Andrew Brooks
Professor Walker
ENGL 201
19 November 2020
Essay #2
The enslavement of the African American race in the United States has long been a
topic of controversy. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, the Thirteenth
Amendment in 1865, and the Union victory over the Confederacy solidified the abolition of
slavery, its effects can still be felt hundreds of years later. If we are to understand how and why
slavery is still a relevant and very important topic of discussion, looking firsthand into the life of a
slave can be very insightful. Harriet Jacobs faced the hardships that came with slavery,
including living in a society that promoted elitism, issues of identity, and constantly living in fear.
In her narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs addresses these several
important issues that impacted her life as a slave in the 1800’s.
The first important topic that drastically affected Jacobs’ life was living in a society that
promoted elitism. Elitism is the byproduct of individuals who form an elite. An elite is a select
group of people described as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, special skills, or
experience. The belief centers around the notion that those individuals are more likely to be
constructive to society as a whole, and therefore deserve influence or authority greater than that
of others, creating a social hierarchy. That being said, elitism was at the height of its powers
during the 1800’s in America. A lot of whites during that time period believed that they were the
elite in society, and every other race underneath them was seen as inferior. There is a really
good example of this early on in the narrative. In her teen years, Jacobs falls in love with a free
African American carpenter. She goes and asks permission from her owner, Dr. Flint, to marry
the man. He initially responds with, “Well, I’ll soon convince you whether I am your master, or
the n- fellow you honor so highly. If you must have a husband, you may take up with one of my
slaves” (p. 914). Dr. Flint already owns her as property, and now he is telling her that if she
marries, it must be to another piece of his property. There are two reasons Dr. Flint will not allow
this marriage to occur: he has been pressuring Jacobs’ to have sexual relations with himself,
and if he allows her to marry a free man, he is promoting her to the same societal status he
shares. She would no longer be beneath him, which goes against the elitism ideology that a lot
of whites, especially the southern slave owners, held at the time. After a few more exchanges,
the conversation reaches its climax when Dr. Flint strikes Jacobs. His physical assault of her,
and her decision not to retaliate, is the ultimate example of elitism. He is her master, and the
slave obeys the master under all conditions and circumstances.
The issue of identity is very present in Jacobs’ narrative. This is evident from the very
beginning of the narrative. Jacobs’ father was a carpenter who was permitted to hire himself out,
and her parents lived together in the same house, despite having different masters. As a result
of this, Jacobs did not discover that she was a slave until age six. At six years old, one is old
enough to understand the reality of existence. To an extent, Jacobs probably felt a sense of
confusion when she found out that she was owned by someone as property, and that she was
not, in fact, viewed in society as a person. She was awakened to this reality when her mother
died and there was a change of owners. Another example of this is when Jacobs purposefully
gets pregnant by an unmarried white gentleman. She is only a teenager when she makes the
conscious decision to do this. She knows that doing this will free her from living with Dr. Flint,
but at the same time, her grandmother will be very disappointed in her. She is torn on what she
should do and is therefore struggling with her identity. Who is she? Is she the rule-abiding,
Christian girl her grandmother has raised her to be, or is she the cunning slave girl who is going
against her master’s bidding? When she finally reveals what she has done to her grandmother,
she exclaims, “Oh! Has it come to this? I had rather see you dead than to see you as you are
now. You are a disgrace to your dead mother” (pg. 920). These harsh words cut Jacobs like a
knife. She knew her grandmother would not approve, but hearing her reprimands hurt her in the
worst way possible. She eventually reconciled with her grandmother, but it is noted, “She did not
say, ‘I forgive you’” (p. 921). Jacobs didn’t write about this specifically, but one can imagine that
this may have dawned on her for some time.
Lastly, living in constant fear was normal for Harriet Jacobs. Her uncle, Benjamin, was
caught attempting escape and was jailed for six months before being sold to a trader. He
eventually escaped to New York, but he never saw his family again. Jacobs remembered
hearing this story as a little girl and it made the idea of escaping very daunting, almost
unthinkable. Her master, Dr. Flint, tried several times to make sexual advances on her. He hit
her and even shoved her down the stairs once, seriously injuring her. She always had to fear
her master. Mrs. Flint was extremely jealous of all of the attention Dr. Flint gave Jacobs and
would have liked nothing more than to see her sold or killed. She always had to fear her
master’s wife. Despite Benjamin’s story, she attempts escape and succeeds, but not without
paying a heavy price. To avoid capture, she is forced to live in a crawlspace in her
grandmother’s attic for seven years. She is passed food and water through the trap door and
bores holes through the attic so she can see her children, who don’t know that she is right
above her. To their knowledge, their mother is in New York or somewhere far away. When those
seven years pass and she makes her way to New York with her daughter, she is hunted by
Emily Flint, her master’s daughter, and her husband. Only when her benefactor arranges for her
to be sold to Mr. Dodge, who agrees to free her, does she finally at last escape life constantly on
the run, constantly looking over her shoulder.
Harriet Jacobs has one of the most inspiring slave narratives ever written. She suffered
and persevered through just about every obstacle imaginable to gain freedom for her and her
children. The cards were stacked against her: she lived in a time period where society was high
on elitism, she struggled with her personal identity, and she lived fearfully, knowing her every
move was possibly being watched. Her story is still relevant and important today because it
shows you that with courage, determination, and faith in God, one can make it through anything.
