During her life, Harriet Jacobs faced many difficult situations. In her book, she describes what slavery was like many years ago. This book proves that slaves were considered property and were handed over to slave owners, tearing families apart. The life of a person of color is nothing like it is today. Changes needed to be made so people could understand what really happened. Jacobs was an activist in the abolitionist movement who hoped this book would help people understand that slavery is wrong and should not exist. She explained her childhood with her mother and how she changed after the death of her mother and her mother's master. This made her realize that she was a slave and not a normal girl. Jacobs described how her life changed when she was forced to discover that everything is shown in a new light when the people who helped you are no longer there. Linda begins the book by talking about her childhood with her mother and brother. However, Linda is soon separated from her family and moves to a new master who is younger than her. She has to listen to her master's father who is Dr. Flint since her master is not old enough to make decisions for himself. She quickly learns that Dr. Flint is trying to seduce her and she knows that he is "the father of eleven slaves" (p. 35), which makes her a target since no slave mother dares to say who is the real father. She had seen how families were broken apart never to see each other again since her family was part of it. Her father was also a free white man and she understood that she could not be labeled as a white girl rather than a black slave. She was like the eleven slaves given birth. She informs her audience that she knew what... middle of paper...... she didn't need to explain it to others. We are also allowed to be our own master and are not controlled by someone else for their own benefit. In the past, slaves had to fear that their children would be taken from them and never seen again. Parts of the book really made me think about what my life would have been like if I had been a slave during that time, and going through all the pain and suffering that slaves went through and continue to go through. I would never run away from my problems, but I would rather face them. Linda, on the other hand, could not have done the same thing. Linda is a very strong woman who puts her family first in the world, unlike some people at that time. Works Cited Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself. Ed. Lydia Maria Child and Jean Fagan. Shout. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987. Print.