John Carbone3/10/14FR 102In “Incidents in the Life of a Slave” by Harriet Jacobs, Jacob's writings demonstrate that they bring into questions the acceptance of slavery during the 1800s. Jacobs, writing within a "contact zone," attempts to connect the two societies in this story. According to Mary Louise Pratt, a contact zone is: “Social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and clash, often in highly conflictual contexts. asymmetrical power relations, such as colonialism, slavery or their consequences as experienced today in many parts of the world” (Pratt 607). Therefore, a contact zone is a mutual space where two completely different cultures collide and benefit from each other. Harriet Jacobs writes to a white audience so they understand what life as a slave was like. Since Jacobs was an activist during the era of slavery, she attempts to create a visual for readers of what slavery is and was. Regardless of the differences from Pratt's work, writing about the use of a contact zone, Jacobs presents a powerful piece of literature. If Jacobs and Pratt are both accurate in their view of contact zones, then why is the type of contact important? is this area demonstrated in their writings? Naturally, Jacobs was not alive when the phrase "contact zone" arose, but does the incorporation of a contact zone into his work change the way we read and understand Jacobs? All over the earth, especially in the United States, there are different types of communities and cultures that have combined to form one; so when you think about it, there are contact zones everywhere. In the idea that a contact zone even exists in Jacob's writing, his work could be viewed very differently. It is perhaps, given a...... middle of paper ......y which proves to be a source of inspiration. At a time when slavery was a monumental problem, most people in the North and South were poorly informed. Familiar with the contact zone in which Jacobs wrote, his work also reveals the idea of ​​overcoming the contact zone through the abolition of slavery. Jacobs, being a slave, had the ability to write about his life and capture the public's attention like how fragile his life was. Today it is clear that slavery was wrong, but in a time when the freedom of a few was not accepted, this work of encouragement was extremely crucial. Because Jacobs had taken the right position on this very important issue and had written a very strong autoethnographic article on contact zones. Even though his work doesn't exactly fit into Pratt's sweet spot, Jacobs' work clearly makes a valid argument against slavery..