Analysis Of Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs

Slavery is among the most detrimental phenomena that have ever happened to humankind. In particular, the practice subjected the victims to unbearable living conditions, as well as physical and psychological tortures. Considering the book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs is an example of the person who endured tough times in the hands of slave-owners (Garfield and Zafar 12). Jacobs’s case served as an eye-opener to the world on matters regarding the quality of life and a social status, which slaves underwent in the ancient times. Essentially, slaves assumed the lowest class that could not make its own decisions, and the analysis of Jacobs’s experiences reveals that she suffered more from psychological than physical abuse,
For instance, the separation with her family caused her a lot of psychological issues. She narrates that the ordeal made her restless and prepared to do any actions to enjoy a life free of slavery. Yet, the slaveholders denied her the chance to be part of her family’s lives; particularly, when Jacob’s father died, she did not have the possibility to be with him in the last minutes. The death caught her by surprise, and she took time to accept the reality. In fact, parenting is among the factors strengthening the bond between a mother and her children. Therefore, putting a child away from parents results in the psychological challenges that might be impossible to resolve. Jacobs spent most of her time thinking about her existence, which ultimately led to vase social changes in the latter life of her entire family; still, the thoughts caused her to experience significant amounts of stress. In fact, the separation from family and low quality of life in the hands of her mistress led to great solitude and
Apparently, this type of abuse causes more psychological pain than physical infringements. The physical contact is usually short-lived, and the victim takes a short period to recover; however, the ordeal leaves the affected with chronic psychological discomforts. Jacobs endured the psychological abuses in the hands of her master and could not question the injustices. She suffered in silence and had to perform the assigned chores without showing her emotional stress during sexual harassment occurrences (Garfield and Zafar 77). Essentially, psychological abuse is a catalyst for the internal pain that the other people cannot feel and understand. In most cases, the victims themselves must disclose their feelings to obtain external