Throughout her life, Harriet Jacobs faced many difficult situations, in her book she describes what slavery was like many years ago. This book shows that slaves were considered property and were handed over to slave owners, which tore families apart. Life for a black person 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. He explained his childhood with his mother and how it changed after the death of his mother and his 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 in with a new owner who is younger than her. He must listen to his master's father, who is Dr. Flint, as his master is not old enough to make decisions on his own. She soon learns that Doctor Flint is trying to seduce her and knew that he was "the father of eleven slaves" (p. 35), making her a target as no slave mother dared say who the real father was. He had seen how families are separated never to see each other again as his family was one of them. Her father was also a free white man and she understood that she could not be labeled a white girl instead of a black slave. He was just like the eleven slaves who were brought into the world. He informs his audience that he knew what was...in the middle of the paper...he didn't have to explain it to others. We are also allowed to be our own masters and not be controlled by someone else for their own benefit. In the past, slaves had to worry that their children would be taken away and they would never see them again. Some 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 period, and dealing with all the pain and suffering that slaves went through and continued to experience. I would never run away from my problems, but rather face them. Linda on the other hand couldn't have done the same thing. Linda is a very strong woman who puts her family before anything else in the world, unlike some people these days. Works Cited Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself. Ed. Lydia Maria Child and Jean Fagan. Yellin. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987. Print.