The Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs - 1335 Words

Harriet Jacobs wrote Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Incidents) to plead with free white women in the north for the abolition of slavery. She focused on highlighting characteristics that the Cult of True Womanhood and other traditional protestant Christians idolized in women, mainly piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness. Yet, by representing how each of her characters loses the ability to maintain the prescribed values, she presents the strong moral framework of the African American woman. It is this independent, non-submissive, and intelligent woman that reshapes the ideal image of a Christian woman. In order to create empathy in her readers, Jacobs focuses on the values of an esteemed woman of the time. A true woman was expected to possess the virtues of piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness (Cult of Domesticity). These specific values were best represented by the Cult of True Womanhood, a value system held among the middle and upper class whites. To be a w oman, was to hold to biblical values as highlighted in 1 Timothy 2:11-15; â€Å"11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.† (NIV) Yet, in highlighting theShow MoreRelatedThe Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs858 Words   |  4 PagesThe way that Harriet Jacobs describes slavery in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was not a surprise to me. I believed that slaves were treated poorly and often times were hurt, the way that I thought of slavery is just like it is described in the book if not worse. I will discuss what I believed slavery was like before I read the book, how slavery was according to the book using in text citations and examples and also explain my thoughts on why the treatment was not a surprise to me. FromRead MoreThe Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs1606 Words   |  7 PagesSlaves in the southern states of the United States were oppressed, beaten, and deprived of their natural human rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Which in turn caused many slaves to resist their ill fate that was decided by their masters. Through the story of â€Å"Incidents in the life of a slave girl† by Harriet Jacobs she wrote in her experience how she was resisting her masters and how many people helped her in her escape. And it wasn’t just black that resisted the slave systemRead MoreThe Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs1791 Words   |  8 PagesIn the slave narrative entitled Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs also known as Linda Brent, is faced with a number of decisions, brutal hardships, and internal conflicts that she must cope with as an enslaved black woman. She opens the narrative with a preface that states: â€Å"READER, be a ssured this narrative is no fiction. I am aware that some of my adventures may seem incredible; but they are, nevertheless, strictly true. I have not exaggerated the wrongs inflicted by Slavery†Read MoreThe Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs Essay1316 Words   |  6 PagesIncidents in the life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, she talks about how her life changed while serving different and new masters and mistresses. I think that this narrative writing is an important text to help us understand the different perspectives of slavery in America. There are some slave owners that are kind and humane, and some slave owners that are cruel and abusive. Additionally, reading from a female slave’s perspectives teaches us that life on the plantations and life in the house isRead MoreThe Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacob Essay1049 Words   |  5 PagesIn the novel Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacob’s writes an autobiography about the personal s truggles her family, as well as women in bondage, commonly face while maturing in the Southern part of America. While young and enslaved, Harriet had learned how to read, write, sew, and taught how to perform other tasks associated with a ladies work from her first mistress. With the advantage of having a background in literacy, Harriet Jacobs later came to the realization that she wouldRead MoreThe Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs1198 Words   |  5 PagesIn her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs portrays her detailed life events on such an intense level. Jacobs was born in 1813 in North Carolina. She had a rough life starting at the age of six when her mother died, and soon after that everything started to go downhill, which she explains in her autobiography. Her novel was originally published in 1861, but was later reprinted in 1973 and 1987. Harriet Jacobs presents her story using numerous detailed descriptionsRead MoreThe Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs1292 Words   |  6 Pagesslavery. I chose to focus on two texts: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. In the personal narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, author Harriet Jacobs depicts the various struggles she endured in the course of her life as a young female slave and, as she grew older, a runaway escaped to the â€Å"free† land of the North, referring to herself as Linda Brent. Throughout this story, Jacobs places a heavy emphasis on the ways in which Brent andRead MoreThe Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs928 Words   |  4 Pagesin the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs offers the audience to experience slavery through a feminist perspective. Unlike neo-slave narratives, Jacobs uses the pseudonym ‘Linda Brent’ to narrate her first-person account in order to keep her identity clandestine. Located in the Southern part of America, her incidents commence from her sheltered life as a child to her subordination