Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery and Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl are both powerful examples of Black autobiography, but they portray their experiences and realities of slavery in very different ways. Washington focuses his narrative around education, work, and self-reliance. He presents a vision of gradual racial uplift, appealing to a largely white audience. In contrast, Jacobs confronts the brutal realities of slavery, and emphasizes the unique struggles faced by women, and the importance of abolition. While both authors use purposeful rhetorical choices to appeal to their intended audiences, the choices they make are very different and reveal contrasting approaches to representing slavery.
In Incidents in the Life of Slave Girl, Jacobs emphasizes the struggles she faced in slavery, particularly through her experiences with Dr. Flint. She endured repeated extreme physical, mental, and sexual abuse, which she highlights to show the sufferings enslaved women go through. Her stories define the differences between slave life for men and women saying “Slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women.” (Pg 68) She refuses to forgive her oppressor, Dr Flint, making it clear that her suffering was not something that could be excused. Her story is so horrible that it evokes sympathy from any reader, but her detailed graphic effects were also a purposeful choice to directly appeal to white women in the North. By plainly expressing the violations she endured, experiences white women could possibly understand through their gender and maternal identity, Jacobs tried to increase sympathy to those with privilege and convince them to grow the abolitionist movement. It was clear she did not dance around topics, and fully confronted the horrors of the institution.
In Up From Slavery, Washington seems to not emphasize the horrors or struggles faced in slavery as much. It is shown through phrases describing how “I [Washington] can scarcely imagine any torture, except, perhaps, the pulling of a tooth, that is equal to that caused by putting on a new flax shirt for the first time.” (Pg. 8) Compared to Jacob’s recounting of the 7 years she experienced in a cramped garter trying to escape slavery and the various abuses she went through, hearing how Washington’s worst experience with slavery stands out as a stark contrast. Washington throughout the story seems to take a very forgiving view of slavery, portraying even slaveholders as “victims” of the system that has corrupted them. He writes, "But I do not find especial fault with him. He was simply another unfortunate victim of the institution..." (Pg. 2) He finds a way to empathize even with the slave owners.
While Incidents of a Life of a Slave Girl paints a realistic but very sad story of slavery and the horrible effects it has on people, especially women, Up From Slavery minimizes the brutality and emphasizes progress and reconciliation. Washington argues how the hard work and suffering slaves went through led to them being better and stronger people. The choice to downplay the horrors to reassure white readers and focus on uplifting their race through education and industry is purposeful. He even goes as far as to almost glorify aspects of slavery by describing the loyalty and devotion between slaves and masters, and how some slaves felt helpless after emancipation. Jacobs, on the other hand, shows slavery as a never ending force of violence, fear, and violation.
Both stories highlight how the institution of slavery morally affects everyone, but Washington emphasizes the shared victimhood (both slaves and masters) and Jacobs portrays it as a moral corruption that destroys enslavers' humanity and victimizes the enslaved. The contrast ultimately shows two strategies of Black autobiography. Washington uses peacemaking, compromise, and uplift to gain white support for gradual racial progress, while Jacobs uses personal experience and raw emotional sympathy to expose the horrors of slavery and call for immediate abolition. Jacobs and Washington utilized very different narrative styles to present the realities of slavery to support their visions for the future.
