The Author Examined: Mary Prince’s Autobiographic Goal Mary Prince tells about her experiences as a slave in the British West Indies in the autobiography The History of Mary Prince a West Indian Slave Narrative. This narrative exists in a time between the abolition of slavery in England, and the abolition of slavery in all of the British colonies. With the help of Thomas Pringle, Prince was able to publish her story which gives readers an insight into slavery in the British West Indies. It comes off as a cry from the heart, but it was well-crafted to stir the hearts of middle-class English audiences. From the start, with Prince’s birth in Bermuda all the way to her gaining freedom back in England, Prince is able to present a slave’s point
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Prince enforces the concept that slaves are not lazy, but wish for fair treatment. She first emphasizes her own work ethic by showing how she utilized opportunities to be industrious through taking in extra work to save up money to eventually become self-sufficient (23). She then moves on near the end to a statement meant to convince the English people of slaves’ work ethic in general “we don’t mind hard work, if we had proper treatment, and proper wages like English servants, and proper time in the week to keep us from breaking the Sabbath” (34). Through an examination of her own work ethic and the claims of the work ethic of other slaves, Prince is trying to compel the English people of the idea that slaves are worthy of being free, because they are not lazy and wish to work in reasonable …show more content…
The narrative itself acts as a window in to colonial era slavery through the eyes of Mary Prince and what she had endured. Because of the purpose of the book and the fact that it was geared towards English citizens, readers can tell what specific parts of the narrative are pieced together for that audience and what that says about their values at that time period. The power in Mary Prince’s narrative therefore, is how she presents her case in a way that gives a fair view of her story and will be able to move readers, mainly the English middle-class, to make a
Prince enforces the concept that slaves are not lazy, but wish for fair treatment. She first emphasizes her own work ethic by showing how she utilized opportunities to be industrious through taking in extra work to save up money to eventually become self-sufficient (23). She then moves on near the end to a statement meant to convince the English people of slaves’ work ethic in general “we don’t mind hard work, if we had proper treatment, and proper wages like English servants, and proper time in the week to keep us from breaking the Sabbath” (34). Through an examination of her own work ethic and the claims of the work ethic of other slaves, Prince is trying to compel the English people of the idea that slaves are worthy of being free, because they are not lazy and wish to work in reasonable …show more content…
The narrative itself acts as a window in to colonial era slavery through the eyes of Mary Prince and what she had endured. Because of the purpose of the book and the fact that it was geared towards English citizens, readers can tell what specific parts of the narrative are pieced together for that audience and what that says about their values at that time period. The power in Mary Prince’s narrative therefore, is how she presents her case in a way that gives a fair view of her story and will be able to move readers, mainly the English middle-class, to make a