Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

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Summary: So many things said already...
Review: I have read a lot of the past reviews and I consider this story as part of the American narrative that can't be dismissed. Yes, it sounds unbelivable when we look at the lives that we lead today but this was reality to so many people in the past. It takes the life of a black woman living in slavery and presents in interesting story that reads a lot like fiction. It is so easy to foget that it was real. Traditionaly women have been left out of history, especially black women, slave women... This is an unseen element of history that has to start being seen. I don't think that I could recomend a better book to read.

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Summary: A very poweful tale of the great injustice put on slaves.
Review: I have read Incidents in the Life of a Slave by Harriet Jacobs, twice! I enjoyed reading her book. Her book is full of rich vocabulary. Her writing skills and the description of events she used was impressive, i.e. the separation of mother and child being sold to slaveholders, I felt the pain. In her writings, she constantly humbled herself because of her circumstances of being a slave and how she felt incompetent to write her life story. I must say that Jacobs did a magnificent job, considering her life of chattel slavery. Besides being courageous, strong and enduring, she was a very wise person. I think Jacob's does not give herself credit for being wise. She was very wise because she had to plan various strategies to outwit her devil master's attempts to capture her. She was wise in not trusting Harriet Beecher Stowe. What was Stowe's purpose of forwarding Jacob's writings to Mrs. Willis, which included her sexual history? Jacobs was no fool. Finally, the most indelible impression on my mind was when she hid in her grandmother's house, above the storage room, for seven years! I was right there with her. Great job Harriet Jacobs!!

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Summary: For a true account of slave life, look no futher!
Review: I just finished reading this book the other day and I really enjoyed reading it. It's basically an autobiography of the author under the name Linda Brent (obviously she doesn't want to use the real names of other characters, and she changes her own name in the book in accordance), who was a slave until I believe her late 20s (maybe early 30s if I'm not mistaken). First published in 1861 it really has a charming 19th century writing style to it that's more simplistic than most things you find from this time period.

This book really makes you realize how extreme the struggle of a slave woman is and makes you appreciate them more for it. She doesn't dwell too much on any topic and keeps an even progression throughout the whole story. Most important though, she makes you care about who she cares about and despise the people she dislikes. It's a very emotional book and quite a harrowing tale.

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Summary: A gripping story.
Review: I read the paperback edition of this book, edited by L. Maria Child with a new introduction by Walter Teller. First, I'll say that I'm not quite even finished reading the book but felt compelled to write about it. Her story gripped my heart and wrapped around it so tightly that I felt I could see her face. It was as if she had parted the veil of the past to say "don't forget me and what happened to me." My heart ached along with her in her many sufferings. I felt I was really there, in her world. Someday, God willing for us both, I should be honored to make her acquaintence.

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Summary: All-time Favorite
Review: I read this book every year. I use it as an inspiration book. It makes me remember that hardships can be conquered not with evil doing, but by sheer will power. If a person who has nothing can make something out of her life, then a person that has a little or more can conquer the world.

She shows that mothers should be self-sacrificing for their children and not for themselves, and they will reep the rewards.

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Summary: I truly enjoyed it!
Review: I really loved this book. I read it for a college English class, and I was blown away by Jacob's writing and personal journey. She protrayed herself as a woman of dignity, courage, and strength, and I just cannot say enough about it. It is a must read!

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Summary: The mental brutality of slavery depicted by a woman.
Review: I recently read Linda Brent's novel for the second time and realized that not only does she provide a message about the physical brutality of slavery, but she also gives a description of how emotionally disturbing it was. Anyone who reads this book will be opened up to more than the typical "slavery" issues. I would recommend anyone with an interest to take a good look at the book. With its simple yet well-written language, it reads quickly and effectively paints another side of slavery.

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Summary: Gripping and realistic
Review: I've read this book a few times over the years. The first being for a college course. It stayed with me then as it did each and every time I've read it. I highly recommend this novel as it is so frighteningly realistic and poignant. I have found myself many times recommending this novel to friends and family. It is rich in culture, history and plot. I highly recommend it.

