The Autobiographical Narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself (1861), by Harriet A. Jacobs

Reading Passage Question

The autobiographical narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself (1861), by Harriet A. Jacobs, a slave of African descent, not only recounts an individual life but also provides, implicitly and (5) explicitly, a perspective on the larger United States culture from the viewpoint of one denied access to it. Jacobs, as a woman and a slave, faced the stigmas to which those statuses were subject. Jacobs crafted her narrative, in accordance with the mainstream literary (10) genre of the sentimental domestic novel, as an embodiment of cherished cultural values such as the desirability of marriage and the sanctity of personal identity, home, and family. She did so because she was writing to the free women of her day—the principal (15) readers of domestic novels—in the hopes that they would sympathize with and come to understand her unique predicament as a female slave. By applying these conventions of the genre to her situation, Jacobs demonstrates to her readers that family and domesticity (20) are no less prized by those forced into slavery, thus leading her free readers to perceive those values within a broader social context.

Some critics have argued that, by conforming to convention, Jacobs shortchanged her own experiences; (25) one critic, for example, claims that in Jacobs’s work the purposes of the domestic novel overshadow those of the typical slave narrative. But the relationship between the two genres is more complex: Jacobs’s attempt to frame her story as a domestic novel creates a (30) tension between the usual portrayal of women in this genre and her actual experience, often calling into

question the applicability of the hierarchy of values espoused by the domestic novel to those who are in her situation. Unlike the traditional romantic episodes in (35) domestic novels in which a man and woman meet, fall in love, encounter various obstacles but eventually marry, Jacobs’s protagonist must send her lover, a slave, away in order to protect him from the wrath of her jealous master. In addition, by the end of the (40) narrative, Jacobs’s protagonist achieves her freedom by escaping to the north, but she does not achieve the domestic novel’s ideal of a stable home complete with family, as the price she has had to pay for her freedom is separation from most of her family, including one of (45) her own children. Jacobs points out that slave women view certain events and actions from a perspective different from that of free women, and that they must make difficult choices that free women need not. Her narrative thus becomes an anti domestic novel, for (50) Jacobs accepts readily the goals of the genre, but demonstrates that its hierarchy of values does not apply when examined from the perspective of a female slave, suggesting thereby that her experience, and that of any female slave, cannot be fully understood without (55) shedding conventional perspectives.

“The autobiographical narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself (1861), by Harriet A. Jacobs”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 6 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analysing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

Question 1
The author of the passage displays which one of the following attitudes toward the position of the critics mentioned in line 23?

(A) complete rejection
(B) reluctant rejection
(C) complete neutrality
(D) reluctant agreement
(E) complete agreement

Question 2
According to the passage, Jacobs’s narrative departs from the conventions of a typical domestic novel in which one of the following ways?

(A) Jacobs’s protagonist does not ultimately achieve her freedom.
(B) Jacobs’s protagonist does not wish for the same ideals as the protagonists of domestic novels.
(C) Jacobs’s protagonist does not encounter various obstacles in her quest for love.
(D) Jacobs’s protagonist does not ultimately achieve the ideals of home and family.
(E) Jacobs’s protagonist does not experience the stigmas to which women and slaves were subject.

Question 3
It can most reasonably be inferred from the passage that the critics mentioned in line 23 hold which one of the following views?

(A) The mixture of literary genres in a single narrative often creates a useful tension that adds value to the narrative.
(B) The mixture of literary genres in a single narrative tends to cause the goals of both genres to be compromised.
(C) The mixture of literary genres in a single narrative tends to favor the genre having the greater degree of realism.
(D) The mixture of literary genres in a single narrative tends to favor the genre having the lesser degree of sentimentality.
(E) The mixture of literary genres in a single narrative can sometimes cause the goals of one of the genres to be compromised.

Question 4
Which one of the following, if true, would most support the position of the critics mentioned line 23?

(A) Most readers of Jacobs’s narrative when it was first published concluded that it was simply a domestic novel and were thus disinclined to see it as an attempt to provoke thought.
(B) Many reviewers of Jacobs’s narrative included passionate statements in their reviews calling for the immediate abolition of slavery.
(C) Most scholars believe that Jacobs’s narrative would not have been able to communicate its message effectively if it had not adopted the conventions of the domestic novel.
(D) Jacobs’s narrative was modeled not only after domestic novels of the period but after realistic novels whose goal was to point out social injustices.
(E) Jacobs’s goal in crafting her narrative was not only to preach against the injustices of slavery but also to tell a powerful story that would make those injustices vivid to readers.

Question 5
The author describes Jacobs’s narrative as an “antidomesic novel” (line 49) for which one of the following reasons?

(A) Jacobs’s protagonist does not lament her separation from her family.
(B) Jacobs’s protagonist is disinclined toward stereotypical domestic aspirations.
(C) Jacobs’s narrative reveals the limitations of the hierarchy of values espoused by the domestic novel genre.
(D) Jacobs’s narrative implicitly suggests that the desire for domestic ideals contributes to the protagonist’s plight.
(E) Jacobs’s narrative condemns domestic values as a hindrance to its protagonist’s development of personal identity.

Question 6
With which one of the following statements would the author of the passage be most likely to agree?

(A) Some authors of slave narratives allowed the purposes of the genre to overshadow their own experiences.
(B) The slave narrative, no less than the domestic novel, constitutes a literary genre.
(C) Authors who write in a particular genre must obey the conventions of that genre.
(D) An autobiography, no less than a novel, should tell a powerful story.
(E) Autobiographies should be evaluated not on their literary merit but on their historical accuracy.

Question 7
Which one of the following principles most likely governs the author’s evaluation of Jacobs’s narrative?

(A) Those autobiographical narratives that capture the mood of a particular period are thereby more valuable.
(B) Those autobiographical narratives that focus on accurately depicting the events in the individual’s life are thereby more valuable.
(C) Those autobiographical narratives that force readers to view certain familiar cultural values in a wider context are thereby more valuable.
(D) Those autobiographical narratives that are written from a perspective familiar to the majority of their readers are thereby more valuable.
(E) Those autobiographical narratives that employ the conventions of another literary genre are thereby more valuable.

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