The History Of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave

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In The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave Related by Herself, she gave first-person account of the inhumane nature of slavery and impacts it has on human dignity. Born in 1788 in Brackish Pond, Bermuda, her mother was a slave in the household of Mr. Charles Myners, and her father belonged to a shipbuilder called Mr. Trimmingham. Mary prince experience with slavery started at the tender age of twelve when she was hired to a neighboring household. Prince narrated her story in order to make sure that the "good people in England might hear from a slave what a slave had felt and suffered" (Prince, p.1). Mary’s motivation for writing The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave Related by Herself was to enlighten the English people about the dehumanizing nature of slavery. I will argue that Mary Prince’s novel focuses on how slavery destroyed families, as well as her courageous attempts to stand up for her rights and redeem her personal freedom. Her account of the atrocities of slavery eventually culminated in its abolishment, although she never achieved her goal to be a free person in the eyes of the law. Nothing is more painful than to separate an infant from her family and subject her to countless acts of abuse and overwhelming cruelties. Slavery destroyed families because infants were bought and separated from their parents. One instance is Cyrus, who was bought from his mother’s arm and subjected to the very worst of abuses .As narrated by Prince herself, “When I left my dear little brothers and the house in which I had been brought up, I thought my heart would burst” (Prince, P4). She was denied one most important thing in life, which is family. Family was her source of happiness. Although they were in slavery, leaving together with her mother and siblings provided emotional support. Family life is important in the sense that it gives you your basic

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