PLEASE READ INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. ***Outside sources (internet and books not assigned for the class) are NOT allowed. I will provide all information you need. Women’s America: Thavolia Glymph, “Women in Slavery: The Gender of Violence” Documenting the American South: Selections from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself, by Harriet Jacobs http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/menu.html (from this menu page, click on “HTML file” under the “Full Text” heading, then scroll down to the “Contents” section and click on the assigned chapters) The required selections are: Jacobs: The Trials of Girlhood (Ch. V); The Jealous Mistress (Ch. VI); The Lover (CH. VII); A Perilous Passage in the Slave Girl’s Life (Ch. X); The New Tie to Life (Ch. XI); Another Link to Life (Ch. XIV); Continued Persecutions (Ch. XV). Also read the bibliographical information on Jacobs. This bibliographical information is extremely important. This information provides the context that identifies where the events in the book took place and who the characters were. Click on “About Harriet A. Jacobs (Harriet Ann), 1813-1897” (under the “Learn More” heading). Exercise Instructions: Reading Response Paper Write a response to ONE of the two questions below. Base your discussion on the chapters from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself. You may also use—I encourage you to use--the other readings listed above. Construct the reading response as if you were writing a short essay (with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion). Be sure to include specific context (for example, in your introduction, identify Jacobs’s full name, title of her work and its publication date, when and where Jacobs lived, etc.). Double space, and use 12 point font, Times New Roman, and 1 inch margins. Be sure to include context and evidence. Cite all information that is not your own (or common knowledge). You do not need to use Chicago format for the reading response, but citations that include page numbers and identification of the author are required. These citations should directly follow your direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. Failure to provide this documentation will result in a zero as an exercise grade. ***Outside sources (internet and books not assigned for the class) are NOT allowed. Questions (choose one) 1. How does Jacobs portray Mrs. Norcum? What strategy does this portrayal serve in her account? 2. Why does Jacobs address her reader directly? What values does she assume her reader to have? To what extent did Jacobs share these values? To what extent did she reject them?

Harriet Ann Jacobs was a slave girl from North Carolina, who was born and bred in slavery. She wrote by herself the novel; Incidents in the life of a slave girl, which she did in intervals at any time when she had time for herself. The novel was published in 1861 and edited by L. Maria Child. Harriet Jacobs worked as a slave at the house of Dr. Flint who sexually molested her in the prime age of her life until she fled.