Essay 1

Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs are two authors with very similar backgrounds. Both Douglass and Jacobs illustrate the tension involving being African American in a time where slaves did not have any rights, and when they were treated like property instead of a humans. Each of the slaves had different experiences with slavery, but one thing in common: share their accounts through autobiography on how slavery greatly changed their lives. The experiences, memories and treatment in any situation are viewed upon differently between a man and a woman. Obvious in the case of slavery, the two sexes were treated differently and so therefore their recollections of such events were-different

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs and the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, were both written during the same time period. Both authors go into many aspects regarding the cruelty of slavery, but they still had their differences. During each of the author’s childhood they explain how it was for them. When Harriet was growing up in her, she was shielded from slavery. Her Father was accomplished carpenter, whose wish was to someday buy his children. “I was so fondly shielded that I never dreamed I was a piece of merchandise…” On the other hand Fredrick childhood was the opposite. Fredrick was born to a slave mother and an undisclosed white man. He did not know his age growing up he had to make educational guesses. ”I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it.”

Another way that Jacobs and Douglass narrative works were different is the tone and the writing style that each author writes in. In Jacobs’s narrative she writes with fear, and her writing style is free-flowing. She also directly addresses her reader at times, and asks questions to catch the reader and make them think what they would do in that situation. “And now reader, I come to a period in my unhappy life, which I would gladly forget if I could.” Meanwhile in Douglass narratives his tone is straight forward. The way he writes he wanted to let the reader know that this was written by a slave. Douglass wanted his reader to know that it wasn’t impossible for a slave to learn how to read and write, and go through the experience of being a slave. “I now come to that part of my life during which I planned, and finally succeeded in making, my escape from slavery.
Finally the last difference between the narratives is the style that each narrative was written. Frederick Douglass told his story, of what it was like to be a plantation slave, particularly a male, and all the hardships he went through personally. Douglass paid attention to detail about the beatings he witnessed and undertook which affectively makes the reader feel as if they are right there when it was happening. Harriet Jacobs is the complete opposite, in her approach to write her autobiography. She attempts to make this story neutral by using a different name, other than her own. Jacobs gives brief summaries of what happens to her, but focuses on impact the events have on her.
Even though these narratives had their differences they had many thing is common. The common theme of each narrative was tell personal accounts of slave life, and share with the reader that American past was horrible.