Harriet Jacobs
...very. All of these experiences helped Harriet learn to fight justly for her right to become a free individual, but most of all, to be strong when dealing with Dr Flint, the man who wanted so bad to exploit her. However, he was not able to because of Harriet’s awareness and determination not to be forever bounded by the rule of slavery. Jacobs opens her narrative by describing her parents and grandparents. In doing this, she ensures that they are presented in such a way that the Northern reader would judge them to be good people. This is important to the meaning of the text, since Jacobs needs the readers to believe that slaves like her deserve something better. The way Jacobs describes her parents offers an insight into what Northern people would consider a respectable person. Jacobs introduces her father saying, "My father was a carpenter, and considered so intelligent and skillful in his trade, that, when buildings out of the common line were to be erected, he was sent for from long distances, to be head workman.” This description emphasizes that her father was considered valuable to society in general. He was not merely a hard worker; he was so capable and skillful that he was desired for his abilities. This suggests that the Northern people value men for what skills they can offer to society as a whole, with the worth of a man determined by what he can contribute. Through history we discover that even white women in the past were treated unfairly and not equally to that of white men. It was hard for me to imagine being an African American slave of those times because women were already handed the short end of the stick. It was the lowest of the lows. When Jacobs set about to write her experiences as a slave, she used a unique style which spoke to the reader throughout the narrative, as if she was sitting and speaking with whoever was reading her book. Sometimes she apologizes to the reader for what she is about to relate, sometimes she rages at the reader for allowing slavery to continue, and sometimes she simply states what her life was like as a being owned by another. In fact, she opens her narrative with an apology to the reader. "I wish I were more competent to the task I have undertaken. But I trust my readers will excuse deficiencies in consideration of circumstances. Her personal story is sometimes difficult to read because of the cruelties and inhumanity shown to the women, however, it cannot help but stir emotion in the reader, and her very personal comments directed at the reader allowed me to get in touch with Jacob’s deeply rooted heartache and uncertainty. Jacobs' words have had an effect upon me. If by understanding the true account of one slave girl, we can understand the true meaning of slavery. What happened to the slaves in the Deep South was not just a matter of white supremacy but white hatred. This story can be seen to be in its rawest sense an emotional work. If it were written by anyone but an ex slave, it would not have the same effect, the words come from the heart. “When I lay down beside my child, I felt how much easier it would be to see her die than to see her master beat her about.” It is obvious that Jacobs would rather have her child be free in death than to have to live the...