Linda Brent and Slavery

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Harriet Jacobs's "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" is a first person slave narrative in which Jacobs herself, a slave girl, accounts for her life under the fictitious name, Linda Brent. It looks at how, in this narrative, the author illustrates what being born and raised as a house servant in the South is like, as well as the abuses and brutal violence a captive slave faces and endures. It analyzes how, with tone, understatement, irony, and metaphors, Jacobs represents the sexual and emotional violence, as well as the tyranny of the enslaved black woman.

From the Paper:

"Jacobs' creates Linda's sequence of events and experiences through a bitter and melancholic tone, revealing Linda's anger and resentment towards her master and his family. As a reflection Linda states, "I was determined that the master, whom I so hated and loathed, who had blighted the prospects of my youth...should not succeed at last in trampling his victim under his feet" (Jacobs, 1846). The author's use of strong emotions to describe Linda's feelings towards her master further emphasizes the vindictive and merciless character of the master. The resentful shame the author creates through the first person narration of Linda's confessions illuminate the degradation endured by the author as well as the struggles of women."

More papers on Linda Brent and Slavery:

• Comparison Essay # 63846 : "Slavery Stories"
• Book Review # 109688 : "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"
• Book Review # 95728 : "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"

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