to her mistress upon her mother’s death, and her continuing struggle to live a dignified and virtuous life despiteRead MoreThe Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacobs1575 Words   |  7 Pagesncidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Slavery, in my eyes, is an institution that has always been ridiculed on behalf of the physical demands of the practice, but few know the extreme mental hardships that all slaves faced. In Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs writes autobiographically about her families and her personal struggles as a maturing mullatto child in the South. Throughout this engulfing memoir of Harriet Jacobs life, this brave woman tells of many trying timesRead MoreThe Life Of A Slave Girl By Harriet Jacob993 Words   |  4 PagesHarriet Jacob’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, depicts a personal and true account of how woman were sexually and physically abused rather than just physically abuses as that of an enslaved man. Enslaved woman struggled tremendously to not only be considered equal to man though to be seen equal pure and virtuous identical to the white women. Jacob’s female slave narrative was a special kind of autobiography, were she not only used anothe r person to represent her, however, she wanted the reader

Eliza and Higgins Free Essays

At the beginning the relationship between Higgins and Eliza is based on two objectives: Eliza wanted to be taught to speak proper English keeping in mind that the end goal was to get a job in a flower shop and Higgins wanted the challenge to change Eliza from a flower girl to a lady. On the off chance that he wins the bet, he would have yet another verification that he is matchless at his profession. Eliza and Higgins has a complex relationship, it unfolds as the story evolves. We will write a custom essay sample on Eliza and Higgins or any similar topic only for you Order Now Their relationship was just intended to be a professional one, a teacher student one to be specific. For Higgins, Eliza is just a subject for an experiment at the beginning, nothing more. He treats her gravely and offends her constantly. He could not stand Eliza at the start of the play, being friendly was not a part of his plan. Nonetheless, Higgins could have indicated Eliza somewhat more regard then what he did, especially when they got closer. As time passes, Higgins and Eliza become accustomed to each other, despite the fact that they don’t admit that to anybody, not even themselves. Higgins may be a companion, a father figure, or even a romanic interest to her, and throughout the play they start to display affections towards each other and their relationship develops beyond their professional interests.? Eliza appeared to be shockingly mature when she first went to Higgins, offering to pay him to give her lessons on how to speak proper English after their first encounter at the Covent Garden. Oddly, Higgins agreed to give Eliza lessons and appeared to be exceptionally pleasant and supportive at the start. Even Mrs Pearce questioned Higgins’ motives, this leads to her looking out after Eliza as she is well aware how Higgins can be. Perhaps without being aware of it, Higgins changed gradually throughout the process of teaching Eliza. When Eliza could go out in public and legitimately act like a lady, Higgins was extremely impolite. He sat around then took credit for the diligent work Eliza put in. Higgins is not entitled to all the credits even when he immensely helped Eliza with her transformation from ill-favoured to an appealing lady. It was Eliza who approached Higgins and asked him to give her lessons on how to speak proper English. Again, it was not Higgins but Eliza who conflicted her intuition on things like removing her clothes to take a bath and act more like a lady. No one told her that she needed to stick through with the experiment, still she went through with it despite Higgins verbally abusing her. She endure him treating her like she was a house keeper, ordering her to get his slippers and such. Eliza is a fast learner since she learned to speak proper English in a short period of time. She exhibit remarkable ability in learning from her errors. She could have walked out and not put up with Higgins verbally abusing her, yet she remained solid since she hope to better he life. Eliza deserves majority of the credit in spite of the fact that it would not have been achievable without the assistance of Higgins. After all, it was entirely on her to actually put an effort and go through with it. . The fact that Higgins never refreshed his view of Eliza aggravated me all through the play and the way act towards Eliza when his acquaintances are around is frustrating. Higgins acts significantly more pleasant to Eliza when nobody is around, as if he’s ashamed to be seen acting nicely towards someone when he’s known for being rude and acting as he pleases. At the end he realised that he was growing to be attached to Eliza and he seem to despise what he was feeling. Perhaps it was because he was unfamiliar with the feeling and he has only felt that way towards a handful of people since he doesn’t let many people into his life. In Higgins’ defense, he doesn’t intend to treat  her  poorly as treats  everyone  poorly. It’s simply his method for being reasonable. And Eliza got precisely what she asked from Higgins, she asked him to give her lessons to speak proper English and that is the thing he did. She ought to have made a plan other than just learning to learn proper English and becoming a lady. She knew she was coming from nothing and in her mind she ought to have known she was returning to nothing. It was wrong for Higgins to treat Eliza the way he did but Eliza had no reason to distress over what Higgins feel for her, whether he feels the same as she does. All Higgins was asked to do was teach her to speak proper English not return her feelings. She should have realised that they may not stand at the same place. He was a self-absorbed bachelor before Eliza came and would have remain so when she left. All this could have been avoided if Eliza had not moved in with Higgins, their relationship could have stayed strictly professional as a teacher and student. That way, there would not be any personal involvement that would displease either of them. How to cite Eliza and Higgins, Papers

