Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl- Part 2

Reading this book gives me a lot of different feelings, but mostly, I feel bad for Linda. She has to sacrifice so many things because of slavery. She does not have any freedom, she loses many loved ones, she cannot marry the freedman that she loves, and she is not even allowed to give her two children their father's name. Linda explains, "Always it gave me a pang that my children had no lawful claim to a name. Their father offered his; but, if I had wished to accept the offer, I dared not while my master lived"(80). It is really sad because these are things that people currently take for granted, forgetting that there was a time where certain people were not entitled to these privileges. One thing I like about the book is the strong imagery that Linda Brent uses throughout the book. For example, she says, "O, the serpent of Slavery has many and poisonous fangs!"(63). She also expresses, "How earnestly I prayed that she might never feel the weight of slavery's chain, whose iron entereth into the soul!"(81). They are really deep and just make you realize that what they are going through is not a joke. Finally, it is heartbreaking every time she mentions her children's fate and how she wishes she were dead, but she has to endure the suffering so she can make sure they have hope in their futures. Linda Brents has a distinctive way of communicating with her readers that really touches their souls!