Question

Which parts of these excerpts show that slaves had no legal rights and were often betrayed by their masters? Select one in the first excerpt and two in the second excerpt. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass (excerpt) Not a slave was left free. All remained slaves, from the youngest to the oldest. If any one thing in my experience, more than another, served to deepen my conviction of the infernal character of slavery, and to fill me with unutterable loathing of slaveholders, it was their base ingratitude to my poor old grandmother. She had served my old master faithfully from youth to old age. She was nevertheless a slave—a slave for life—a slave in the hands of strangers; and in their hands she saw her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren, divided like so many sheep, without being gratified with the small privilege of a single word as to their or her own destiny. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs (excerpt) He was a bright, handsome lad, nearly white; for he inherited the complexion my grandmother had derived from Anglo-Saxon ancestors. Though only ten years old, seven hundred and twenty dollars were paid for him. His sale was a terrible blow to my grandmother; but she was naturally hopeful, and she went to work with renewed energy, trusting in time to be able to purchase some of her children. She had laid up three hundred dollars, which her mistress one day begged as a loan, promising to pay her soon. The reader probably knows that no promise or writing given to a slave is legally binding; for, according to Southern laws, a slave, being property, can hold no property. While my grandmother was thus helping to support me from her hard earnings, the three hundred dollars she had lent her mistress were never repaid. NextReset

Answer 1

The best answer for this question would be:

 

1.       If any one thing in my experience, more than another, served to deepen my conviction of the infernal character of slavery, and to fill me with unutterable loathing of slaveholders, it was their base ingratitude to my poor old grandmother.

2.       Though only ten years old, seven hundred and twenty dollars were paid for him. His sale was a terrible blow to my grandmother; but she was naturally hopeful, and she went to work with renewed energy, trusting in time to be able to purchase some of her children.

 

These are some of the excerpts that explain how cruel slavery was back in the day and the injustice they receive.

Answer 2

The parts of the above excerpts which show that slaves had no legal rights and were often betrayed by their masters are:

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass (excerpt)  

"She had served my old master faithfully from youth to old age. She was nevertheless a slave—a slave for life—a slave in the hands of strangers; and in their hands, she saw her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren, divided like so many sheep, without being gratified with the small privilege of a single word as to their or her own destiny."

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs (excerpt)

"no promise or writing given to a slave is legally binding; for, according to Southern laws, a slave, being property, can hold no property."

"While my grandmother was thus helping to support me from her hard earnings, the three hundred dollars she had lent her mistress were never repaid." 

Fredrick Douglass wrote his own account of life in which he mentioned about the ills of slavery and about the hardships which the slaves had to undergo. He had tried to expose the cruelty of slavery which doesn't spare anyone born in a black family. He points out the idea that a slave is a form of property owned by the master and he possesses full control over him.

Harriet Jacobs wrote in her book the struggles which a slave women undergo to attain freedom. She talks about the sexual harassment and abuse they endured during their lifetime.