Incidents entry 1

First, I would like to point out that Linda does a very good job of keeping an unemotional tone.  She has to do this to convince northerners to take her writing seriously.  “I have spoken plain English. Pardon me. I cannot use a milder term” (Brent 42).  She tries to the best of her ability to keep her writing somewhat detached and even apologizes when she can’t.  This may have been aided by the fact that she was treated a little better than most slaves.  Even with all of the hardships she describes, she is a ‘lucky’ slave.  The way she acts around Dr. Flint would get some slaves killed. When Dr. Flint ordered her to go to the cottage that he had built for her, she replied, “I will never go there.” (57).   She had refused his order and acted in an insolent way.  Instead of punishing her, he just walked out.  In most cases, if a slave caused any offence they were beaten or killed by their masters.  One master on another plantation came home intoxicated, “His body servant gave him some offence. He was divested of his clothes, except his shirt, whipped, and tied to a large tree in front of the house.” (47).   Linda had many an argument with her master and was rarely ever punished, unlike most other slaves.