What is the purpose of an autobiography? Yes, it's a personal narrative of someone's life, but it's also a deliberative self-reflection for an audience. An autobiography is written for the intention of being published: Not only does it point out important milestones of an individual's life, but also their own emotional analysis of the world around them. In the case of black autobiographies—particularly those stemming from the African American experience—many illustrate a black person's journey as they struggle against racial oppression and eventually pursue liberation. The two black autobiographies we've discussed in class, "Up from Slavery" by Booker T. Washington, and "Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl", by Harriet Jacobs both portray this upward journey. However, the differing historical context and intent of these memoirs provide distinct insights about slavery.
Even the titles of each individual narrative presents a different tale: one, a girl presents her life as a slave, particularly emphasizing the cruelties of slavery in order to "arouse the women of the North to a realizing sense of the condition to millions of women at the South, still in bondage, suffering what I suffered, and most of them far worse" (Jacobs 5). Jacobs focuses on the horrors of bondage, specifically as a female slave, in order to garner sympathy and advocate for abolition. A large portion of the story focuses on the physical and psychological consequences of slavery on her body and psyche. She delves into the moral and ethical impact of being owned by somebody and dealing with a loss in agency. Eventually, she becomes a free woman—not without sacrificing her bodily autonomy and "purity", living in hiding in a crawlspace for 7 years, and surviving years of abuse from her master.
Washington's story is different. He starts off as a slave and eventually reaches freedom, just like Jacobs. However, most of his autobiography is devoted to his life after slavery, as he was freed during a young age and lived the majority of his life during post-Reconstructionist America. His story isn't a long, arduous struggle to freedom—moreover, it focuses on the bittersweet question of: What's next? Rather than focusing on the brutal impact of slavery, Washington writes a narrative of self-improvement through adversity, focusing on uplifting himself particularly through education. Part of Washington as a prominent figure in America at this time, wanted to inspire African Americans to achieve economic independence and social advancement: "Up from Slavery" is reminiscent of these motives. In a seemingly hopeless time period where black people suffered under Jim Crow doctrine and horrific racial violence, Washington's autobiography promotes a journey of optimism.
While both authors acknowledge the ghastly reality of slavery, Washington presents the aftermaths of slavery in a more ambivalent and optimistic light, claiming that "the black man got nearly as much out of slavery as the white man did" (Washington Chapter I), as slavery provided African Americans with skills and opportunities for advancements. As his intent in his narrative is to emphasize racial progress through "casting down your bucket where you are", Washington looks at slavery as a form of resilience that has been overcome. He focuses on the positives of the circumstances around him and doing the best he can do instead of dwelling on the negatives. Jacobs is much more pointed about the viciousness and inhumanity of slavery than Washington. Her intent is to expose slavery's horrors, and as someone living directly in the antebellum era, can't just brush over slavery as an unfortunate history. She can't focus on improving herself by looking at the positives of slavery—instead, she focuses on the negatives to inspire action.