Vegetarianism Could Save the Planet

Question: Write an essay on "Vegetarianism Could Save the Planet". Answer: Vegetarianism is the exercise of refraining from consuming meat, which includes poultry, red meat, insects, the flesh of any animal and also seafood(Kids Health, 2016). It also includes refraining from consuming the by-products of slaughtered animals. There are different types of a vegetarians diet. Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians do not feed on meat, fish or poultry. They, however, feed on dairy products and eggs. Lacto-vegetarians do not feed on meat, fish, eggs or poultry, but feed on dairy products. Ovo- vegetarians do not feed on poultry, fish, dairy products or meat but feed on eggs. The last kind of vegetarians are the vegans who only feed on plant-derived foods(Kids Health, 2016). Other individuals are semi-vegetarians refraining from red meat but consume fish or poultry. Vegetarianism is a choice. However, there are queries as to whether a vegetarian gets all the required nutrients. Medical experts confirm that a well-organized vegetarian diet is a very healthy way to eat. Vegetariani sm is chosen due to various reasons. Some individuals due to the respect of sentient life, others health related issues, political, cultural, personal preference and also environmental issues. Vegetarianism is a good thing especially for the protection of the environment as consuming meat wastes and pollutes water sources as well as destroying land and the rain forests, through deforestation among other factors like adding to global warming and the wastage of resources. There are claims that non-vegetarianism does not harm the planet. They state that issues like civilization is what has brought about the damage to the environment that includes water pollution. Meat eaters claim that the agricultural foods that is vegetarian foods, which are promoted to save the planet lead to the pollution of water. They give reasons such as salts runoff from irrigation, that include pesticides and fertilizers, lead to salinization of surface waters; that is pesticides and fertilizers runoff to the surface water. This pollutes the water. They also claim that ground water also contains residue of agricultural practices from pesticides and fertilizers(Natural Resources Management and Environment Department, 2016). Another example meat eaters give is that effluent outfalls from factories, waste treatment plants, and refineries pollute the water and by them consuming meat they do not affect the water sources. Agriculture also involves animal farming. The fact that irrigation may be the cause of water pollution is not entirely the whole truth. Poor farming methods, which are avoidable through education, are the reason as to why there is no proper use of pesticides and fertilizers. One of the biggest attributes of water pollution is keeping animals for food. The number of bacteria, antibiotics, and pesticides concentrated in the flesh of these animals is also contained in their feces. Much of these waste excrement from abattoirs and factory farms flow into rivers and streams leading to their contamination. Rivers carrying livestock waste dump excess waste into gulfs and bays leading to the death of huge zones of the marine areas. Effluents from factories also arise mostly as a result of processing meat and other non-vegetarian products when compared to vegetarian products. According to Peta India, 20, 940 litres of water are used in the production of 1 kilogram of meat as compared to the 50 3 litres of water required for the production of 1 kilogram of wheat(PETA India, 2016). It is, therefore, evident that most of the planets water go to animal agriculture. Other statistics also indicate that in a day a pure vegetarian diet only requires 1,137 litres of water, while 15, 160 litres of water are required for a meat-based diet(PETA India, 2016). It clearly indicates that keeping animals as a source of food exerts pressure on the inadequate water supply on the planet. There is, therefore, more efficient use of water when directed towards producing crops. When individuals consume less meat, the number of herds will decrease and thus reduce this pollution. The Gulf of Mexico not only faces the crisis of oil pollution but also faces dead zones due to excess quantities of animal waste, sewage, and waste from factory farms. Algal blooms develop and take up all the oxygen living inhabitable areas(PETA, 2016). There are about 400 identified dead zones from the Scandinavian fjords to the South China Sea that range in size from 1 to above 70 000 square kilometers. The Natural Resources Defense Council claims that large livestock farms that accommodate hundreds and thousands of cows, chicken and pigs emit a lot of waste which is 130 times more than people do(Worldwatch Institute, 2016). The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. states that waste from livestock has polluted rivers for more than 27, 000 miles and also soiled groundwater in a majority of countries(Worldwatch Institute, 2016). Yacoubou encourages the improvement of waste management through technology, such as, the use of readily absorbable feed ingredients that are not excre ted. Furthermore, the improvement of manure collecting process is critical through better housing, manure storage, and processing. Timely manure dosing should also be performed in agreement with the crops