The Life Of A Slave Girl By Robert Jacobs - 2254 Words

How Jacobs Shows That the Institution of Slavery Corrupted Society Jacobs portrays slavery in her narrative as an institution that is corrupting society. Throughout Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Jacobs explains how the injustice of slavery between whites and blacks corrupted not only black society but white society as well. Jacobs illustrates how religion practised by white slave owners in the south was often corrupt and did little to alter the effects of slavery on white society. Jacobs also illustrates how slavery, while it did create unbreakable kinship, broke apart the black society. Jacobs’s narrative also makes it very clear that slavery was not in any way a beneficial way of organizing society. Incidents in the Life of a†¦show more content†¦This lack of faith in humanity is a symptom of a corrupted society and displays for the white northerners the effects of their non-actions. The fear Jacobs expresses at the thought of giving her son his father’s name illustrates another aspect of black society that the †Å"serpent of slavery† stole from Jacobs’s life . Her children do not have a legal right to a father and therefore grow up without a father in their lives. By not only showing her audience the terrors of slavery but also the effects that they have on Jacobs, Jacobs is appealing to the sympathies of the white northerner to fight for abolition. A corrupted society is also evident throughout Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl when Jacobs questions her audience several times on how they would feel if the same horrors that are happening to slaves were to happen to them . By comparing a corrupt society to the northern non-slave society, Jacobs is able to show clearly the negative relationship that slavery has on its society. As Jacobs flees to the north she leaves â€Å"dear ties behind† and blames the loss of her loved ones on the â€Å"demon Slavery† . This sad depiction allows for the reader to comprehend how the institution of slavery forced Jacobs into leaving her society and her network of love in fear for her safety. Earlier in the narrative Jacobs compares the white northerners’ view of a celebratory New Year’s Day with that of southerner slaves