My first thoughts upon reading Jacobs' narrative, in correspondence with the journal prompt were that Harriet used emotional appeals frequently, some indirect and some direct, to stear the reader's thoughts towards an abolitionist ideology.
Personally I felt that her attempts at emotional appeal were effective and well-placed, so I am choosing to focus my entry on the ideas surrounding that aspect of the narrative...

1. "Pity me, and pardon me, O virtuous reader! You never knew what it was like to be a slave; to be entirely unprotected by law or custom; to have the laws reduce you to the condition of a chattel, entirely subject to the will of another" (2218).

In many ways this passage speaks for itself about the life of a slave girl. It's almost as if Harriet somehow knew what might be going through the heads of her future readers at this point in the story so it's almost as if this passage is an attempt to justify the strong emotional content of her narrative.

What is X?
X is a passage following Harriet's account of her feelings towards her master's wishes to turn her into a 'lady' by building her a cottage. She does not look upon this matter fondly, as is obvious.

What does X do?
X is one of the first instances that Harriet really speaks directly to the reader to 'pity her'. It also comes at a time when she is most desperate in her situation. Therefore, I think that X ultimately justifys her feelings and high emotion. It also forces the reader to have some kind of sympathy or understanding towards her.

What does X mean?
X means that, obviously, Harriet was extremely distraught. She means to get the reader's understanding and attention, and mostly awareness, by stating that they do not know how terrible her situation is even though she is telling them. However, considering that none of us are slave girls, it's kind of a hard concept to grasp and I think that this is partially the reason for Harriet's outcry.

2. "I feel that a slave woman ought not to be judged by the same standard as others" (2218).

This passage follows closely from the first that I quoted because it deals with the same situation. However, I think it is very strong in itself because it's one case where Harriet sets herself apart as a slave, however she does not seem downtrodden on the situation. I think that one can get the implied meaning that Harriet 'knows her place' as a slave girl and makes the best of her situation despite her distraught feelings toward the situation.

What is X?
X is a passage following Harriet's attempts at 'calling out' her mistakes. She tries to set herself apart and justify her actions, but does not really give herself the 'right'.

What does X do?
X gives the reader a direct message that, as a slave woman, Harriet should be set apart from other people, even other [male] slaves. Because of the intense hardships she has gone through, she is searching for some kind of understanding.

What does X mean?
X means that Harriet is admitting to herself her own shame for her actions [about the fact that she was willing to 'manipulate' Mr. Sands into buying her], however at the same time she is justifying them because she thinks that her situation will improve if he buys her. She thinks that she will be free.

3. "But as she grew oldershe evinced so much intelligence, and was so faithful, that her master and mistress could not help seeing it was for their interest to take care of such a valuable piece of property" (2210).

In this passage Harriet is referring to her grandmother. Personally I find it unintentionally heartbreaking because despite her grandmother's strengths as a person, which are mentioned, she was still a slave, and therefore, a piece of property.

What is X?
X is a passage that refers to the fact that no matter how good of a person a slave was, they were still a slave, which follows that they were property to their owners. This idea was universal during times of slavery.

What does X do?
X makes the reader realize that even though Harriet is a slave herself, with obviously some self-respect and worth, she still indirectly admits being a piece of property. The fact that she referred to her grandmother as property implies that she thought of all slaves, good and bad, as property just because that was partial to the time period.

What does X mean?
X means that no matter what kind of person a slave was and no matter what kind of a person their master and mistress was, they would never escape the label of being 'property'.

-Erica