Similarities Between Frederick Douglass And Harriet Jacobs

Slavery was a major struggle for everyone that had to go through it. In the narratives by Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs show just how bad and dehumanizing slavery is. Given Harriet Jacobs experience as a slave, she says that "Slavery is bad for men, but it is far more terrible for women". Given the information from both narratives, I don't disagree nor disagree with the quotes by Harriet Jacobs. In my opinion, both men and women struggled through different aspects of dehumanization. Women during slavery suffered through both physical and emotional abuse. In the narrative by Harriet Jacobs she states how her slave master would beat and whip her "...there is no shadow of law to protect her from insult, from violence, or even from death". Women were hit, whipped, and beaten. Most women suffered emotional abuse, getting beat and getting insulted does a lot to a woman's self esteem and emotions. As a woman slave, it was very frightening, most women feared
Though they both had it bad, I think that women had it worse. Men and women both dealt with physical, mental and sexual abuse, but women had it far worse with the sexual abuse. Harriet Jacobs states how her "fifteenth year" was a terrible and "sad time in the life of a slave girl". Men also suffered sexual abuse, but no where near as much as women. Jacobs says that being a beautiful slave girl was a "greatest curse". Slave girls would have to deal with their slave masters whispering "foul words" in their ears. They also had to deal with the fear of being sexually abused every day. Harriet Jacobs and Fredrick Douglass both wrote these narratives to show the world how bad and painful slavery was. Both authors struggled through major pain and abuse through their times as a slave. In my opinion, both men and women had it equally bad physically and mentally, but women had it worse when it came to sexual