Incedents in the life of a slave girl

Simone Sutton

10/05/09

AP English III

Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl

I. Childhood

Harriet Jacobs childhood was born as a slave but she didn’t realize it until she turned six years. Her childhood was a happy state of oblivion and naiveté. She probably didn’t know it at the time but her parents worked very hard to try and save her and her brother from the life of slavery. Even her grandmother tried to sell crackers to buy her from her owners. They all worked hard despite the futility of the situation. Her father worked as a carpenter and he was skilled in his trade. “On condition of paying his mistress two hundred dollars a year as supporting himself, he was allowed to work at his trade , and manage his own affairs. His strongest wish was to purchase his children; but, though he several times offered his hard earnings for that purpose, he never succeeded”. Her father was allowed to make his own money. He wasn’t exactly a slave but he was owned by a family. He worked hard to free his children from this kind of life, because they were sure to become slaves, but it’s like the people didn’t want his money. They either wanted more than he had or they just didn’t want to sell his children to him.

Her Grandmother also worked hard to make money for her grandchildren after a whole day of work she would stay up all night to make crackers to sell for her own profit. “Upon these terms , after working hard all day for her mistress, she began her midnight backings, assisted by her two oldest Children” The money she made was for her family and herself. All of her hard work was in vain though, she let her slave owner borrow her money and legally her mistress doesn’t have to pay her back. She and her brother owed her Grandmother a lot for the things she did for them.

When Jacobs’ mother died she was left in the care of a kind mistress, who treated her like her own daughter, and for a moment everything was good. Then Her mistress died and Dr flint owns the property now.