Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Jacobs frequently insists on the truth of her narrative.

For example, in Chapter 6, she writes, “Reader, I draw no imaginary pictures of southern homes. I am telling you the plain truth.” Why is it necessary for her to make this kind of appeal?

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It's important that Harriet Jacobs is believable in the narratives because she is attempting to draw her readers into the anti-slavery movement. She wanted people to understand the horrific circumstances under which many slaves lived. If she wasn't truthful or believable, it would all have been for nothing and would have hurt the cause.

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