Short Essay/Book Analysis : the Life of a Slave Girl

Potential essays topics/prompts (choose one): Using examples from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl – address one of the following: 1. Slave narratives appealed to white audiences, especially potential abolitionists, who had the political authority to combat slavery.

How does Jacobs appeal to her white audience? (Use at least three examples.) 2. Slave narratives by enslaved women give unique insight into the gendered nature of slavery, this is often characterized as “double oppression” for black women (both racial and gender oppression).

Provide two or three examples of this “double oppression” faced by Jacobs AND explain how she dealt with these events. 3. Write a traditional précis AND address the following question: PART 1 – A précis, is a short paper or an academic abstract that addresses a book’s argument, scope, and methodology as clearly and concisely as possible.

For this assignment it will be no longer than 2 double-spaced pages of the total 4 pages for this assignment. PART 2 – Address the following: Why does Jacobs think white and black women should not be judged by the same standards of morality? For this option BOTH parts must be completed. Each will be about two pages in length.