Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave & Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl PDF Download

Author: Frederick Douglass
Publisher: Modern Library
ISBN: 0307796876
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
Introduction by Kwame Anthony Appiah Commentary by Jean Fagan Yellin and Margaret Fuller This Modern Library edition combines two of the most important African American slave narratives—crucial works that each illuminate and inform the other. Frederick Douglass’s Narrative, first published in 1845, is an enlightening and incendiary text. Born into slavery, Douglass became the preeminent spokesman for his people during his life; his narrative is an unparalleled account of the dehumanizing effects of slavery and Douglass’s own triumph over it. Like Douglass, Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery, and in 1861 she published Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, now recognized as the most comprehensive antebellum slave narrative written by a woman. Jacobs’s account broke the silence on the exploitation of African American female slaves, and it remains essential reading. Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide

Author: Harriet A. Jacobs
Publisher: Prestwick House Inc
ISBN: 158049336X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic includes a glossary and reader's notes to help the modern reader appreciate Jacobs' perspectives and language.DRIVEN BY THE HORRORS of slavery and fear of a predatory master, Harriet Jacobs, a young black woman, makes the fateful, life-altering decision to escape. Long thought to be the work of a white writer, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is the captivating and terrifying story of Jacobs' daily life on a plantation in North Carolina, her seven years of hiding, and her ultimate triumph.Jacobs wrote her autobiography in 1861, under a pseudonym to protect the lives of the friends and family she left behind, and the work had been essentially lost until the mid-twentieth century. Now recognized as a classic, unflinching portrait of slave life, Incidents exposes slavery on a level comparable only to that of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

Author: Harriet A. Jacobs
Publisher: Aegitas
ISBN: 0369411463
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
"Life of a Slave Girl" is an autobiographical novel written by Harriet Jacobs, chronicling her life as a slave and her eventual escape to freedom. Published in 1861, it is one of the first personal narratives written by a former female slave, offering a unique perspective on the brutal realities of slavery and the struggles faced by women in this oppressive system. The book begins with a detailed account of Harriet's childhood, growing up as a slave in North Carolina. She describes the happy moments of her early years, but also the constant fear and uncertainty that came with being owned by another person. Harriet reveals the harshness of her master, Dr. Flint, who relentlessly pursued her for sexual favors, leading her to seek refuge in a secret relationship with a white man. This relationship gives her two children, but also puts her in a vulnerable position as she feared that Dr. Flint would use them as leverage to control her. In a desperate attempt to escape the oppressive environment and protect her children, Harriet flees to the North and becomes a fugitive slave. She hides in a cramped attic for seven years, constantly fearing for her safety and the safety of her children. During this time, she struggles with poverty and discrimination, but also experiences the joy of being free and the hope of a better future. However, Harriet's story takes a dark turn when Dr. Flint catches up to her and attempts to bring her back into slavery. In a heart-wrenching decision, she is forced to send her children away to protect them, knowing that she may never see them again. Through her resilience and determination, Harriet eventually makes her way to the North, where she is reunited with her children and able to live as a free woman. Throughout the book, Harriet exposes the brutal and dehumanizing realities of slavery, particularly for women. She vividly describes the physical and sexual abuse she endured, as well as the emotional toll it took on her. She also sheds light on the ways in which female slaves were used and exploited by their masters, often being forced into sexual relationships and bearing children who were still considered property. In addition to her personal experiences, Harriet also speaks out against the institution of slavery as a whole. She reveals the hypocrisy of Christian slaveholders who justify their actions with religion and the irony of a country founded on the principles of freedom and equality still allowing the ownership and mistreatment of human beings. "Life of a Slave Girl" is not only a powerful memoir of one woman's journey to freedom, but also a powerful commentary on the horrors of slavery and the resilience of the human spirit. Harriet Jacobs' brave and honest account serves as a reminder of the injustices of the past and the ongoing fight for equality and social justice. It is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the complex and painful history of slavery in America.

Author: Markus Bulgrin
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3638866467
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, University of Heidelberg (Anglistisches Seminar), course: PSII: Captivity Narratives, language: English, abstract: Besides the virtual extermination of the native Indian population it is the brutal and dreadful treatment of Afro-American slaves in the 19th century which depicts some of the darkest and saddest chapters in the history of the United States. Still today the vestiges of slavery can be felt. Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) and Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) are two autobiographies, written by two former slaves, who succeeded in escaping slavery and all its inexpressible cruelties. They are considered two of the most influential, and groundbreaking works of the Antebellum Period, which bear witness to slavery in the United States. These two narratives “that have become twin classics in African American literature course” (cf. Boesenberg 1999: 121), shall be compared, discussed and analysed in this paper. However, Boesenberg’s classification of the texts as “twin classics” could be misread and give rise to misinterpretation, as it may not be the most fitting term. Twins are widely thought of being almost the same. One might argue that this is not entirely true for Jacobs’s and Douglass’s narratives. The aim of this paper will be to point out some crucial similarities and differences between Douglass’s and Jacobs’s autobiographies. The first part of the paper briefly introduces some important similarities of the two narratives. In a second part focus will be given to distinctive features of these texts: family ties, gender difference, sexual exploitation, and manhood and womanhood. In a third part the motif of literacy and its meaning for the author’s liberation will be discussed. The conclusion summarizes the preceded chapters and critically disputes Boesenberg’s statement of the twin classics.

