Essays --

The slave narratives are a significant form of literature that stem from the experience of enslaved Africans in the United States. Male and female slave narrators wrote for the same purpose: to show that they deserved to live as free people in a free society. Frederick Douglass’ Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave stresses the importance of literacy and manhood to the slave male, Harriet Jacobs’ Incidents in the Life of a Slave on the other hand, opens a window to the life of a slave woman and we get to see that her motivation lies mainly with ensuring the wellbeing of her family. Both narratives give details of their experiences as slaves but express different turning points in their struggle for freedom. Two different scenes from their texts illustrate how far apart they are in terms of gender and tonality and yet so similar in their escape from slavery. In Fredrick Douglass’ Narrative, Frederick describes one of the major turning points in his life, which is his fight against Covey. In chapter ten of the Narrative, Douglass describes a scene when he returns to Covey’s on a Sunday morning with a root in hand. Covey speaks kindly to Douglass and Douglass begins to think that the root’s magical powers have worked. But on the following morning, Covey finds Douglass in the stable and tries to tie his legs but Douglass suddenly decides to fight back. He grabs Covey by the throat in order to keep Covey from whipping him. Covey is frightened and shocked and calls for other slaves to grab a hold of Douglass but they are unable to since Douglass unshakable. Douglass explains to Covey that he will not stand being treated like an animal any longer and the two men fight for two hours. Covey brags afterward that he... ... dresses and prepares to help fight the fire because she is would have been expected to do so as a slave. Both authors feel unaccustomed to their liberation but nevertheless they welcome a free life with open arms. Both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs endure great difficulties at major turning points of their lives. Douglass chooses to physically stand up to his slave master while Harriet escapes her master’s plantation to save her children. The turning points in their Narratives portray the similarities of the fight for freedom but they differ in the actions they take in their given situation. Thes4 turning points help define the kind of tone each author sets for their reader. Although, both autobiographies are written to show the battle between freedom and slavery, the authors produce different works, which embody the different gender role played by each.