requirements(Yacoubou, 2009). Other claims that non-vegetarianism does not harm the planet arise on the issue of land and deforestation stating that by consuming meat land and deforestation does not occur. They blame it on the need for space for industrial and urban needs. They also claim that individuals are adding in number and that is why forests are being cleared to acquire extra space for settling. Their main point is that this land is cleared for commercial, residential and industrial uses. Urbanization that involves the construction of roads is highlighted as among the major contributors of deforestation(Conserve Energy Future, 2016). The claims further suggest that forests are cleared to grow crops for vegetarians placing more emphasis on soy, which is the main ingredient for making tofu. Tofu is a staple food for vegetarians(Mocana Productions, Inc., 2016). Here they stress that being a vegetarian is leading to deforestation as land is required to grow soy for the vegetarians. It is true that soy has covered about 11 million hectares of forest land across South America. However, farmed animals are the ones eating a majority of these soybeans. It is stated in the Encyclopaedia Britannica that about 98% of Americas production of soy goes to feeding the farmed animals(Mocana Productions, Inc., 2016). It is, therefore, safe to say that the deforestation claimed to be by vegetarians is mainly by meat eaters. The expansion of production of livestock is a major factor in deforestation and land degradation. It is clearly evident in Latin America especially, where they experience the greatest deforestation effects. About 70% of the Amazons previously forested land is now occupied by feed crops and pastures(Vegan Outreach, 2016). The World Bank also stated that about 90% of the Amazon rainforest has been cleared since the 1970s and is used for meat production(Friedrich, 2015). It indicates that the forest is being cleared to pave the way for both livestock grazing a nd to grow their feeds. This is not only about cattle. Feeds for chicken and pigs is also grown. A study carried out by the Union of Concerned Scientists discovered that a lot of land is needed for the production of meat. The production of meat globally has also increased and the new land for production has been acquired through clearing forests. The study found this to be a leading factor of deforestation. Beef was also viewed to require more land than pork and chicken that use lesser land to produce similar quantities of protein. The study also discovered that about 60% of agricultural land globally is used for beef production, which offers less than 2% of the calories consumed worldwide(Mishler, 2012). Beef has been termed as an inefficient use of feed resources as it requires 10 kilograms of grain for the production of 1 kilogram of beef. The study pointed out that the food that is raised for livestock, such as, soybeans, corn and alfalfa do not go directly to human consumption. It goes to the livestock that is slaughtered to produce lesser food for fewer individuals. Anothe r study from the Cornell University discovered that about 13m hectares of land was used to grow rice, beans, potatoes, fruits and vegetables in the United States. On the other hand, 302m was used for livestock. The issue was that farm animals have been identified to be inefficient converters of food to flesh. Broiler chickens are considered the best as they only require about 3.4kg to produce 1kg of flesh. Pigs, on the other hand, require 8.4kg to produce 1 kilogram. Various academics have also calculated that if the grains fed to animals were consumed by people directly rather than animals, twice as many individuals would be fed, possibly more. From the above, it is clearly evident that vegetarianism is a good thing especially for the protection of the planets water sources, land, and forests. Vegetarianism is a choice as stated earlier and individuals are free to eat whatever they want. However, they should take into account that eating meat may end up depleting the resources that the children of their children will require to survive, more rapidly than if they became vegetarians. To cater for the reasons offered as to why individuals eat meat and that there are those who cannot stay without eating meat, there are different types of vegetarians mentioned above to choose from. The UCS study also recommended consuming chicken or pork to replace beef, or even purchasing beef from cows living on already deforested land(Mishler, 2012). They found beef to be the most hazardous to the environment. Some Dutch researchers made observations that global vegetarianism would result to expanses of new land(Anderson, 2014). Today, the gr azing land used for livestock rearing accounts for 26% of the worlds land surface. The researchers predict that land used for grazing amounting to about 2.7 billion hectares would be freed. Also, the land used to grow crops for the livestock that amounts to 100 million hectares, would also be freed(Anderson, 2014). Not to be assumed, is the fact that there are individuals living in the dry areas where they cannot grow any crops. Rearing animals for meat becomes their livelihood. For them, education is critical as they can utilize the manure from the animals and in time revitalize the lands and grow crops just as Yacoubou states above. References Anderson, L. V. (2014, May 2). Could vegetarianism save the world? National Post: Apetizer. Conserve Energy Future. (2016). Deforestation: Compromises of a Growing World. Friedrich, B. (2015). Why Vegetarianism Is the Best Way to Help the Environment. Mishler, J. (2012, June 29). Environmental Study: Consume Less Meat to Fight Deforestation Mocana Productions, Inc. (2016). Blaming Deforestation on Vegetarians. Natural Resources Management and Environment Department. (2016). Control of water pollution from agriculture.