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Billy Mullray
Dr. Crofton
HUM 2212
14 February 2024
Harriet Jacobs Short Writing
When investigating, “Incident in the life of a slave girl,” readers first notice the strong
message that is presented in the preface. Harriet Jacobs, the author, makes a point to state why
she is writing, and who the writing is tailored towards. This statement sets a precedent for the
text that affects the ways in which readers analyze and understand the events that take place in
Jacobs’ life.
Harriet begins the preface with a guarantee of the authenticity of the stories that she is
writing in future pages, stating that some of her adventures, “may seem incredible; but they are,
nevertheless, strictly true.” (Jacobs 5) This guarantee was placed at the very beginning of the text
to assure any reader nothing is a stretch of the truth, but on the contrary, an incomplete
description of the facts of all of the hardships that slaves experienced while in servitude. Going
out of her way to say this, Jacobs sets a tone of seriousness that is required to understand the text
the way in which it was written. Furthermore after the guarantee of truth, Harriet writes that, “I
wish I were more competent to the task I have undertaken. But I trust my readers will
excuse deficiencies in consideration of circumstances” (Jacobs 5) This further sets the same tone
that this text is being written as Jacobs is clarifying that she may not be the best to attest to the
events that occurred, but she still followed through to make a contribution to the fight to end
slavery.
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Jacobs describes this fight further along in the preamble, stating the true audience that she
is targeting with her testimony. Harriet states that, “ I do earnestly desire to arouse the women of
the North to a realizing sense of the condition of two millions of women in the South, still in
bondage, suffering what I suffered.” (Jacobs 6) She follows this passage with a call to, “Abler
pens,” (Jacobs 6) to help make note of what truly was happening to these people. This statement
can call for many forms of action from the audience, including a call to action to further the fight
against slavery in the south. Jacobs is also using her social position as a free and independent
woman to connect with a specific substrata of society that is more likely to relate to her writing
and help make changes in the future because of it. This specific language is used as it works in a
way that doesn’t marginalize the audience of the text, but rather states that anyone can help if
that person feels that what is being done is morally wrong.
Another passage from the text that is often distinguished is that Jacobs doesn’t, “care to
excite sympathy for my own sufferings,” (Jacobs 6) since she has, “ not written [her] experiences
in order to attract attention to [herself].” (Jacobs 6) Harriet does not want to receive sympathy, or
even be noticed for her history, since that is not why she took the time to write of her
experiences. This is done to keep the attention of the readers on the events of her life rather than
how it affected her as an individual. Harriet wants readers to experience and feel as though they
are a slave in the south, which will help those who have never experienced slavery understand
the atrocities that take place and why slavery needs to be ended across the entire United States.
All of these statements in the preamble are necessary to understanding Jacob's argument.
Without them, the true meaning of the text would more than likely be misunderstood to be a
complaint verses a call to action. Jacobs’ preamble set a very important tone for the rest of her
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life experiences that is essential for readers to understand while analyzing her life, and without it,
readers would never fully understand the reasons for which it was written.