Slave Narratives and Abolitionist Books Share Much

Slave narratives and abolitionist books share much in common in terms of their descriptions of the institution of slavery, how slavery is entrenched in American society, and how slaves struggle to overcome the psychological humiliation and physical degradation that slavery entails. Frederick Douglass's (1845) Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs's (1861) Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl both capture the daily cruelty and overall theme of slavery. These two slave narratives present a poignant picture of what it was like to live as a slave, showing also how slaves attempted to escape. Douglass and Jacobs also show how slaves managed to keep their families as together as possible, struggling against all odds to do so because of the systematic means by which whites enabled and even encouraged the dismantling of African-American families.

However, there are some core differences between Douglass's (1845) and Jacobs's (1861) narratives that are worth noting from a sociological and historical perspective. The main difference between the two narratives is gender. Jacobs writes from the perspective of a female slave, which raises important issues such as how female slaves were abused sexually. The potential for rape and sexual harassment was far greater for female slaves than for males, and Douglass does not address such issues in his autobiography. Jacobs shows how slave women could use their sexuality as a tool for empowerment, as when she purposely has sex and bears the children of Mr. Sands in order to avoid having to succumb to the sexual advances of her cruel master Dr. Flint. What Douglass addresses, and Jacobs does not, is the ways freed slaves were starting to compete on the job market with whites: which led to a great degree of social instability throughout the country.

From a literary perspective, both narratives are autobiographical. Jacobs uses a fake name to provide some psychic distance between her and the painful events she recalls in the narrative. Both authors discuss the continual cycle of cruelty as slaves are bought and sold to different owners. The need and impetus to escape is a common theme in the slave narratives, although for Jacobs escaping was made a more complex issue due to her having two children.

Slave narratives frequently compare and contrast the life of slaves on traditional Southern plantations vs. The life of slaves in urban centers. Jacobs adds to the mix an important element: that of domestic servants in the free North. When Jacobs escapes to the North, she encounters a situation that profoundly disturbs her. African-Americans are free on paper only. In reality, African-Americans like Linda Brent and her daughter are domestic servants who have just as little personal freedom as slaves on plantations. Their life is not filled with as much physical and mental abuse, but racism is pervasive. Learning how to read is a challenge, and there is no real chance of upward social mobility.