critical analysis of the Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

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Critical analysis of the Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Slavery makes a large part of the dark history of the world. In the United States of America particularly, slavery was so widespread that it took a war to end it. Slaves were mostly shipped in from Africa and sold to the highest bidders. The purchaser of the slave would entirely own the slave’s body and soul and would do with the slave whatever he pleased. Slavery did not recognize the age factor. When slaves gave birth to children, they would automatically be slaves. Slave girls were often used as attendants in the house or even in the plantations. This essay is a critical analysis of the life of a young slave girl, in the hands of her masters. The life of a slave girl depended entirely on the nature of her mistress and master.
Slave girls who were owned by cruel masters had tough lives while others who were owned by compassionate masters had smooth lives. This occurrence of the nature of a person is what determined what the life of a young slave woman would be like. In the book; Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself Harriet Jacobs, this notion is proved to be very true. In the first chapter of the book, Jacobs notes that in her younger days, although she was a slave, she never at any time regretted or felt bad about it. This was because the mistress that owned her was so compassionate and so good to her. Even when her mother and her mistress died, and she was commissioned to the sister of the mistress, her life was still full of joy.

Never at any time was she forced to undertake chores that she did not like. Food was always available, and surprisingly, she was even allowed some time to go out and play. If it was her choice, Jacobs’s notes that she would choose to remain in that household forever.
Cruel masters often had a negative impact on the lives of their respective slave girls. True to this notion, the life of Jacobs the slave girl changed when Dr. Flint came into her life; and it changed for the worse. The Flint family had one thing in common; they were all cruel. Her mistress Mrs. Flint especially was very malevolent (Jacobs, 7). She was the kind of mistress who would sit on her cozy chair and watch a slave girl being whipped until her whole back was bloody. When Jacobs found herself in the hands of her new mistress, this is the life she met. Food supplies for slaves were minimal. Sometimes, the mistress would ensure that no slave ate any food when the slightest mistake was made. Dr. Flint was more mean (Jacobs, 8). Whatever he said in his house was final, with no room for suggestions or opinions. The master went to the extent of sleeping with Jacobs, the young slave girl she was. This shows just how the life of a young slave woman was a living hell. The masters were used to defiling them at their own pleasure. When the mistress found out, the wrath would be double as the blame would be passed to the slave girl. (Jacobs, 12).
In conclusion, it is apparent that the book under analysis provides a vivid description of how the life of a slave girl must have been. Having been written by a slave girl herself, the details are very exact, with minimal exaggeration. From the book, it is evident that the life of a young slave girl depended entirely on the nature of her mistress and her master for that matter. If the owners of a young slave girl were good people, then the life of the slave would be smooth and happy if the contrary was true, then the slave girl would suffer almost all her life.
References
Jacobs, Harriet Ann. Incidents in the life of a slave girl: Written by herself. Vol. 119. Harvard University Press, 2009.