“INCIDENTSIN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE Girl”
WHAT SLAVES ARE TAUGHT TO THINK OF THE NORTH? This particular chapter evokes many things within the reader. However it mainly provokes sorrowful emotions within the reader. It also gave the reader a sense of knowledge and understanding. That is the knowledge of the cruel and inhumane treatment that the slaves had to withstand. I became knowledgeable to the extent to which being ignorant can be a hindrance and a dangerous treat to ones life
In chapter 8 Linda digresses from her personal narrative to address some broader issues concerning the conditions of slaves and the institution of slavery. In this chapter, she focuses on the reasons that many slaves didn't defy the slaveholders or attempt escape. In Chapter 8, Linda discusses the lies and misinformation (about the Free States) that slaveholders communicated to slaves in order to discourage them from running away. For example, one slaveholder shares a story about a runaway facing death from starvation. She also holds Northerners accountable for their complicity in slavery, especially for enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law. It also focus on the methods slaveholders use to instill fear in their slaves. Slaveholders impart lies about the Free States and the possibilities of freedom. Linda stresses that the majority of slaves are deliberately kept in ignorance about the North. Despite the brutal treatment some slaves are subjected to at the hands of their masters, they are taught that they cannot survive on their own and are better off where they are. Slaveholders subject their slaves to acts of extreme violence. Because of this brutality, slaves fear the consequences of fleeing or defying their masters. And many slaves are too physically and/or emotionally broken to risk an escape into the unknown. Linda believes that knowledge is the key to gaining freedom from the bonds of slavery — an important theme throughout the book. Many slaves believe the slaveholders' lies about the futility of running