Autobiographies and Activism: Comparing and Contrasting the Autobiographies of Harriet Jacobs and Booker T. Washington

While both Harriet Jacobs’ and Booker T. Washington’s autobiographies detail their experiences of suffering and oppression during and after slavery, the stories and messages they tell are shaped by the times in which they live. Jacobs is writing in a time where slavery is still legal; her struggle, the struggle of millions, is an ongoing story which she wishes to end. Her anecdotes of cruelties are ongoing, written in the present tense; in chapter 21, she writes, “God pity the woman who is compelled to lead such a life!” The audience of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” is limited to those who have access to literature and literacy and are inclined towards the issue of slavery: white Northern women. On the other hand, Washington is writing during Reconstruction, and thus is dealing with the chief problem of his time: life after slavery. He writes of his time in slavery not to bring awareness to the issue (for his readership is both those who’ve also gone through such atrocities and those who might take offense to a negative portrayal of the issue) but to narrate his story of self-improvement.

One of the key differences between Jacobs’ and Washington’s narratives is how they frame their experience relative to others’. Though Jacobs talks of her escape, the majority of her story deals with suffering in slavery. She takes care to detail the horrors other Black Americans experience, clarifying that her experience, as cruel and unjust though it may be, makes her one of the less unfortunate victims. Jacobs’ recounting of her own time in slavery, for the larger part, aims to set a baseline from which Jacobs may then say this is better than most women in the South experience. In her preface, Jacobs writes “two millions of women at the South, still in bondage, suffering what I suffered, and most of them far worse” in hopes of “arous[ing] the women of the North.” This is her central point; her experience is unlike and far better than the vast majority of Black Americans’; and she uses this to make her argument for abolitionism. Washington’s autobiography is centered on life after slavery; he talks at length about life “after the coming of freedom.” Rather than an outlier, Washington hopes that his journey may be one to aspire for; the title of his autobiography (Up From Slavery) hints at his morals of self-improvement and “cast[ing] down your bucket where you are.” For his white readership, Washington’s story would serve as proof of successful integration into society after slavery.

This distinction is indicative of how each author caters to their audience and purpose. Washington is careful to not offend his white readership as evinced in his more neutral or even positive stance on slavery, because while he is by and large speaking to a Black audience, his stance as a prominent figure in America (shown through his invitation to speak at the Atlanta Exposition and his popularity thereafter) demands more friendliness towards white readers. At many points Washington speaks of how slavery resulted in a positive outcome for both the enslaved and the enslaver. His story of coming up from slavery is proof of this argument. On the other hand, Jacobs tells her story by emphasizing how slavery violates young women, appealing to the Puritanic women of the North and the prevailing attitudes towards purity and innocence. Her objective is to reveal the “indelicate” truths of her time and appeal to her readers not through censorship but through deliberate emphasis on issues they might weigh more heavily. She speaks frequently of the cruelties committed against in particular young enslaved girls, telling how their innocence and youth was taken from them.

Furthermore, the autobiographies’ portrayal of escape from slavery and freedom differ. Washington’s story almost immediately begins with freedom; his story centers around his journey upwards. Leaving slavery for Washington is a chance at a new life and freedom; leaving slavery for Jacobs is a flight from her old life. Jacobs’ story ends with freedom, but it’s not painted so much as freedom as escape. Escape from oppression and the dehumanizing conditions of the garret and plantation. This distinction serves its purpose for both: Washington is able to effectively communicate a story of uprising and self-help, and Jacobs is able to relay her story of oppression in slavery.

Both autobiographies are pieces reacting to the political, social, and economic climes of their times. Jacobs identified slavery as the chief issue of her time to be resolved, Washington the struggles of freedmen and the tense political atmosphere of the South. Both of their stories are profoundly shaped by the messages they wish to share and the audiences they hope to reach: their narratives are instruments in their broader goal. These autobiographies were not written in isolation of society around them; they were written precisely to arouse and change the people of America.