Michael MayDr. WachterIT209-0127 April 2014Harriet Jacobs: Slave Mom Growing up in this country, it has always been important to know the best and worst times the United States has gone through. Every history lesson made it abundantly clear that the low point occurred during a time of slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries. Those constant reminders in class consisted mostly of several fiction and nonfiction stories. Each story traverses exceptional experiences and offers a glimpse into this dark time. After hearing and reading many of these stories it seems like they can all blend together and it can be difficult to distinguish one from the other; that is until Harriet Jacobs joins the mix. Harriet Jacob's experience growing up as a slave provides a story unlike any other showing the desperation, suffering, and utter agony endured by women in slavery. There are numerous male authors of slave narratives who reference the persecution of enslaved African-American women by white men, except none had addressed the women's point of view as directly as Jacobs had chosen. In her memoir, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Jacobs recalls her extraordinary story of the trials and accomplishments she endures, as well as the harm done to others around her. It takes the reader on a journey into the life of a woman dehumanized from the moment she was born. He not only acknowledges the sexual abuse he suffered, but also explains how he had planned a way to use his sexuality as a means to escape abuse from his master. Throughout her story, Jacobs' focus is on the importance of family and motherhood. She details the trauma of being separated from her two children, named Ellen and Benny, during her seven years at the newspaper. to help a slave. It's the message Jacobs hopes to impress deeply into the reader's mind. Like most slave narratives, the reader feels a form of guilt and sympathy for the protagonist, but for Harriet Jacobs there is much more to feel. Freedom is undoubtedly life's greatest gift, and having it taken away can sometimes be a fate worse than death. In Harriet Jacob's short story, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, she tells a story of the painful truths that plagued enslaved women in the nineteenth century. It's a story worth reading long after this time period. Work Cited Jacobs, Harriet Ann. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.. Ed, L. Maria Child Boston, 1861. Wikisource.< http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Incidents_in_the_Life_of_a_Slave_Girl>