Lauren Carbone 11-2
English III
Mr Fiorini
January 30,2008
The Price of a Child, Letter to Pryor
Dear Pryor,
I beg of you from the deepest plea of my heart, as a former slave and caring mother, for you to bring the youngest of my children back into my life. Although receiving my freedom meant leaving behind one of the greatest joys of my being, as a mother I had to provide a greater life for my two other children. A life of freedom by which their young deprived souls had so greatly deserved and yearned for throughout their short but experienced lives. Children should not live a life where day after day they witness the tired hands of their mother work as a slave and follow the commands of a master. Is it fair for the eyes of those young innocent children to see time pass with no opportunity for them to live there lives or experience the joy of anticipating a bright future? I gave my children that burst of hope by receiving freedom for them and myself as well. Now I ask of you, my former master, to allow me to provide that same burst of hope for my son Bennie.
I live each day seeing the face of my Bennie reach out for his mother, but she is never to be found. Leaving my son in Virginia as I live as a free woman in Pennsylvania haunts me for I am living the life I wish for him. A cloud of depression follows the path I walk upon filling my days with sorrow and remembrance of the moments I was able to attend to my baby boy. Although I have become familiar with the tears I shed for him, I will never give up until he is safe in my arms. I don’t want Bennie to grow up asking questions of his mother and why she had abandoned him. Here, in Pennsylvania, a loving family waits for him, as well as siblings that so desperately wish to play a role in his life. I am willing to do anything in my power to see that he receives the hope and inspiring future that I could provide him with if he was here with me.
I may not have a pocket full of money or anything of your value, but what I do have is a heart full of love for the child I brought into this world. I will do anything necessary to obtain the money required to purchase him, or do what is needed to meet your desires. However I am no longer a possession of yours, nor am I obligated to do as you say. As far as I am concerned any debt I might have owed to you has been long over paid. So now I ask you as a human being to complete my family and reunite us all to improve our lives together and work to become the family we had always hoped to be.
Yours Truly,
Mercer Gray
heyy laur i just read your letter and i had to coment it because it really stood out to me. the first sentence grabbed my attention. it was really powerful and the words you used were really vivid and advanced. i really liked how you used the sentence "A cloud of depression follows the path I walk upon filling my days with sorrow and remembrance of the moments I was able to attend to my baby boy." I also liked the whole letter idea. It was something i wouldnt think to do as an assignment. you really did a good job with it !
ReplyDeleteI feel all the words and phrases you used were very powerful. Your letter seems very persuasive and if I was the person on the other end reading this I dont there would be any way of saying no. Y our words soeak through Mercer and show the loving and caringness she has for her children and also how desperatly she just wanted Bennie back.
ReplyDeleteNice work Lauren. I'm wondering at what point in the novel you envisioned Mercer having written this and whether there is a way to indicate this through your letter. It might be interesting to provide an introduction to a piece like this that provides some context for when this was written. (Or you might do something as simple as dating the letter.)
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