Chapter 1 of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL. WRITTEN BY HERSELF. “Northerners know nothing at all about Slavery. They think it is perpetual bondage only. They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
Chapter 1 of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
the state of being under the control of a force or influence or abstract power
From this reading “They think it is perpetual bondage only.”
an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances
From this reading “They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.””
changing to a lower state (a less respected state)
plural of “incident” — a single distinct event
From this reading “INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL.”
plural of “northerner” — an inhabitant of the North
From this reading ““Northerners know nothing at all about Slavery.”
inflected form of “overthrow” — cause the downfall of; of rulers
From this reading “They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.””
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading “They think it is perpetual bondage only.”
the state of being under the control of another person
From this reading ““Northerners know nothing at all about Slavery.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “Northerners know nothing at all about Slavery.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “Northerners know nothing at all about Slavery.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Northerners know nothing at all about Slavery.
the state of being under the control of a force or influence or abstract power
From this reading They think it is perpetual bondage only.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading WRITTEN BY HERSELF.
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
changing to a lower state (a less respected state)
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
the extent downward or backward or inward
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
plural of “effort” — earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
a young female
From this reading INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading WRITTEN BY HERSELF.
provoking horror
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL.
plural of “incident” — a single distinct event
From this reading INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL.
connected by participation or association or use
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading They think it is perpetual bondage only.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading They think it is perpetual bondage only.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Northerners know nothing at all about Slavery.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
not any; not one
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
plural of “northerner” — an inhabitant of the North
From this reading “Northerners know nothing at all about Slavery.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading “Northerners know nothing at all about Slavery.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL.
and nothing more
From this reading They think it is perpetual bondage only.
inflected form of “overthrow” — cause the downfall of; of rulers
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading They think it is perpetual bondage only.
a person who is owned by someone
From this reading INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL.
the state of being under the control of another person
From this reading “Northerners know nothing at all about Slavery.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
instrumentality that combines interrelated interacting artifacts designed to work as a coherent entity
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They think it is perpetual bondage only.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading They think it is perpetual bondage only.
up to a particular time
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading They have no conception of the depth of _degradation_ involved in that word, Slavery; if they had, they would never cease their efforts until so horrible a system was overthrown.”
set down in writing in any of various ways
From this reading WRITTEN BY HERSELF.
Chapter 1 of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet A. (Harriet Ann) Jacobs holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 416 sentences of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet A. (Harriet Ann) Jacobs exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
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Yes. All 5010 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11030 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11030, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 417 minutes of reading across 1002 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
