Barbara S.

Humanities The Classic Slave Narratives: The History of Mary Prince By: Edited and with an Introduction By: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

10-3 BSGE 12.31.10

What part struck you the most and why? After reading the History of Mary Prince I found her story to be both very shocking and very sad. Her life from the beginning was in captivity. As her life went on her tortures got worse and worse. Her masters were really violent often giving her regular beatings for no reason at all. Her masters worked her from early morning until late night. She wasnt even allowed to attend church, and she could barely spend time with her husband. But the part of her story that struck me the most was when another slave in her masters Captain Is house, -Hetty- was beat terribly. A cow accidently got loose and Captain I got very mad. He stripped her down and tied her to a tree in the yard, and beat her until there wasnt a place on her body that wasnt black and blue. The worst part was that Hetty was pregnant at the time and Captain I did not care. He was very horrible to her, My master flew into a terrible passion, and ordered the poor creature to be stripped quite naked, notwithstanding her pregnancy, and to be tied up to a tree in the yard. He then flogged her as hard as he could lick, both with the whip and cows skin, till she was all over streaming with blood. He rested, and then beat her again and again. Her shrieks were terrible. The consequence was that poor Hetty was brought to bed before her time, and was delivered after severe labour of a dead child. She appeared to recover after her confinement, so far that she was repeatedly flogged by both master and mistress afterwards (Prince, 263). This part to me was the most shocking. The reason it was, was because the masters seem to have no regard for human life. They knew Hetty was pregnant and yet she was flogged for something that was not her fault. They hit her and hit her and eventually Captain I killed an innocent child. I think there is something very cruel in killing something so innocent and pure, like a baby. Also the fashion in which these beatings were given was simply inhumane. Her masters did not seem to whip the slaves for punishment but for sport. It seemed to bring Captain I and his wife pleasure. Thats why I found this so shocking. The pure malice and cruelty just seemed to leap off of the page when I read this. That is what struck me the most. CQs : Were Marys parents married? At this time were there any white slaves? What was the ration of Indian Slaves to African Slaves? Whatever happened to Marys husband?

How were the slaves that bought their freedom treated? Could they be re-captured and put back into slavery?