Abstract
The paper argues that published slave narratives such as "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs are of historical importance, for they provide the best evidence available regarding the personal experiences, feelings and reactions of black men and women to their enslavement, and present direct and compelling personal accounts of slavery which differ considerably from those available in general history books. The paper asserts that primary sources such as Harriet Jacob's slave narrative provide a much needed human perspective to the study of slavery, for they examine religious and gender aspects of slavery while revealing stark and disturbing truths about the inhumanity of this institution that many secondary sources and mainstream histories gloss over or ignore altogether.

From the Paper
"Published slave narratives such as "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs are of historical importance, for they provide the best evidence available regarding the personal experiences, feelings and reactions of black men and women to their enslavement, and present direct and compelling personal accounts of slavery which differ considerably from those available in general history books. Primary sources such as Harriet..."

Tags:life, slave, girl

Abstract
This paper reports on several chapters from the book "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs, telling of her life as a slave to Dr. Flint, who wants her body and soul but whom she hates more and more as time passes. The paper explains how the book shows the nature of slave life, especially for women, and the inability of the slave to have any control over her own life.

From the Paper
"Harriet Jacobs in her book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl states that she was born a slave and had a happy childhood until she learned that she was a slave at six years of age. Her father was a carpenter allowed to work at his trade, and though he wanted to purchase his children, he was never able to do so. She had a younger brother. She discusses the travails of members of her family and notes how all were treated as property and little more by their masters."

Tags:slave, history, chapters

Abstract
The paper discusses Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" and asserts that it remains one of the most captivating and compelling autobiographical slave narratives. The paper looks at the major themes explored, including the different types of slavery, the Fugitive Slave Law, religion and spiritual salvation and the fight for freedom. The paper opines that Harriet Jacobs' book is interesting, historically relevant and easy to read.

From the Paper
"Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is an autobiographical narrative recounting the author's journey to freedom and the impact she made on the abolitionist movement. She has no formal credentials for writing the narrative and in fact was assisted in compiling it by the abolitionist activist Lydia Maria Child. However, her personal experiences are all Jacobs needs to bring her story to the world: a heart-wrenching series of anecdotes that illustrate the horrors of slavery. Her credibility lies mainly in there having been accurate records of her life, and the entire book is comprised of her stories and personal reflection on them."

Tags:Fugitive, Slave, Law, religion, salvation, freedom, abolitionists

Abstract
This paper takes a look at the Frederick Douglass', 'The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave'. According to the paper, some of the writing is based on narratives passed around by word of mouth from slave to slave, while other parts are pure fiction. The paper concludes with a personal perspective of a reader.

From the Paper
"Sophia Auld is not the only white person described as being like an animal. The "nigger-breaker" Mr. Covey is also compared to an animal, specifically to a snake, because of his sneakyness and cunning. Likewise, those who hunt down and capture escaped slaves are compared to animals, because they would "lie in wait for the panting fugitive, as the ferocious beasts of the forest lie in wait for their prey." Yet most of the time when Douglass compares humans to beasts, he is referring to the other slaves, who he frequently refers to as being stupid. "I envied my fellow-slaves for their stupidity," he writes, "I have often wished myself a beast. I preferred the condition of the meanest reptile to my own." Shortly after this statement, he describes the way that all the slaves were evaluated for their worth: "Men and women, old and
young, married and single, were ranked with horses, sheep, and swine. There were horses and men, cattle and women, pigs and children, all holding the same rank in the scale of being, and were all subjected to the same narrow examination." Overall, it seems that one of his strongest critiques of slavery is that it defiles the image of man and makes him comparable to the animals. He argues against that religion which justifies slavery, and suggests that slave owners are actually defying God. "O, how accursed is that system, which entombs the godlike mind of man, defaces the divine image, reduces those who by creation were crowned with glory and honor to a level with four-footed beasts."

Tags:slave, owner, bond, status, animal, south

Abstract
This paper discusses the book, written under the pen name Linda Brent, first published in 1861, in which Jacobs tells of her years as a house slave before the Civil War. The paper's author describes the sexual exploitation and the incredible sacrifices Jacobs made to gain her freedom and that of her children. The author feels that it is difficult to think that anyone could read Jacobs's description of slave owners and not feel utter shame that humans could treat humans in such manner.

