Jacobs vs. Washington
Today I am going to be comparing the narratives from Harriet Jacobs and Booker T. Washington. There are a lot of similarities between these two narratives because they were both slaves in America, but the way that their story plays out after they are free is very different because of the period in which they took place. Harriet Jacobs had a much more painful and intense experience in slavery and escaping slavery. On the other hand, Booker T. Washington had a much less negative view of slavery and was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, creating a very different narrative. The way that they live their lives after they escape slavery is also very different because of this.
The biggest difference between the two stories is the period in which they took place. In Washington's, Up From Slavery, the story starts right at the end of slavery and the time of reconstruction after the Civil War. However, Harriet Jacobs's story starts during and continues through slavery, making her story significantly different than Washington's in several ways. One of the most important ways that her story differs from Washington's is the amount of suffering that she has to go through compared to Washington to earn her freedom and maintain it. Most of her story is about getting away from her owner and staying in hiding trying not to be found. Washington's story on the other hand is more about his life after he gains freedom from slavery and what to do with himself and find meaning. This makes their stories very hard to compare because they describe two very different ways of life from different times. Harriet Jacobs is so preoccupied with trying to secure her freedom that she is much less concerned with what to do once she is free. Washington does the opposite, where he tells us little of his time as a slave and spends most of the story telling us about his journey and dedication to getting an education and moving up in the world.
Harriet Jacobs's story tells us a lot about her time as a slave and also her experience trying to hide from her master after she ran away and even when she made it to the North. Her master constantly pursues her until a friend in her life finally pays off the master to buy her and set her free. She spends 7 years hiding in a tiny attic cut off almost completely from everyone until an opportunity for her to escape to the north finally comes. This would ordinarily be an easy decision to make, but Harriet Jacobs also uses the time she talks about slavery to give us insight into the relationships that she created at her home. A particularly good example is her very close relationship with her mother. Throughout her time as a slave, they become very close and she becomes Harriett's support through the hard times with her master. She also has a close friendship with a white woman whom she meets in the North, who harbors her and gives her work while she hides from her master. However, she eventually also pays the master to buy Harriet's freedom from him against Harritet's wishes. She feels like all that she went through was now for nothing since her freedom was still bought and not won.
Booker T. Washington instead tells us the story of his search for education and meaning after slavery. He describes a lot of the difficulties that former slaves faced after they had been freed. One of these was that slaves had no education, training, or skills in anything other than the labor that they had been forced to do their whole lives. Washington was younger when he was free, so he was much more able to learn. Some of the older people who were freed no longer had the learning capabilities of youth and struggled a lot more once they were freed. Since his story starts right after he gets released from slavery, his whole journey is about what to do now that he is free, as opposed to how to get free. This causes a lot of differences in how they see the world. Booker T. Washington is much more concerned with how to live his life and find meaning in his situation, while Harriet Jacobs is forced to live on a more day-to-day basis, trying to stay free.
Overall, while the two stories are very similar, they have key differences that change the narrative significantly in how they play out. Harriet Jacobs's story takes place during the time of slavery, which changes the way that her story plays out and the way that she views slavery. Booker T. Washington, on the other hand, is freed by the Emancipation Proclamation and therefore feels none of the same stress as Harriet Jacobs in staying free. He can then put his energies toward trying to become more educated and find meaning in life after slavery.
I agree, the contexts of when these stories take place really affects the point of views of both of our authors. We also look into their life stories, where they were, or aspire to be, etc. Jacobs was promised freedom only to be betrayed and thrust back into slavery, passed along from heir to heir. Then hiding and suffering in silence in a cramped room for years on end, waiting for the right opportunity as you pray you aren't discovered. In Washington's case, forced to work in an open air cabin in a wooded area, shielded for a bit longer from the horrors of slavery, generally in one place until the Proclamation arrives. Discovering education, aspiring to enter school at the collegiate level and the journey to get to that level. All of it is intriguing and pensive, especially when comparing and contrasting them.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your observation about the difference in time period in the stories. Harriet Jacobs has to deal with her former master trying to find her after she gets freedom but Washington doesn't. His opinions are still shaped by the trauma of slavery but he doesn't describe the same constant stress and fear that Jacobs was living in, even long after she ran away. Washington is able to keep moving forward without being as haunted by the past as Jacobs in his day to day life.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how Linda Brent never really seems to have the time to think about what to do once she's free as she is too preoccuppied with how to get free in the first place. On the other hand, as you said, we see how Washington is eager to pursue education and move up in the world even during his time as a slave. I feel like this might speak to the differing mental states of the two, and how Brent's experience with sexual harrasstment and more personalized psychological torment left her with a more paranoid headspace which prevented her from being as optimistic as Washington in post-emancipation nation.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting how much their circumstances affect their lives and broader worldview, since Linda is always wary and couldn't really let her guard down for most of her life, and Washington spent most of his life trying to get an education. Washington seems more broadly optimistic because of this, while Jacobs does not. It's also interesting how Jacobs' story seems more aimed at white people and trying to bring about change, though I think Washington was also interested in that.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the circumstances that these authors came through are really important. Jacobs' writing abilities would seem to imply that she had gotten some sort of education, even if informal. Given that her story doesn't say much about what happened to her after she got her freedom, I wonder how she thought about what to do with her life and how her thoughts compare with Washington's approach of making the best of the situation while basically ignoring its history (which I think he does because thinking about the history wouldn't have helped him get out of the situation).
ReplyDeleteI agree the context of the stories and their timelines really matter in explaining how Booker T. Washington and Harriet Jacobs wrote and structured their narratives. It might have been interesting to see both of the stories set at the same time, so we could see the differences and similarities between that. I do think it's a really great point that Harriet Jacob's narrative focuses on the fight and process of achieving freedom, while Booker T. Washington's focuses on his life after freedom. Overall, great post!
ReplyDeleteWashington and Jacobs definitely discuss their experiences in slavery differently. One main difference I noticed while reading is how much more Jacobs discusses her childhood as a slave. Slavery constrained all aspects of her life, but that becomes especially apparent in her descriptions of her early years. It's interesting that Washington is also affected by slavery and others' perceptions of his race, but does not acknowledge it when experiencing constraints throughout his journey of schooling. This was a great post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about how the readings both describe their life through slavery in different ways. I think that the timelines of the stories definitely helped in differentiating both of the character's experiences with slavery and I like how you pointed that out. Due to Washington's gaining of freedom being early on in his life, he did have more time to pursue his goals of becoming educated and I think this also plays a large part in the differences between their stories. Great post, David!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your conclusion that states that the different problems that Jacobs and Washinton faced caused different stories and views. I think the way you explained the differences in problems and found correlations between the problems they were faced with and the views that they came out with was very effective. You brought home the idea of Jacobs’ terrible experience shaping her views and story in a way that balanced the similarities and differences well.
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