cobs uses sarcasm when saying "Pity me, and pardon me, o virtuous reader..." (490) to show how ashamed she is and show that it deeply bothers her. She also uses it to let the readers know that they have done things in their life that they are not proud of either, so why judge her on what she had done. Besides using sarcasm, Jacobs also uses standard abolitionist rhetoric and overwrought sentimental style, and also a combination of both.Jacobs swore to herself that she would never engage in sexual acts with her master, however, she broke her promise to herself. By confessing to it, Jacobs shows how evil slavery was, whereby it could make a person give up their own integrity by choice and go against something they believe. This is something that a person has to live with for the rest of their lives, and this shows how degrading slavery is.Harriet Jacobs uses the technique of apologizing to the readers over and over in the beginning of the text before she starts telling her story. She does this to show that even with her lack of higher education she still puts herself forth into public discussions because she feels it is very important to make her point and to try to get more people involved in the antislavery movement. This shows great dedication. She apologizes for something that is not her fault and says it in a way that shows her lack of education was not by choice and that it was one of the effects of slavery. Jacobs tells the readers that she trusts they will excuse deficiencies because of her circumstances. This way she is directing readers to concentrate on her motives, not on her as an individual and not on her writing abilities. She furthermore points out that she did not write about her life-story for her own search for closure or comfort. She did it for a greater purpose; she did it to help her persecuted people, and this is what she wants the readers to be directed to.When telling her story Jacobs had to form it into...
