you cut your wrists? You could have bled to death! Or did you cut them yourself? Dana replied, Yes. It got me home (Butler 242). Danas desperation to get away from the sickness of Rufus and of slavery drives her over the edge. She does the unthinkable to get away and loses her left arm in the process, a small price to pay for freedom.Jacobs plight for freedom although less bloody, is just as extreme. When she is certain her children are in danger she runs from the plantation of Mr. Flint. First, she runs to a friends house, but later is confined to a crawl space in her grandmothers house where she stays for approximately seven years. Jacobs recalls, It was a pent roof, covered with nothing but shingles according to the southern custom of such buildings. The garret was only nine feet long and seven wide. The highest part was three feet high and sloped down abruptly to the loose board floor. There was no admission for either light or air. (Jacobs 128)Both women are driven to act first, with little time for thought, Dana desperate to return to her own time whereslavery doesnt exist, and Jacobs, desperate to save her children and give them freedom.As stated earlier, Jacobs and Dana experience slavery from very different perspectives. Dana is well educated and prior to going back in time, has only read about slavery, while Jacobs, although literate, is born into slavery and knows nothing else. Yet these major differences do not change the veneer of slavery. Both are considered property and both had to endure and watch others endure unimaginable cruelties. It seems only natural that the similaritiesin their experiences produced similarities in how they reacted and how they escaped to freedom....
