Ashley Hand Slavery: The Moral Corruption of Family.
"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" is a narrative that describes a young girl's trials and tribulations while being an involuntary member of the institution of slavery. Jacobs, like every other victim of the atrocity known as slavery, wishes that people in the north would do more to put a stop to this harmful practice. Slavery is an understood dishonor of the past. This is true, not only because of the injustices done to the slaves, but for the negative effects that the slave holders and their wives underwent. When there are basic rights of freedom being denied in a society, no ethical principles can be upheld. The fact that this sinful treatment of other human beings was permitted had a morally crippling effect not only on the principle victim, the slave, but on the entire household in which the slave resided. Slavery corrupted the morals of everyone within its reach.
First and foremost, we must recognize that the primary and most directly affected victim due to slavery, is of course, the slave. Ranging from lashings, emotional struggles, and even death, slaves have felt the truest and most severe form of slavery. They are not allowed to own property because "according to Southern laws, a slave, being property, can hold no property"(6). Harriet Jacobs describes many of her misfortunes and happenings while under the thumb and close watch of Dr. Flint. She was degraded and insulted many times throughout her stay with him. For example, Jacobs recalls "When he told me that I was made for his use, made to obey his command in every thing; that I was nothing but a slave, whose will must and should surrender to his, never before had my puny arm felt half so strong"(18). This was only the beginning however, and pretty soon thereafter sexual advances were made by Dr. Flint in which he "peopled my young mind with unclean images, such as only a vile monster could think of"(27).