Character Influences in "Up from Slavery" and "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"

 Throughout Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Washington's Up from Slavery, readers can see the main characters' differences and similarities. In this blog, I would like to focus on the people in their lives and how that affected them. I will identify the influential figures in Linda Brent and Booker T. Washington’s life and further discuss how they affected Linda Brent and Booker T. Washington’s views on life and mindsets regarding freedom and enslavement.

I will discuss Washington’s Up from Slavery first since his philosophies were a substantial part of what the Civil Rights movement became. Booker T. Washington’s mindset and philosophy essentially preached self-help and racial accommodation. He urged African Americans to accept discrimination and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work. Through this, he believed African Americans would win the respect of whites and lead to African Americans' assimilation into society. After reading his autobiography, I believe this mindset was influenced partially by a character in Up from Slavery. 

So who is the character in Up from Slavery who influenced Booker T. Washington? In my opinion, it is Mrs. Ruffner. Before Booker T. Washington started working for Mrs. Ruffner, the only objective on his mind was getting enough money to go to the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia. He is aching to go to this school, and when he sees Mrs. Ruffner’s vacant job position, he takes it immediately. This job is the key to his dreams, and he wants nothing more than to satisfy Ms. Ruffner. Mrs. Rufner has a reputation for being very strict with her servants, or in other words, respecting hard work. He says in the story that he understands her and that “the lessons that I learned in the home of Mrs. Ruffner were as valuable to him as any education”. Mrs. Ruffner was his employer and someone who was in a place of power above him; however, Booker T. Washington puts her on a pedestal for granting him the wish of education through her philosophy prioritizing good hard work. 

This follows throughout the story, especially at the end when he has to mop the floor to get a place as a janitor at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia. Instead of being angry about the scope of the situation (not receiving a place at the school because of his intelligence but his labor), he sees the situation as delightful. When he finishes cleaning the room, it is so clean that he gets allowed a spot in the institution as a janitor. He believes, in a sense, that he owes it to Mrs. Ruffner for teaching him how to clean thoroughly. He achieves his goal of education, but I argue his perception is false because he focuses more on how Mrs. Rufner helped him rather than his efforts. In a way, he gives Mrs. Rufner credit for his successes. He thinks highly of her and credits many successes of his own to her. This is consistent with his philosophy of being accepted by white people/placing them above African Americans. All in all, Mrs. Rufner was a character who prioritized and respected her through work. Booker T. Washington idolized her, which can answer how parts of his philosophy about hard work formed. 

 

As for Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the main influences are Dr. Flint and Linda Brent’s grandma. Linda Brent’s philosophy on freedom develops from her experiences with Dr. Flint and what her grandma tells her. For example, Dr. Flint is focused on controlling Linda Brent and taking everything she has. He takes her autonomy, freedom, and virtue. He buys her freedom and enslaves her, using his power to harass her. He takes her innocence, worth, and everything she has for herself; Linda Brent begins to believe that freedom cannot be bought because it is a fundamental right. This belief is reflected when Mr. Dodge talks to her friend. He says on page 67 that she said, “I despise the miscreant who demanded payment for what never rightfully belonged to him or his”. Without Mr. Flint’s abuse of her rights, I believe she would not have developed a mindset that believes that freedom cannot be bought. She believes that people should not be able to own her, especially disgusting folk like Mr. Dodge and Dr. Flint. Therefore, the negative influence of Dr. Flint caused Linda Brent to develop a mindset that says people do not have the right to buy or own her. This mindset is prominent throughout the story (I am going to put the quotes here so the blog does not go over the word limit):

51, “I knew that I was the greatest comfort of her old age, and that it was a source of pride to her that I had not degraded myself,”

127, “I Promised the dear old faithful friend that I would write to her as soon as I arrived, and put the letter in a safe way to reach her; but in my own mind I resolved that not another cent of her hard earnings should be spent to pay rapacious slaveholders for what they called their property."

155, “And even if I had not been unwilling to buy what I had already a right to possess, common humanity would have prevented me from accepting the generous offer.

163, “Tell me where she is, or bring her to me, and I will give her a chance to buy her freedom.”

- “I don’t think it would be of any use, sir. I heard her say she would go to the ends of the earth, rather than pay any man or woman for her freedom, because she thinks she has a right to it.”

167, “but I despise the miscreant who demanded payment for what never rightfully belonged to him or his. 

Thanks for reading this blog post! I was not expecting it to be this long…