Compare and Contrast Douglass And Jacobs

The experiences, recollections and treatment in any position are viewed upon differently between a man and a woman. Obvious in the case of slavery, the two sexes were treated distinctly and so thus their recollections of such events were-different. In the following short term paper, we look nearly at the viewpoint of the female slave, Harriet Jacobs in “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, and politely contrasted to that of a man slave, Frederick Douglass in “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. Although both skilled their freedoms regardless of facing large adversity, being a slave woman boasts a distinct perspective of a woman's account of her disadvantages. (Douglass 1996)

One way that Harriet Jacobs perceived slavery distinctly than Frederick Douglass is that as a progeny, she not ever even realized she was a slave. This could be a disadvantage because it could become a security issue if she does not recognize her “place” among the rushes as well as when she reaches an age of being able to labor and be traded; it would have a profound effect on her when she could have been more prepared. Within the first sheet of her autobiography, Jacobs states “I was born a slave; but I not ever knew it…” (281). She then proceeds on to state in a distinct line that “…I was so fondly protected that I never dreamed I was a part of merchandise…” (281). Jacobs's father was head workman. He had the liberty to organise his own activities and work at his trade. She dwelled in what she describes as a “comfortable home” and had connections with her family constituents such as her male sibling, grandmother, mother and uncle. Frederick Douglass on the other hand, had currently recognized slavery was amidst him in his childhood. (Gregory 1971)

In the first paragraph of Chapter 1, Douglass states “A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood” (395). He took a very direct look at slavery whereas Jacobs was not even aware. We can see this when he does not understand and goes onto state why he “ought to be deprived of the same privilege” (Douglass 395). In Chapter 1 of “Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass”, he states “I have no accurate knowledge of my age…” (395). (Jacobs 1996)

Another way that Jacobs perceives slavery differently than Douglass is that she does not yearn for or look into the future for freedom as comfort for most of her life, as did Douglass. Instead, she looks for comfort of family. This could be a disadvantage because maybe she would have been able to escape with her children at a younger age so that she and her children could experience more years as a free people and she could have found comfort at times that her family was not able to be there for her. As Jacobs states in Chapter 2, paragraph 5, “…and strengthened by her love, ...