In comparing Harriet Ann Jacobs in "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl", and Genji in "The Tale of Genji" (Murasaki Shikibu),
the paper shows the two could not have led more
different lives when looked at on the surface, but when they are examined more closely there are
similarities. The paper describes how Jacobs grew up as a slave girl and Genji in a royal court and their lives were different on a day to day basi, but both characters shared two important similarities - the love of family and friends and the the tragic loss of their mothers at a young and vulnerable age.