Exploring the Text

Access the text here.

  1. What effect does the preface have on the reader? What appeals does it make?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What effect does the preface have on the reader? What appeals does it make?
  2. How would you describe Harriet Jacobs’s tone at the beginning of Chapter 7?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - How would you describe Harriet Jacobs’s tone at the beginning of Chapter 7?
  3. Were you surprised by Jacobs’s replies to Dr. Flint’s demands (pars. 13–24)? What do they suggest about her character?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Were you surprised by Jacobs’s replies to Dr. Flint’s demands (pars. 13–24)? What do they suggest about her character?
  4. Jacobs writes, “Reader, did you ever hate? I hope not. I never did but once; and I trust I never shall again. Somebody has called it ‘the atmosphere of hell;’ and I believe it is so” (par. 26). On what does she base her belief in the validity of that statement? Are you surprised that she would say that she hated only once? Explain.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Jacobs writes, “Reader, did you ever hate? I hope not. I never did but once; and I trust I never shall again. Somebody has called it ‘the atmosphere of hell;’ and I believe it is so” (par. 26). On what does she base her belief in the validity of that statement? Are you surprised that she would say that she hated only once? Explain.
  5. How successfully does Jacobs create suspense in Chapter 7?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - How successfully does Jacobs create suspense in Chapter 7?
  6. In Chapter 10, Jacobs pleads her case with the reader. What is the rhetorical effect of her use of direct address in paragraph 34? How does the direct address in the next paragraph (par. 35) differ? How do both instances contribute to her narrative?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - In Chapter 10, Jacobs pleads her case with the reader. What is the rhetorical effect of her use of direct address in paragraph 34? How does the direct address in the next paragraph (par. 35) differ? How do both instances contribute to her narrative?
  7. Jacobs writes, “I was a poor slave girl, only fifteen years old” (par. 36). How does knowledge of her age affect your response to the narrative?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Jacobs writes, “I was a poor slave girl, only fifteen years old” (par. 36). How does knowledge of her age affect your response to the narrative?
  8. Jacobs concludes paragraph 38: “I feel that the slave woman ought not to be judged by the same standard as others.” In that paragraph, how does she use rhetorical strategies to prepare the reader for that claim?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Jacobs concludes paragraph 38: “I feel that the slave woman ought not to be judged by the same standard as others.” In that paragraph, how does she use rhetorical strategies to prepare the reader for that claim?
  9. What irony does Jacobs use to conclude Chapter 10? Explain. How does the irony contribute to the overall effect of the narrative?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What irony does Jacobs use to conclude Chapter 10? Explain. How does the irony contribute to the overall effect of the narrative?