I. “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, “The Loophole of Retreat” by Harriet Jacobs and “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” by Frederick Douglass are two of the most important works in a slave narrative genre. Both authors write about their own life and the reader can observe more similarities than differences. However, Douglas focuses in differences between the dark slave and a light slave. He describes his difficulties and suffering being a mulatto. Jacobs is writing from the female perspective. She was emotionally and sexually abused, while Douglas was physically abused. Jacobs describes how was the life as a female slave. She was brutally molested by her white master. The violence against her was double because she was black and female. Jacobs highlights the importance of family values. She is concerned not only in her freedom, she wants all the family to be free with her. On contrary, Douglas mentions his mother only in the first chapter of his narrative, showing very little emotions.
II. Slavery even today exists in one or different forms, almost in all countries. The following are examples of modern slavery:
1. Thousands of people are trafficked and forced to work on fishing boats, where they can be kept for years without ever seeing the shore. Those who are caught trying to escape can be killed and thrown overboard.
2. Many children are forced to beg on the streets by criminals. They are sent out on the streets and have a daily quota of money to bring back to their masters. If they return shorthanded, the penalties are swift and harsh, from being chained in total isolation to violent beatings.
3. Taking advantage of the high demand for organ transplants, organized gangs have taken to trafficking children to sell their organs on the black market.

Part 1

From Harriet Jacobs’ slave narrative, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” depicts some aspects of what a black woman had to deal with back in slavery. Although it is well known that the slaves were treated inhumanely, but to read through what life was like at that time makes the readers feel unease about what occurred during that time. The excerpt does not only show a glimpse of what slavery was like, but it also demonstrates a successful example of an escaped slave. Men in slavery, as Frederick Douglas showed, are treated heartlessly and inhumanely. But born as a woman in slavery, Jacobs shows that sexual oppression exercised by white slave master over their women slaves. This narrative differs from Douglass’ from the way it shows perspectives from different gender roles they played back in slavery. A black male was usually used to be on the farm, and did all the labor, while the women, did their own jobs and were treated as sexual items by the white slave masters. One of the differences between the two slavery narrative is that Douglass chose to use non-fiction, and Jacobs chose to replace actual names of people on her journey to escape in order to not get them discovered and get punished. These two narratives depict a clear first-person resource to communicate to the audience what it was like for the slaves back in the day in age.

Part 2

Although slavery is illegal anywhere, yet, there are still various forms of slavery everywhere in the world today. It is estimated around 27 million people are still enslaved till this day. The slaves are forced to work without pay and are under the threat of violence both mentally and physically. Contemporary slavery does not consist only adults, but also children. Children take a very large part in contemporary slavery, especially in prostitution. It is said that the average age a teen enters the American sex trade is around twelve to fourteen years of age. With some of the leaders in the world who are taking initiative fighting against human trafficking, and there has been researched estimated that there is a possibility of ending slavery within twenty-five years.

As I read the two excerpts by Harriet Jacobs, I noticed a commonality of Fredrick Douglass’s slave narrative from the perspective of a female slave. Both are runaways, who happened to suffer to different capacities, traumatic experiences nonetheless. Harriet Jacobs, just like Douglass is faced with paranoia, not knowing who to trust or who to confide to. She also has a level consciousness of her surroundings and that women in the north had certain privileges which she could only imagine of when she was in the south. Eager to depict the horrors more so than relay a sob story, she consistently requests her reader to not assume she is comparing her life to others, or saying she is suffering more than others. She also apologizes for acts such as having relations with the white men in hope for a better life for her children. But it’s clear that she didn’t do it out of ignorance, rather with the assumption that due to his sympathy for slavery, it might potentially ease the strife she faces on a daily basis. In terms of reinforcing the idea of slavery, she talks on behalf of all the other slave girls who are raised in both a misogynistic and segregated region. The girls are perceived as maids and child bearers, to be hated by the wives of the husbands. They had no means of protecting their innocence or preserving the choice to lay with the man of their dreams. Worst of all, when they gave birth, the child was taken away after a certain time frame, so they aren’t given much time to form a bond with their kin, just like Fredrick lacked with his mother.

Part 2:

Though slavery of the black race has been abolished and made illegal. Other means still exist. Girls, barely around the age of  adolescence before even beginning their menstrual cycle are being married to men their father’s age for various reasons. Despite, the justifications that can be used to mitigate the outrage, it’s still an unethical traditional practice that occurs in many third world countries and tribes. There’s also child labor, which is taking children at a young age to do work in hazardous conditions to lower costs of paying a well able-to-do man. This occurs in many countries that are involved in outsourcing. Interestingly enough, sex trafficking is still prevalent today, but what’s more shocking is the fact that it isn’t limited to just women and girls as many presume, it also includes, boys, men and children alike. It’s typically done by the culprit luring the victim to enter a vehicle, an individual walking alone in an alley and being taken away, in some countries, parents selling off their daughter’s in exchange for money. All of which occur on a daily basis with little to no repercussion. Similar to how species evolve and adapt to their environments, slavery is evolved into various segments as above mentioned for profit.

