The History of Mary Prince - Reading Response (Coursework Sample)

Name Tutor Course Date The History of Mary Prince - Reading Response 1. Mary Prince’s slave masters wield coercive power over the subject; it is primarily through force that these overlords cause the slave girl to do the slave-owners’ bidding. For example, Captain I does not seek Prince’s opinion when the slave-owner decides to sell off the girl to John Wood. The slavery environment severely strips Prince of her humanity. Specifically, slavery transforms Prince into an metaphorical ’inanimate entity’ that has no desires or wishes. In this light, Captain Darrel Williams gives off Prince to one of his grandchildren named Betsey Williams. As he does so, Williams does not consider the fact that Prince may not like to acquire a new master. 2. Prince indirectly opposes the slavery doctrine by marrying Daniel James while still under the control of Mr. Wood. The slave basically asserts that slaves deserve certain rights, including the liberty to seek a life companion. Prince directly resists slavery by seeking the assistance of the Anti-Slavery Society with regard to making the Wood household to grant freedom to the slave.   3. The Woods decline to allow Prince to purchase the lady’s freedom since such an act would denigrate the slave-owners’ social statuses. Having Prince under their command bestows elevated social positions to the Woods. The Woods’ adamant stance indicates that a slave-owner’s character is defined and constructed on the basis of whether or not one possesses slaves. 4. Prince’s gendered identity influences her experiences in that the lady faces some problems that are limited to female slaves. For example, Prince is separated from James, the woman’s husband, when the Woods take the lady from Antigua to England. Prince lacks the protection that a wife would derive from a husband. The woman’s gendered identity also influences how others portray Prince; British periodicals emphasize the lady’s story owing to her femininity. Moreover, Prince’s femininity impact how the lady experiences slavery; her female body reacts to the perils of slavery more than a man’s body would. The lady’s femininity also impacts on how others portray Prince; some masters view the lady as a rather subdued person due to the woman’s gender. 5. When she reaches England, Prince does not immediately depart from the Woods because the woman intends to first seek emancipation rights from her masters. She wishes to conform to established protocol of making a slave a free person. Prince does not receive the freedom the woman d...