Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs And Fredrick Douglas

The horrors of slavery are discussed in both, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs and Fredrick Douglass’, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass. Both narratives paint a more complex and complete image of the experiences of slaves than readers typically are exposed to. While there are many experiences that overlap between male and female slaves in both narratives, they also depict the disturbing differences between the genders in slavery. While Jacobs and Douglass discuss similar experiences with slave owners, beatings, and daily horrors, Jacobs brings up an additional horrifying reality in her narrative. In addition to the dehumanization and torture that all slaves faced, women were often subjected to additional torture

The most universal topic in both of the narratives is the beating and punishment that slaves faced. Douglass and Jacobs both describe the cruel punishments that they witnessed or were personally subjected to themselves. One of the horrifying accounts depicted in Jacobs’ narrative discusses the punishment of a male slave named James after he had been captured again after his escape. Jacobs’ recounts: Some weeks after his escape, he was captured, tied, and carried back to his master’s plantation… This wretched creature was cut with the whip from his head to his feet, then washed with strong brine… He was then put into the cotton gin, which was screwed down, only allowing him room to turn on his side when he would not lie on his back. Every morning a slave was sent with a piece of bread and bowl of water, which were placed within reach of the poor fellow…” (Jacobs

In addition to this, women typically were not able to fight back against their abusers, while men sometimes could. Unlike with Jacobs’ experience, Douglass was eventually able to fight his master at the time, Mr. Covey, which led to Douglass no longer being subjected to physical beatings. In fact, Douglass explains that following his fight with Mr. Covey, “he never laid the weight of his finger upon me in anger” (Douglass, 63). Unlike with Jacobs, and countless other enslaved mothers, Douglass did not have to consider the safety of his children. Enslaved women were often threatened with being separated from their children. Mothers, like Jacobs, would be told that if they did not behave appropriately, their children would be taken from them and sold. Women would be forced to have children, then be threatened with the selling or abuse of their children. Women were not the only ones effected by their actions. They were required to constantly live in fear of their masters, the men around them, and what may happen to their