Slave narratives were one of the earliest forms of African-American literature. The stories were written in an effort to inform those who were unaware of the hardships of slavery about how slaves were treated. The authors of these stories had direct experience of slavery and wanted help from abolitionists to end it. Most stories about slaves were not widely publicized and were often neglected over the years; however, some were highly regarded and paved the way for many writers of African descent today. Two slave stories that are noted today are “The Narrative of Frederick Douglass” written by Douglass himself and “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”. written by Harriet Jacobs. Both works contain the authors' personal accounts of slavery and how they managed to escape. Although their stories end with the liberation of Douglass and Jacobs, they share a similar account of a slave's horrific experience. Frederick Douglass's account reveals many of the ways that African Americans suffered under the oppression of slavery. For example, many slaves, including Douglass himself, did not know their own birthdays or much of their own family history. This was likely because slave children were separated from their true blood parents, either at birth or because they were sold to different slave owners. Slaves were only rationed a small amount of food which they had to try to conserve. In addition to preserving food, slaves had to learn how to preserve their clothing. Douglass mentions that each year, adult slaves were given only two shirts, a pair of pants, a pair of...... middle of paper ......ence whose attention they tried to solicit. In my opinion, I believe that Frederick Douglass' intention was to target educated Northern men, especially educated white men. Douglass's use of literary devices to describe his experiences as a slave and his vast vocabulary would likely not have been easily understood by the average man. Douglass most likely wanted to enlist the help of educated white Northerners to end slavery in the South. Harriet Jacobs wrote primarily for an audience of Northern women. Her story not only tells of the struggles of being a slave, it also speaks of the struggles of being a woman. The story of Jacob, a worthless, sexually abused woman whose primary concern is the safety and freedom of her children, was certainly relevant to all women who, at the time, were not considered equal to men..