Have you ever been to an auction? There are many items arranged for buyers to come and hunt for potential bargains. People come from near and far just get a good deal. I myself have been a potential buyer at an auction. The auction I attended had all types of items for sell from computers, to cars and trucks. Each item was tagged with an item number so buyers would know how to bid. No name, just a description. After reading Jacob’s The Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl, I will see auctions in a new light. Linda, in Jacobs story, is constantly struggling to move from being considered auction chattel to obtaining her freedom. Even though Dr. Flint owed her, she refused to allow him to rule over her. She was determined not to be like the other slave girls that had babies from their masters and then were discarded. ”I had seen several women sold, with his babies at the breast.” She wanted not only the American dream of freedom for her, but for her children as well. On more than one occasion, Linda’s family tried to purchase her with no success, but Linda had the determination and was filled with the hope that one day she would have her freedom. Linda finally obtains her freedom for herself, and her children by the kindness of Mrs. Bruce. Although she is truly grateful and excited, she struggles to accept that her life was bought and sold. She remarks, “ So I was sold at last! A human being sold in the free state of New York!” I love Linda’s spirit. She acknowledges her condition as changed, but she expresses that her life’s dream was something entirely different. Like many Americans today, Linda’s dream is to own a home. For in her mind she was always free.
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