—Anonymous
Reading Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was a real eye opener. I have never read a piece of work that was written by a former slave. In school we learn about the history through stories and textbooks, but never as blunt or as real as Harriet Jacobs does in this book. While reading and hearing every gruesome detail was at first very hard to digest at first and then reminding myself that Jacobs was speaking about her own experience made it that much more heartbreaking. In this book Jacobs wants her story, with no sugar coating, to be heard. It is not solely about teaching, but also about taking back power form all the people who once stripped her of her humanity. She wrote this book to make sure that everyone knows there is no such thing as a good Slaveholder, and she was able to do just that. While reading there was also a very casual and conversational tone to it. It made it seem as though I was sitting down with Jacobs and she was sharing her story with me. Jacobs was able to put us into the book, question our morals, and make us remember her for her strength and her unwillingness to let those her dehumanize her to win. Through her realness, her conversational tone, and the fact that she was willing to relive every terrible thing that happened to her makes this work a great work. Not just a great work, but an incredible work. I really learned a lot from this book and was exposed to many things that I have never learned and although at times it was hard to digest, I feel as though everyone should read this book.