Author: Harriet Jacobs
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451604238
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is one of the most compelling accounts of slavery and one of the most unique of the one hundred or so slave narratives -- mostly written by men -- published before the Civil War. The child and grandchild of slaves -- and therefore forbidden by law to read and write -- Harriet Jacobs was defiant in her efforts to gain freedom and to document her experience in bondage. She suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her master at the age of eleven. In 1842, she fled North and joined a circle of abolitionists that worked for Frederick Douglass's newspaper. In 1863, she and her daughter moved to Alexandria, Virginia, where they organized medical care for Civil War victims and established the Jacobs Free School.

Author: Harriet Jacobs
Publisher: Leonaur
ISBN: 9780857066954
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
This special Leonaur edition combines the account of Harriet Ann Jacobs with that of Frederick Douglass. They were contemporaries and African Americans of note who shared a common background of slavery and, after their liberation, knew each other and worked for a common cause.

Author: Harriet Jacobs
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780857066961
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
The ordeals of two famous African Americans This special Leonaur edition combines the account of Harriet Ann Jacobs with that of Frederick Douglass. They were contemporaries and African Americans of note who shared a common background of slavery and, after their liberation, knew each other and worked for a common cause. The first account, a justifiably well known and highly regarded work, is that of Harriet Jacobs since this volume belongs in the Leonaur Women & Conflict series. Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery in North Carolina in 1813. Sold on as a child she suffered years of sexual abuse from her owner until in 1835 she escaped-leaving two children she'd had by a lover behind her. After hiding in a swamp she returned to her grandmother's shack where she occupied the crawl-space under its eaves. There she lived for seven years before escaping to Pennsylvania in 1842 and then moving on to New York, where she worked as a nursemaid. Jacobs published her book under the pseudonym of Linda Brent. She became a famous abolitionist, reformer and speaker on human rights. Frederick Douglass was just five years Jacobs' junior. He was born a slave in Maryland and he too suffered physical cruelty at the hands of his owners. In 1838 he escaped, boarding a train wearing a sailors uniform. Douglass became a social reformer of international fame principally because of his skill as an orator which propelled him to the status of statesman and diplomat as driven by his convictions regarding the fundamental equality of all human beings, he continued his campaigns for the rights of women generally, suffrage and emancipation. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

Author: Harriet Jacobs
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
"Reader be assured this narrative is no fiction. I am aware that some of my adventures may seem incredible; but they are, nevertheless, strictly true. I have not exaggerated the wrongs inflicted by Slavery; on the contrary, my descriptions fall far short of the facts. I have concealed the names of places, and given persons fictitious names. I had no motive for secrecy on my own account, but I deemed it kind and considerate towards others to pursue this course...." "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" was one of the first books to address the struggle for freedom by female slaves; explore their struggles with sexual harassment and abuse; and their effort to protect their roles as women and mothers. After being overshadowed by the Civil War, the novel was rediscovered in the late 20th century and since then hasn't been out of print ever. It is one of the seminal books written on the theme of slavery from a woman's point of view and appreciated worldwide academically as well. Harriet Jacobs (1813–1897) was an African-American writer who was formerly a fugitive slave. To save her family and her own identity from being found out, she used the pseudonym of Linda Brent and wrote secretly during the night.

Author: Frederick Douglass
Publisher: Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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Book Description
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass wrote in 1845. It’s an autobiographic story about slavery and freedom, constant aim to run away from the owner and at last become a free man. One failure follows another one. But in the end the fortune favours Douglass and he runs away on a train to the north, New-York. It would seem he is free now. Suddenly, he realises that his journey isn’t finished yet. He understands that even after he got free he can’t be at real liberty until the slavery is abolished in the USA…

Author: Harriet A. Jacobs
Publisher: Turtleback Books
ISBN: 9780613501330
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Douglas's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas's, An American Slave, and Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, each the most famous and powerful autobiography ora 19th-century African American man and woman (respectively), are each stories of suffering and triumph, of slavery and the quest for freedom. They are the archetypes of the slave narrative genre and are widely read and taught. This edition features a new introduction by Afro-American scholar, Anthony Appiah.