Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl- Harriet Jacobs

In Chapter 5, the little slave girl explains how her life is being a slave as a little girl. She goes on to describe that her master is really mean towards her and is always reminding her that he's in charge of her. The little slave girl is also afraid of her grandmother as well. Even though she feels protected that her grandmother is around. Even the master is afraid of her because the little slave girl describes her as the person who doesn't put up with anyone's crap even though she is a different race. The little slave girl also talks about how the young children that she sees playing together. She is observing a colored girl and a white girl playing together. She was soon saddened by the sight because she knew that, that wasn't how it was going to be when they got older. 

In Chapter 6, the little slave girl describes how she still being treated badly by her master but he is also giving her permission to teach herself how to read and write because it would be helpful to him as well. In this chapter she also mentions that her master is a doctor. She also brings up that the mistress and her master get in arguments all the time because he doesn't punish her. The mistress becomes envious of the slave girl and is very harsh towards her. She goes on to describe how the mistress gets mad at her over a new situation was brought upon her in paragraph 52. I reread it a few times but I still didn't get why the mistress was so upset with her and demanded the truth. The slave girl was very bothered by the fact that the mistress did not trust her. The mistress became crazy and watched her every move at night and sometimes stood over her while she was sleeping. The master declared that he was going to make a good life for the slave girl and he did not understand why the slave girl was being ungrateful of his actions. The slave girl went on to talk about how the mistress's were embarrassed of their husbands because they treated the slaves as their own children. 

I really enjoyed reading Chapter 7, I guess it's because I'm a girl and love stories are very interesting and capture my attention more. In Chapter 7, Linda, the slave girl, tells us about how she has fallen in love with a free black man. Her lover offered to pay any amount for her, but Linda's master refused to sell her and forbid her to have any contact with her lover. He brought her into his office and explained to her why she was not allowed to see the free black man. This really infuriated Linda and she began to verbally fight back with her master, knowing that she could be killed right on the spot. The master had never struck her before, but when she did not back down to him when he forbid her to see her lover, he struck her for the first time. Linda had so much hatred toward her master for this and I could not blame her. Imagine how that situation would be handled today. I don't think anyone could stop someone in this society today from marrying someone that they were in love with, unless you had a different culture. Linda's master presented her with a note saying that he was going on a trip to Louisiana and she was going to be accompanying him as well. He sent his son first to survey the area but his son did not approve, so they did not go on the trip. A few days later, Dr. Flint caught her seeing her lover on the corner of the street and she was immediately called into his office and he struct her again as soon as she entered. A little while later, Linda's lover left town to go to Savannah to see about some property that he was left from his uncle, to her dismay she told him not to come back, to stay in the free states where he could be treated like he was supposed to be. She dreamed of the day that they would meet again and be together. In this chapter, I didn't really understand why Dr. Flint would not sell Linda to her lover. As much as he adored her and took care of her even though she was his slave, you would think that he would want her to be happy. 

In Chapter 10, Linda tells us how she really is dreading her life and will do anything to get out of Dr. Flint's house. Dr. Flint must have felt bad in some sort of way for not letting her marrying her lover, because he got a little house built for her a few miles out of town. He was really concerned with the hatred that his wife had towards Linda. Linda really did not want to move into that house and she wanted him to sell her, so she went against everything she believed in and got pregnant hoping that her master would sell her. Linda felt really bad about this situation and wanted to speak with her grandmother about it. Her grandmother was furious with her and did not offer to help her with anything. Linda had no where else to go because she refused to stay at the cottage her master built for her. She finally ended up going to a friend of her deceased mother begging for forgiveness and hoping that she would make her feel better about her decision.

In Chapter 11, Linda is faced with the struggles of dealing with her master and his anger towards her for her choice to be with child. He demands to know who the father is and what race he was. Dr. Flint tells Linda that he will never sell her and she will always belong to him, as well as her baby when it is born. Linda's uncle came to visit as well and he knew the situation when he came, but he did not stay long. Throughout Linda's pregnancy, she could not leave her bed and became very ill while carrying her child. The only doctor that was allowed to see her was her master but she did not let anyone call for him. As Linda's condition became worse and worse her master came to take care of her and soon after her baby boy was born. He was premature but that doesn't seem unusual since Linda was so young. Linda also talks about how her brother worked for Dr. Flint in his office as well. He was one of the best workers Dr. Flint had but when he showed up to work late one day, Dr. Flint had him thrown in jail so he could think about his bad conduct. Dr. Flint tried to replace William, Linda's brother, but no one could do the job as well as he could. Linda's baby also became ill after he was one year old and she often wished he would die because she knew what his future would behold. But Linda prayed for his life more because he was in fact her child. 

