Linda Brent's Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl

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How Self-Awareness and Critical Thinking Shape Linda Brent’s Identity and Empower Her To Control Her Life In her autobiography Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs– writing under the pseudonym Linda Brent– details her life of enslavement in North Carolina. Throughout the story, Linda faces daily physical and mental adversity from her enslaver, Dr. Flint, and from a society that perceives her as property. Building on her childhood experiences, Linda develops a strong sense of self, meaning that she is cognizant of who she is and the attributes that make up her identity. This control over her identity empowers her to contradict societal expectations and assert her autonomy against her oppressors. When she acknowledges how her …show more content…
Flint’s death threat into an empty threat, shifting the power dynamic and reinforcing Linda’s autonomy and identity. When Linda recognizes how people’s thoughts and actions– including her own– can affect her mentality, she gains the power to stop negative people from dominating her headspace, thus reinstating her control despite her abuse. Dr. Flint’s life’s mission is to torment Linda and degrade her sense of humanity. Naturally, this provokes Linda to hate Dr. Flint, making it appear that he has successfully become a parasite that infects Linda’s brain with negativity and disgust. However, Linda proves the opposite to be true when she acknowledges and takes ownership of her hatred. She prompts, “Reader, did you ever hate me? I hope not. I never did but once; and I trust I never shall again. Somebody has called it the ‘atmosphere of hell;’ and I believe it is so” (Jacobs 372). By referring to an “atmosphere of hell” (Jacobs 372), Linda recognizes how her hatred toward Dr. Flint dominates her mental space. Linda’s firm understanding of the interrelation between others’ actions, her own thoughts, and her emotional wellbeing indicates high level critical thinking, analysis, and self awareness that are key components to her
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Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl Summary

Being compelled to live a life that you do not aspire to live is very traumatic. Being compelled to give up something or someone you love because its impasse is devastating. This was the case of a survivor named Linda Brent, who had to go through these rigors in keep the lives around her safe. Brent shows an epitome of womanhood and how slave woman had to experience horrible situations that they couldn't refrain from occurring. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl gives a nonfictional account of…

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