"Incidents in the Live of a Slave Girl" is a moving story of one black
             woman's struggle in early America. Jacobs shows how she became part of the
             families she lived with and who held her as a slave, but shows how her own
             family came first. She saved her children from slavery, but white people
             also used and abused her. She shows she was a strong woman who knew right
             from wrong, but could not help but "sin" at times because of her background
             and her circumstances. Black slaves had very little choice except to
             submit to their masters' wishes or run away. Jacobs did both at times in
             her life, and they were the right choices at that particular time.
             Jacobs wanted people to understand what she went through, and her
             story does that. Her grandmother loses a loan to her owner, her own
             grandson is sold away from her, and Harriet grows up to understand that she
             is the property of someone else, and might never be free. She also shows
             what really went on in Southern households, and that the men would sleep
             with their slaves, but never acknowledge their actions. It sounds like a
             terrible place to live, and terrible conditions to live under. Jacobs'
             story shows how ignorant people were about just what really happened to
             slaves and what horrible lives most of them led. It shows how her own
             children were taken away from her and mistreated, and how she had to hide
             away from the old master, so he would not abuse her. The story is hard to
             read because Jacobs goes through so many hardships and difficulties.
             Jacobs' life was difficult, but her story shows that there was hope
             for some of the slaves. She escaped, and a kind owner helped her buy her
             freedom. Eventually, she rescued her children from slavery, and they lived
             a better life in the North. Jacobs had kind masters along with terrible
             masters. The kind masters taught her to read, and gave her enough
             education to know ...