In Chapter 14, Linda speaks of how she still hasn't returned to her masters house since she had the baby boy and she knows the mistress would kill her. When Dr. Flint returned he was infuriated with the news that Linda was pregnant again and she was only nineteen. He was so mad at her that he cut off all of her hair and abused her when he came to her grandmothers home. When Linda learned that her newborn child was going to be a girl, she became frightened for her life because "Slavery is terrible for men, but it is far more terrible for women." Linda became sick again after she had her baby and Dr. Flint came to visit and cursed her and the newborn child. From astonishment of the terrible things he said, Linda passed out on the floor and Dr. Flint soon realized that his behavior was unnecessary. Linda's grandmother also wanted her grandchildren christened because it was apart of their religion. Linda christened her children and returned home with her father's mistress. 

In Chapter 15, Linda's children had gotten older and become afraid of Dr. Flint. Linda tried once again to get someone to buy her and her children out of the hands of Dr. Flint. When he was approached with this offer he declined once more and went to see Linda at her grandmothers house. Throughout this chapter Dr. Flint is very abusive towards Linda and her children. He still continues to lash out on Linda and he threw her son across the room. As seasons passed Dr. Flint kept trying to offer freedom to Linda and her children, but the only thing she had to do was live in a cottage that he supplied for her and she would only have to do minor things for him such as knitting. She declined once again and he sent her and her children to the plantation and told her that her children would be sold as soon as they were old enough. Linda's grandmother was not happy with this situation and she went to Dr. Flint to try to simply change his mind. It didn't seem to work and Linda returned to the plantation with hopes of being free one day. When reading chapter 15, I did not understand why Linda wouldn't take his offer and live in the cottage. It did not seem like a bad deal that he proposed to her, but yet should rather do horrible work and risk having her children sold. 

In Chapter 16, Linda tells us about life on the plantation. She is under the power of young Mr. Flint and he seems to take it a little more easier on her than his father. Linda only brought her daughter with her because her son was sick at the time. Linda was given the task to organize and prepare for the reception of the bride on the following Wednesday. Ellen, Linda's daughter, became ill while being with her at the plantation and she was sent back to live with her grandmother who could take better care of her. Linda was permitted to visit her family with the approval of her master. After Linda had been working at the plantation for a month, her grandmothers dear friend Miss Fanny came to visit. Miss Fanny and Linda's grandmother were very close and Miss Fanny adored the sweet things that her grandmother cooked for her. Linda still dreamed and tried to find a way for freedom for her and her children, but Dr. Flint caught on to her scheme and still refused to sell her. He claimed that was now the property of his son and he did not have permission to sell her. Linda tried to scheme against Dr. Flint again by attempting to go live with her friend hoping that it would infuriate him and he would eventually sell her. But Linda's grandmother got to her conscious and talked her out of it. She was nervous about meeting the young Mrs. Flint, in hopes that she would not have the same attitude as the older Mrs. Flint. The young Mrs. Flint seemed to get along very well with Linda and treated her with respect. At the end of the chapter, Linda learns that her children are being sent for and they would be coming to the plantation to be "broke in." 

In Chapter 17, Linda finally escapes from Mr. Flint's home. She left that night a little after midnight when everyone was asleep and returned to her grandmothers home to see her children one last time and move her clothing into another room. Linda ran through the night to her friends home who was going to provide her with a place to stay. The next day Mr. Flint was at Linda's grandmothers home searching everywhere for her. He questioned her grandmother and told her that if Linda returned on her own then her children would be brought to live with her. Mr. Flint had the whole side of town searched for Linda but no one was able to find her. All over town there were posters offering a reward for Linda and it included her appearance and the fact that she might be traveling to the free states. 

I really enjoyed reading the chapter about slavery because it interests me to know about things that took place in the past that have shaped society today. Slavery is a interesting topic and hearing the way people were treated from a slaves perspective was very informative. The way Linda told her story made everything seem real and it was really easy to understand what she was talking about. 

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