I have always known that slavery is wrong and that it was abolished later than it should have been. Harriet Jacobs’ narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, as well as Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, made me realize that what I had imagined was nothing compared to how horrible life was for slaves. Although Jacobs hid in the garret uncomfortably for seven years, and was oppressed by her old master, she seemed to have had life easier than most. In the narrative, she said “Christmas was approaching. Grandmother brought me materials, and I busied myself making some new garments and little playthings for my children”. She had never been worked tirelessly, always been kindly treated, she was around her children, she was also under the care of her kind grandmother while others such as Douglas, have been brutally beaten and rarely had the chance to feel loved by family. Douglas and Jacobs, as well as most slaves, were similar in that their masters all broke or attempted to break their minds and spirits. However, they are also similar in that they did not give up hope, and continued to strive and endure hardship in order to gain their freedom.  

Hearing both stories made me question my faith in humanity because how can one person inflict such pain upon another? Not all slaveholders were entirely malicious, but even the gentle ones were eventually taught to treat the slaves with such cruelty as if they were not people, but animals and property. To me, people such as slaveholders are either sociopaths or psychopaths because no sane person would be able to whip another person until they have pools of blood beneath them.

Part 2

Upon research, I learned that modern slavery may not be the same form of slavery as it was before, but it consists of many human rights violations. I learned that if someone is being forced to work, someone that is being controlled or owned by another person, or someone that is being dehumanized, it is considered modern slavery. Human trafficking  and sexual exploitation are probably one of the more severe forms of slavery. One issue that I read about was a woman who held two Korean students captive District Attorney, “The siblings also endured physical and emotional abuse and were forced to work after school at Queens supermarkets and turn over all the money to Park — who told them that they owed her the $10 an hour they made because their mother wasn’t sending her anything to support them”. I learned that the reason that the kids were saved was because of my old high school assistant principal because this very incident happened in my neighborhood.

Your assignment this week has two parts:

1. First, read the two short excerpts from Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl that I have linked to on our “Readings” page. In a brief (250 word) post to our blog, comment on the two excerpts. What does Harriet Jacobs’ narrative add to our understanding of the experience of slavery? How does this narrative connect to or differ from Douglass’? (As you read the second excerpt, “The Loophole of Retreat,” keep in mind that Jacobs remained in this hiding place for seven years!)

2. Although slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, slavery in various forms continues to be an important Human Rights issue even in our own day. Spend some time exploring the topic of contemporary slavery on the internet, and share on the blog three important things that you learn about this subject.

“Mr.Fore then, without consultation or deliberation with any one, not even giving Demby an additional call, raised his musket to his face, taking deadly aim at his standing victim, and in an instant poor Demby was no more, his mangled body sank out of sight, and blood and brains marked the water where he had stood.” — Chapter V

Douglass described Demby’s death very clear, and this part makes me feel sad. Mr. Fore didn’t give an additional call for Demby, it reflects their life that they can’t bargain with the master. Also, the master didn’t care about their feeling. “His mangled body sank out of sight, and blood and brains marked the water where he had stood.” I can image this part from his description. A poor slave was stand in the water, and he tried to get more time in the water, but the master was cruel, he wanted his slave back to work as soon as possible. Slaves have no rights to speak, and they have to suffer the pain and whip.

Although this is only a small fragments about a slave, but it really impressed me. Slaves could not help each other, though their companions died, they feel fear and they could not resist. Slaves and the master have different class and identity, but both of them are human. The master didn’t treat slave’s life as the same with them. The master treats their slaves like animals, and if animals against their orders and they can kill them.

I think the description of this part was very dismal  and his death deeply engraved on Douglas’s mind like a picture. At the same time, I  can felt the despair and fear of salves.

The passage that stood out to me from the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” was when he described the conditions at Colonel Lloyd’s plantation, when he lived there as a child. He talked about sleeping on the cold ground using an empty bag used for corn as warmth, and that his feet had been so cracked with frost that he said the “pen with which I am writing might be laid in the gashes.” As for meals, he recalled “our food was coarse corn meal boiled…It was put into a large wooden tray or trough, and sat down upon the ground. The children were then called, like so many pigs, and like so many pigs they would come and devour the mush; some with oyster shells, others with pieces of shingle, some with naked hands, and none with spoons” (p.248). While much of the physical violence in his writing stood out, this passage was the one that painted such a vivid, heartbreaking picture in my mind. All I could see were a bunch of those children, cold and hungry, huddled around this trough, fighting over what little food was there and using whatever they could find to help eat it. Even Douglass himself describes the children as being “like pigs”, who were called when it was feeding time and devoured what was given. It shows just how far they were stripped of their basic human rights. There was no humanity here; they were treated as though they were farm animals. His description of that, to me, shows how unjust slavery is even more so than the physical torture they had to endure because it shows how they weren’t even viewed as human beings. Frederick Douglass describes his experiences in such a powerful way that it feels as if you can see them in your minds eye. His words evoke so much emotion that you can’t help but feel something when you read them. And there is such a resonation of strength in his work, because despite it all, he was able to survive, educate himself, and use his words as a weapon for change. It shows just how unbreakable his spirit was, and is why his work still holds so much power today.

