Nicole VanDerzee
English III, 11²
Mr. Fiorini
1/24/09
The book The Price of a Child by Lorene Cary really touched me as a female. Having to cope with losing a child is no easy task especially when the decision is losing a child or gaining freedom. Although this may sound cruel, the main character Ginnie/Mercer had two other children to take under consideration.
It all begins when Ginnie is sent with two of her three children to Philadelphia with her Master, Jackson Pryor. Pryor is taking a boat to Nicaragua and Ginnie and her children are along for the ride. Pryor goes out for dinner and leaves Ginnie and the children in the room of the hotel they are staying at. While he’s away Ginnie tries to get the attention of a maid. A man named Nig nag overhears and goes to a friend that will help her escape. Although it was extremely difficult Ginnie realizes that this is her chance and she needs to be willing to take it.
After this part in the book you begin to realize how strong she really is. While reading this I started to think to myself "what would I do if I were in that situation" or"what if my mother had to pick?" The saddest day in a mother’s life is losing her child and under these circumstances it’s no better. I felt for her in a way you would be sympathetic to a real person. The idea that affected me the most is that people did go through these types of situations. Real women had to choose their freedom over their babies.
Having read this novel it’s made me more appreciative to the freedom and family I’ve been blessed with. Sometimes when you fight for so hard the right to choose, you don’t want it so much anymore. It often makes things more difficult. Ginnie figures out the price of a child in the end; freedom.
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hey gurl, it seems like you have resorted to plot summary at some points. i like the questions you asked i also found it very interesting that you said, "Real women had to choose their freedom over their babies." why do you feel this way? once you have a child that should be your priority.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Gina about the lapse into plot summary...I was thinking the same thing.
ReplyDeleteYou started off with some powerful reactions to he novel. I would have liked to see you explore more deeply the kinds of psychological pressures you read Mercer experiencing in Cary's novel. What indications did you see of the weight that this decision had on Mercer over the course of the novel? How well did Cary communicate these pressures? How did you feel as a reader at specific moments? This might have made for quite an interesting examination of the ways in which a text can affect its readers.