Harriet Jacobs Biography 1813 1897 2327 American Literature

Harriet Jacobs’ Biography 1813 -1897 2327 American Literature

Family Relations • She had a slave mother, Delilah, and a free father, Daniel Jacobs. • Jacobs’ husband: Samuel Sawyer. 1 • Her two children: Jacob and Louisa. 2 • Molly, her grandmother: role model. • Her northern friend: Cornelia and the Willis family.

Life Titles • Master’s property • Child of mulatto family (mixed • • • white and black) Abolitionist writer Linda Brent, as author Scapegoat

Life Summary • Birth: 1813 before the Civil War in NC by Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs. • Age 6: Mother’s death, Father abandons. • Age 12: Death of Mrs. Horniblow. • Age 17: Raised 2 children with Mr. Sanders. 1 • Age 23: Escaped to Philadelphia on a boat. • Age 38: Writes Incidents in the Life.

Life Struggles • Slavery and mistreatment of multi-race people. • Civil War conflict between the North and South (age 48). 1 • Overshadowed by Craft’s Running. 2 • Fugitive Slave Law. • Acceptance for England publication of works.

Reasons for Canon Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl • Longest Slave Narrative (at the time). • An unique narrative detailing slave masters’ forms of abuse. • Her book relates to Olaudah’s documentation of slave torture. • Argued against 19 th century women society values.

Acknowledgements Pre-Civil Southern problems • Slavery increases hypocrisy. • Different races from white considered as property. • Sexual and jealousy strife abuse. • Purchase for child freedom.

Quiz • 1. What was the name of Jacobs’ husband? • 2. What narrative did Harriet Jacobs write? • 3. Which friend bought Jacobs’ freedom?

References • Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology American Literature Vol. B. • Encyclopedia of World History “Harriet A. Jacobs Facts. ” The Gale Group, n. d. Wed 12 April. 2016. • Andrews, William L. “Harriet A. Jacobs (Harriet Ann) 1813 -1887, n. d. 12 April. 2016.