Incidents 1

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl has helped shed light on many topics regarding slavery.  It has not only shown how appalling slavery was with certain owners but also shown that with the right owners slavery was not as hard a life as others might think.  Linda Brent says, "When I was six years old... I learned, by the talk around me, that I was a slave" (Incidents 5). Unlike most other slaves, Brent’s family was able to have an income since her dad was able to work on other plantations as a carpenter.  This was very unusual for slaves and to have a mistress this kind was a great privilege.  After Brent’s mistress died, she was sent to work for a relative of her mistress, Dr. Flint’s daughter.  However, her new owners were nothing like her previous owners and were very cruel.

Benjamin would rather risk running away then being punished by his master.  Benjamin fights back at his master, one of the richest men in town, and wins.  Brent writes that after this event Benjamin says, “Linda, we are dogs here…Let them bring me back. We don’t die but once” (19).  Benjamin attempts to escape to the North even though it is likely he will not be successful and would face severe punishment if he is caught.  Slaves take great risks for that small chance of freedom. 

Incidents 2

In Incidents in the Life of Slave Girl chapters 16 through 19, there are many things that seemed very different from regular life in the South.  First, Linda Brent writes, "When I heard that my little ones were in a loathsome jail" (Incidents 103).  This amazes me because Mr. Flint cares so much about losing one slave and goes to great length to try to find Brent.  He first searches every crevice of her grandmother’s house.  He then takes her children and her brother, William, to jail and interrogates them.  Next, he places fliers everywhere and offers a $300 reward for finding her.  In addition, he borrows $500 to go to New York and other free states to look for her.  That just seems like too much trouble to go through to find one slave.   With the $800 he spent, he could have bought more slaves.  He did this not only because she is her property but also he has romantic feelings for her.

Another thing that catches my attention is when Brent’s grandmother says “Do you mean to leave your little, helpless children? Nobody respects a mother who forsakes her children” (93). Brent’s grandmother implies that Brent is being selfish for trying to escape to the North while leaving her children behind.  Many people like Linda Brent would never realize how hard it would be for Benny and Ellen without either a mother or father.  However, Brent’s grandmother feels regretful for leaving her children in slavery while she gets to experience being free and does not want Brent to feel the same way looking back at her decision.  Even though Brent decides to run away in the end, she still tries to make the best decision for her children; the future of her family.