother, she knew she had developed permanent ties and her general concern for her children had to take precedence over everything else including her very own self-interests. Throughout the narrative, Jacobs is much more concerned with her own family. She cares about the well-being of her children and grandmother who depended on her. This clearly indicates that despite the fact that she was earnestly trying to pursue her freedom, she had other priorities such as securing a home for her

It can also be used to explain how it shaped their understanding of slavery. Jacobs’s narrative focuses on sexual exploitation. She describes personhood as the ability to take total control over her sexuality and also to freely be a mother to her children. Douglass’s narrative focuses on the struggle we to achieve manhood. According to his line of thought, personhood was defined in terms of his manhood and his ability to take total control over his destiny.
Harriet Jacobs was literally a domestic in her employment as well as a slave mother with children to protect. At some point in time Jacobs aims her work towards upper class white women because she feels they will sympathize with her and treat her less harshly because she is female. Her narrative clearly portrays a code of behavior which demanded women to be meek, virtuous and submissive no matter the personal cost. Regardless of this, Jacobs’s relationship with her grandmother proved to be very beneficial during this times. This is another significant difference between her experience and that of Douglass. Throughout the text she expresses gratitude towards this family member who was constantly supportive of her and always met her with a smile. Even though they did not always agree, the importance of this family relation cannot be