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Summary: It shows life of a slave women from a slaves point of view!!
Review: Incidents in the life of a slave girl

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Summary: A wonderful book
Review: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Linda Brent is a deeply touching narrative of a slave woman's journey through the heinous institution of slavery to her eventual emancipation. Through her description of bonded labor, the reader very poignantly realizes what it was like for millions of African Americans to be brutalized and ravaged by slavery. Written in 1861 to educate the Northerners, especially the women, about the evils of slavery, the autobiography is a harrowing account of a woman's life, what the author ironically calls her 'adventures'. The abuse that the palpably intelligent and veracious author had to undergo has the power to humble every one of us even today.
Linda Brent was born as a slave in the household of a miraculously benevolent mistress. She lost her mother at the age of six, but her mistress, who was her mother's half-sister, took good care of her and endowed on her ward the gift of literacy. The degradative reality of slavery was hidden from the author till she entered her early teens, when within a year both her mistress and her father passed away, and she was acquired by the household of Dr. Flint. At his plantation, the author had to bear the full force of slavery. From this time to the author's eventual freedom, the reader gets a glimpse of the persecution that a slave had to face.
As mentioned above, the book was written to illustrate the depravity of slavery to people living in the North. It is striking to see how humbly, or even apologetically, the author has used her life to explain the circumstances of slavery. She has used fictitious names and concealed the names of places so as not to offend any person, black or white. As one reads the book, the author can definitely be identified as a pious and truthful person, and becomes easy to see why the author places so much emphasis on her secrecy. The book is not written to garner sympathy from readers, but to shock readers into the realities of slavery. It was an appeal to the people who the author thought had the power to defeat slavery to act on it.
The author's main argument is that slavery is not just about perpetual bondage, but it involves the absolute debasement of a people. She painfully acknowledges that the 'black man is inferior', but vociferously argues that it is a result of slavery, which stymies the intellectual capacity of her race. She believes that 'white men compel' the black race to be ignorant. Although she was wronged by many Southern white men, she does not blame the white race for her ills. She believes that the institution of slavery has ample negative impact on the household and psyche of a white family as well, and that white males are coerced into being brutal. She rebukes 'the Free States' in her own pacific way for condoning slavery in the South. Her stand is that a life of manumit destitution is radically more acceptable than bondage, and that is the general idea that the author wants the readers to remember.
The book is sequenced more or less in a chronological order. The author's astoundingly comfortable childhood is shattered by the nefarious demands of being a pubescent female slave. She explains how even the body of a slave is not her own, and is considered to be a property of the slaveholder, that can violated or abused according to his wishes. Her analogy to being traded or shot like pigs demonstrates the extent of shame that a slave had to bear with. Her infatuation and blind faith in the goodness of a white man make her the mother of two children, and her determination to keep them away from the evils of slavery becomes her primary goal. In her attempts to flee from slavery, she has to hide in a den above her grandmother's house for seven years. The anguish of a mother who can see her children but not be able to communicate with them is heart wrenching. The story of her escape to the North is also incredible. Even after reaching the north, she had to resist prejudice and fear for a long time before she and her children eventually became free.
By reading the book, the reader can definitely get to experience the life of a slave. Perhaps the shocking brutality of the truth is shielded in the book by the author's conscious effort to not be a cause of affront. She wrote this book because she had a message to give to the readers, but was held back in a way by her goodness. On the other hand, reading a book written in a simple way, as though the author was narrating her story in front of the reader, goes on to validate her tragedy. It is explained in a more personal way than a historian would explain it, and the harsh emotions experienced by the author break through, even though she tries to suppress her sadness. The author's argument that slavery is humiliating is proved by the fact that the author does not explain exactly how she was mentally and physically abused. She only points out that she had to bear physical and mental decadence, but does elaborate on the techniques of the likes of Dr. Flint.
It has to be remembered that this book was not written to be a historical text. It is about a woman's personal fight with slavery. It cannot be argued that her emotions were wrong or that her views about slavery can be challenged in any way. Readers who have not experienced slavery are not in a position to do so. This book definitely manages to do what it was intended to do, and that is to make the reader aware that slavery was a harrowing experience for the African Americans. As a book of past injustices and future hopes, it is a must read.