Chapters 5-7
In Jacobs story it talks about the life of a young slave girl and the trials and handships she faces. An example of these hardships would be, how her master would rape her. The master's wife didnt like this very much but she was powerless to do anything about this, even thought the number of mixed babies was on the rise. Women in this time frame didnt have any say on how their husbands acted, and they were mad at the slaves for their husbands misdeeds. These women should have been mad at their husbands but they couldnt be, they had to take out their frustrations on the slaves. Some women back then thought it was the slaves fault and not their husbands.
Chapters 10-11
In these chapters we find out that Jacobs is pregnant with a baby, but it isnt the master's baby. Dr. Flint becomes enraged that Jacobs had gone behind his back and saw the man that he told her not too. He offers her help saying that he will take care of her and the baby if on one condition, that she never see or speak to that man again. Jacobs tells him no later the baby is born and the Dr. Flint still comes to help her, but the baby is weak and she hopes that the baby will die. She wants the baby to die so it will never have to be a slave. Here is an example " I had prayed for his death, but never so earnestly as I now prayed for his life; and my prayer was heard. Alas, what mockery it is for a slave mother to try to pray back her dying child to life! Death is better than slavery." This is a prime example that slavery was a horrible thing, a mother would rather her son die before being a slave.
Chapters 14-17
Jacobs continues to tell the story of her time in slavery, she has another baby during this time. Dr. Flint asks to see the child to see if the baby his is, it isnt. During these chapters she comes up with a plan to excape her master's rule. The master moves her to another plantation were his son now owns with his wife. And in one night she leaves her childern with her grandmother and leaves, runs away into the dark rainy night.
How can she just leave her childern? During the whole story she has been fighting for them, why just leave them now?
Can you cite examples from the text to illustrate your points? What did you find most interesting? Questions?
ReplyDeleteHere is an example of what i was talking about in my blog "Sometimes I woke up, and found her bending over me. At other times she whispered in my ear, as though it was her husband who was speaking to me, and listened to hear what I would answer. If she startled me, on such occasions, she would glide stealthily away; and the next morning she would tell me I had been talking in my sleep, and ask who I was talking to. At last, I began to be fearful for my life. It had been often threatened; and you can imagine, better than I can describe, what an unpleasant sensation it must produce to wake up in the dead of night and find a jealous woman bending over you. Terrible as this experience was, I had fears that it would give place to one more terrible."
ReplyDeleteWhat i found most interesting... hmm i would have to say the whole piece so far, i have never read about this subject from the slaves point of view.
So far in this reading i dont have any questions.
Didn't you think Flint's wife was crazy for doing things like standing over Linda while she slept?? I understand being upset about your cheating husband, but you are right she definitely took it out on the wrong person.
ReplyDeleteI found it heart breaking to read how she would hope for her children to die just because she thought it would be better for them than living lives of slavery. I'm not sure about her leaving her children. I just assumed that at some point in the later chapters she went back for her children, but that might have been difficult with Dr. Flint looking for her...