From the Paper
"Jacobs's description of New Years Day was heart wrenching. Mothers and children separated amid pleas for mercy. It was indeed a day of sorrow as slave mothers. Jacobs describes them, "watching the children who may al be torn from her the next morning she wished that she and they might die before the day dawn". The desperation and helplessness these women felt, "mother clinging to her child, when they fastened the iron upon his wrists, could you have heard her heart-rending groans pleading for mercy". Their pleas were in vain, for slaves were property and therefore undeserving of compassion."

Tags:house, slave, civil, war, sexual, exploitation, sacrifices, freedom, children, owners

Abstract
This paper looks at the slave narrative, "Never Had Over Two Dresses". by Betty Foreman Chessie about how Chessier's life as a slave isolated her from her family. It examines the benefits of being a house slave in an urban area than a field slave and the role of faith in her existence.

From the Paper
"Betty Foreman Chessier never had over two dresses. Born on July in Raleigh North Carolina she grew up in the waning days of the foul institution called slavery. As a result of this her life was a direct product of the racism that defined this nation..."

Tags:slave, narrative, history

Abstract
This paper provides a discussion of two slave narratives; Frederick Douglass' 'The Life of Frederick Douglass: American Slave' and Harriet Jacobs 'Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl'. The focus of the discussion is an argument that both authors, faced by violence and oppression, chose to respond through a form of accommodation that in the long run had a more enduring impact on slavery than any form of violence.

From the Paper
"When one is born into poverty and oppression it is difficult to believe one can achieve more than the community expects one can achieve. Despite the abject poverty and slavery faced by both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs both overcame the forces against them and went on to become writers who advocated abolition of slavery. Douglass' journey is chronicled in 'The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave' while Jacobs wrote of her experiences in 'Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl'."

Tags:sexual abuse, beating, children, patriarchy, slave owner, abolition

Abstract
This paper reviews Harriet Jacobs' autobiography "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl". This paper discusses how, in her autobiography, Harriet Jacobs used domestic ideology of violated womanhood to sway her Northern audience to the cause of abolition.

From the Paper
"In Chapter 1, Jacobs stresses the angelic quality of her early upbringing, much like the idealized version of childhood cherished in the 19th century portrayal of a happy home. " I was so fondly shielded that I never dreamed I was a piece of merchandise, trusted to them for safe keeping, and liable to be demanded of them at any moment." She also notes that "in complexion my parents were a light shade of brownish yellow, and were termed mulattos," a not-so subtle mention of the fact that her parents were at least partially white, creating an evident racial as well as domestic sense of sympathy between herself and her white readers whom she wished to convert to the abolitionist cause." Her uncle "inherited the complexion my grandmother had derived from Anglo-Saxon ancestors." (Jacobs, Chapter 1, http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JACOBS/hjch1.htm)
The plantation owner of Jacobs' maternal grandmother set her free. Thus Jacobs stresses that she was born, in some sense, free, in a venue of conventional, almost white hearth and home. This sense of conversation with the reader is further underlined by Jacobs' reference to the reader in an intimate fashion, as if she or he is beside her side. "The reader probably knows that no promise or writing given to a slave is legally binding; for, according to Southern laws, a slave, being property, can hold no property. When my grandmother lent her hard earnings to her mistress, she trusted solely to her honor. The honor of a slaveholder to a slave!".

Tags:slave, immorality, corrupted, abuse, vulnerable, female

Abstract
This paper examines and analyzes the slave narrative, "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African" by Olaudah Equiano. The paper explains that Equiano's narrative was special because of the language Equiano employs, the descriptions of his experiences as a slave that it includes and the message it conveys about examining our own lives and what we are meant to accomplish with our lives.

From the Paper
"Author Equiano's experiences were varied and unusual. His goal to share them with his readers caused him to pen his narrative, hoping to urge others to follow the same spiritual path he chose. As a young boy, he served on board an English fighting ship for his master. He fought in the French & Indian War alongside this man. He viewed slaves mistreated in the West Indies, and was cheated out of the freedom he worked for by a dishonest owner. With experience and his wits, he developed into a businessperson, traveled the world including the North Pole, helped resettle slaves to their native Africa, toured and spoke out loudly against slavery, and wrote a narrative describing his many experiences that brought the horrors of slavery home to many. In the end, publishers (including himself) published twenty-two editions of his book, and it remained popular literary material even after his death in 1797. All of these experiences added to the treasure trove of experience that created a compelling and admired narrative."

Tags:spiritual, conversion, horrors, slave, trade, west, indies, cheated, freedom, dishonest

Abstract
Examines how Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" contributes to the genre of Slave Narratives as the first direct appeal to the women of the North.

Tags:Literature., America, History., Slave, Narratives.