Harriet Jacobs

As we learned at the very fundamental level, the strategy that the author uses to write his/her narrative has a considerable impact on how we as readers perceive the text. Something that is written as an autobiography or journal as Jacobs "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," allows for an in depth look at the life of the writer as if we are reading their most inner thoughts and emotions. Although, Stowe accomplishes an excellent way of transcending the inhumane treatment of slaves and poses universal questions of motherhood, it cannot achieve what a first account testimony of one person who experienced being a slave can. When text is written in the first person, the author is able to use all of their senses to convey their ideas. Linda, as a young girl of 12, was able to see her mother die, describing it as seeing "the cheek grow paler, and the eye more glassy..."Without this rhetorical strategy readers may not be able to fully grasp what she went through. I think it is very interesting how in class we mentioned their were 16 accounts of crying in Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin,"however to empathize with a slave's experience and cry from hearing about it from Stowe is much different than getting a personal description of what Linda experienced, felt, touched, and saw. In essence, the latter is a much more powerful statement. In addition, no one can describe love without first experiencing it or not experiencing it! It is this way that, Jacobs can make her story so genuine. When I read Jacobs account of Linda my heart melted much faster than it when reading Stowe!