The quote that stood out to me was right in the beginning of the story. “A want of information concerning my own [age] was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege.” This quote made an impression on me because even though he was a slave, he had somehow become literate, and beyond odds, eloquent. I believe that the most important thing that we can learn about Frederick Douglass here by analyzing his syntax and diction is that he was not afraid to challenge his masters. He said himself that he was not allowed to try to ascertain his own age as it was banned by his master. A weaker man would not have questioned this and moved on. Without reading more than two pages in or knowing anything else about the story, I can already tell that this narrative is going to include Douglass being a crucial part of the anti-slavery movement because of his intelligence and willingness to challenge authority. From the passage, we can deduce that American slavery is brutal . If Douglass is not allowed to know his own age then we must also assume that his master is actively trying to keep his slaves as ignorant and as uninformed as possible in order to maintain his power by force. My guess is that this method will backfire on him and cause an uprising before he is required to free his slaves by law. A few questions are raised to me by this quote. Through what avenues is Douglass’ master going through in order to maintain the ignorance of his slaves? Is Douglass monitored at all times to make sure that he is following orders? Did Douglass grow up around white children and get taken from that environment, or did he know about white children by observing them from afar?

“They are, in the first place, a constant offense to their mistress. She is ever disposed to find fault with them; they can seldom do any thing to please her; she is never better pleased than when sees them under the lash, especially when she suspects her husband of showing to his mulatto children favors which he withholds from his black slaves. The master is frequently compelled to sell this class of his slaves, out of deference to the feelings of his white wife; and, cruel as the deed may strike any one to be, for a man to sell his own children to human flesh-mongers, it is often the dictate of humanity for him to do so; for, unless he does this, he must not only whip them himself, but must stand by and see one white son tie up his brother, of but few shades darker complexion than himself, and ply the gory lash to his naked back; and if he lisps one word of disapproval, it is set down to his parental partiality, and only makes bad matter worse, both for himself and the slave whom he would protect and defend.”(pg 237)

In chapter one of the narrative we are being introduced to Frederick Douglas up bringing and the memories he has of when he was a child. In the passage it describes the life of a young slave, which just happens to have the misfortune of being a mulatto child. This means a child that is of mixed race. In this specific section of chapter one, it illustrates how a child in this circumstance would suffer and struggle in his life if he were to stay living the plantation from which his mother (the slave) and his father (the master) were both originally from.

I would like to agree with the analysis that my fellow classmate Mikayla made and add a surprising choice of words that are were used to describe this horrible situation. Although understandable the feeling of disdain that the mistress feels towards the mulatto child, it is surprising how much empathy is felt when Fredrick is describing how the father is “compelled to sell his slave”. This is quite important because the specific word used is “compelled”  which gives the slave master a more human side to what initially thought to be soulless. He even goes as far as justifying the masters actions stating that it is a “dictate of humanity” to get ride of the child in order to save him from what would be his impending torture if he were to stay. This is a astonishing way to describe his capturer predicament in which he choose to sympathize with the master rather then condemning him for sending him away. This passage in particular moved me because from all the atrocities that he has suffered in such a short time to be able to say that he understands why such horrible choice were made in order to protect him, is a great sign of character.

“As I read and contemplated the subject, behold! that very discontent which Master Hugh had predicted would follow my learning to read had already come, to torment and sting my soul to unutterable anguish… Freedom now appeared, to disappear no more forever.” (Chapter VII, 254).

The passage above depicts Frederick Douglass’ awareness of the situation that he is currently in. If he did not learn to read and write, he would just be like any other slave, unknowledgeable of the nightmare that they were all forced into. Douglass wishes that he had not become educated of the cruelty of slavery. In this passage, one can understand the strong emotions that he felt through his is very descriptive language. Each sentence is a single thought that eventually leads to the point of realization that change is needed. Douglass saw that slavery was “the horrible pit… to no ladder upon which to get out.” He first saw that there was no remedy to slavery. However, he soon realizes that: “freedom now appeared, to disappear no more forever.” This line stands out because it is a critical moment of realization that the life he was living was inhumane. Many slaves at this time were not aware of their current situation. They were living a life that was imposed onto them, by people who thought themselves superior just because of the color of their skin, not questioning if “Was this the life that I am actually destined to live?” A commonly heard saying is “knowledge itself is power.” Douglass being able to read and write allowed him to use his knowledge and become a national leader of the abolitionist movement in America.
After reading this passage, a question that is raised is: “Do only the educated slaves realize that this was not the right way of life?” Douglass would not have been aware if he was not literate and read “The Columbia Orator,” learning of Sheridan’s denunciation of slavery and it being a violation of human rights.