Incidents in the Life of a slave girl. Essays (1481 words)

Incidents in the Life of a slave girl. To have read the book the incidents in the life of a slave girl brought tears to my eyes and sadness to my heart. Just to read and understand the life of being a slave and all that was endured by the slaves. When one is treated like a piece of property, like an animal rather than like a human being all due to the color of their skin. The slaves were treated as animals, as property and not as ones having feelings, or having a soul a life or admiration. They were sold as animals and brought with the highest bid. Sad so sad to be treaty as nobodies, to be taken from ones own safe haven, from ones own environment and to be captured as animals shackled in chains and put on a ship to be taken across to an unknown territory to be bought as property. To have been beaten like an animal until the blood shed from one's body, mocked laughed at, belittled, having to call another human being master and to be given a name that wasn't your own. Bought by a slaveholder and belittled and disgraced as a human being, a cry for freedom is a cry that was felt in the hearts of every slave particularly by those who were being very mistreated and beat upon on a regular basis. A cry for freedom is the cry one could possibly hear back in the day of slavery. Harriet Jacobs was a slave who for the most part had a good life as a slave, she was not beaten on a regular basis nor did she have to go without as far as having a good meal. She had family and friends who loved and cared about her. And as time goes on she had children who also loved and cared for her and were also treated very well for the most part. But she wanted more out of her life than to be just a slave, she wanted her freedom, and there's nothing wrong with that. Harriet possessed a strength that is beyond compare, she possessed a will power that helped her to believe in herself and to know that she was more than just a piece of property, a piece of meat. Harriet was harassed by her slaveholder, Mr. Flint on a regular basis. Today one knows that the type of harassment that Mr. Flint was expressing towards Harriet was sexual harassment. He was obsessed with her in a sickening way. But Harriet kept the faith and stuck to her beliefs, her dignity and her respect and never gave into Mr. Flint, although she did give into a Mr. Sands. Not only did she give into Mr. Sands but she has two babies by him and this brings out a serious rage from Mr. Flint, and Harriet refuses all deals made by Mr. Flint. Harriet runs away from her slaveholder and becomes a fugitive. This is when the fugitive law is first talked about in this book. "In April 24, 1851 a poster warning colored people in Boston about policemen acting as slave catchers." It read "CAUTION!!!! COLORED PEOPLE OF BOSTON, ONE ALL you are hereby respectfully CAUTIONED and advised, to avoid conversing with the Watchmen and Police Officers of Boston," The poster was basically warning the colored people that the Mayor had sent out an order giving kidnappers and slave catchers authority, and for the colored people to trust no one because there were bloodhounds out on their tracks trying to track in order to return them. "The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was a Federal Law which was written with the intention of enforcing Article 4 Section 2 of the United States Constitution." This constitution required that runaway slaves, fugitives be returned to their masters even after they had made it to free states. The Fugitive Slave Act was an act in which the issues for runaways was older than the Constitution. It proved to be the most explosive act of the Compromise measures. What ever happened to the Golden Rule? This means we should treat others the way we want to be treated. The precepts Of