# How does Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl develop the theme of Dehumanization and Identity?

> Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Linda Brent

## Answer

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Linda Brent develops Dehumanization and Identity across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.

Slavery reduces human beings to property, as Linda describes being a 'piece of merchandise' and a 'chattel,' yet she struggles to maintain her self-respect, moral integrity, and sense of identity against this systematic dehumanization.

Linda's need to conceal names and her self-deprecation about her abilities highlight the dehumanizing effects of slavery on education and self-perception.

Linda's realization that she is 'a piece of merchandise' and the description of enslaved people as 'God-breathing machines' underscore the dehumanizing nature of slavery.

Linda's father is treated as mere property; his death is ignored for party decorations, and slaves are beaten and sold without regard.

## Evidence

- [preface-by-the-author](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/incidents_in_the_life_of_a_slave_girl_se/chapters/preface-by-the-author.md): Linda's need to conceal names and her self-deprecation about her abilities highlight the dehumanizing effects of slavery on education and self-perception.
- [i-childhood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/incidents_in_the_life_of_a_slave_girl_se/chapters/i-childhood.md): Linda's realization that she is 'a piece of merchandise' and the description of enslaved people as 'God-breathing machines' underscore the dehumanizing nature of slavery.
- [ii-the-new-master-and-mistress](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/incidents_in_the_life_of_a_slave_girl_se/chapters/ii-the-new-master-and-mistress.md): Linda's father is treated as mere property; his death is ignored for party decorations, and slaves are beaten and sold without regard.
- [iii-the-slaves-new-year-s-day](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/incidents_in_the_life_of_a_slave_girl_se/chapters/iii-the-slaves-new-year-s-day.md): Enslaved people are treated as property to be hired or sold, waiting 'like criminals' to hear their doom, and old slaves are discarded after a lifetime of service.
- [iv-the-slave-who-dared-to-feel-like-a-man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/incidents_in_the_life_of_a_slave_girl_se/chapters/iv-the-slave-who-dared-to-feel-like-a-man.md): Benjamin declares 'we are dogs here; footballs, cattle, everything that's mean,' reflecting the dehumanization that drives his desperate bid for freedom.
- [vii-the-lover](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/incidents_in_the_life_of_a_slave_girl_se/chapters/vii-the-lover.md): Linda's reflection on the impossibility of love and family under slavery underscores the systematic denial of personhood and emotional bonds.
- [viii-what-slaves-are-taught-to-think-of-the-north](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/incidents_in_the_life_of_a_slave_girl_se/chapters/viii-what-slaves-are-taught-to-think-of-the-north.md): Linda argues that slavery brutalizes and dehumanizes slaves, but that this is a result of oppression, not inherent inferiority.
- [ix-sketches-of-neighboring-slaveholders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/incidents_in_the_life_of_a_slave_girl_se/chapters/ix-sketches-of-neighboring-slaveholders.md): Slaves are treated as property, subjected to brutal punishments, and denied basic humanity, as seen in the murders and tortures described.

## Links

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