I choose the book “Chains” by Laurie Halse Anderson. This book was recommended to be by Ms. Walker and Mrs. Horne. The book has great reviews and has won two awards, so I assumed it would be worth reading. My immediate thought was about the title and how it reminded me of Nick Jonas and his song “Chains”. However, the book had nothing to do with Nick and was based on a slightly different time period. Isabelle and her sister Ruth have lost both of their parents and Ms. Finch, the master they worked for. Ruth and Isabel now have to be sold to a new master, Mr. and Mrs. Lockton. Life with the Locktons is hard but bearable for isabel. That is until Mrs. Lockton takes ruth away from her. This is when Isabell decided that she has lost everything …show more content…
Slavery has been around since the beginning of civilization. Ancient Greeks even had slaves, called Helots, in the BC era. "You are a slave, not a person". As you can see from this quote, slaves in this time period were not seen as real people but as worthless servants. Masters could force their slaves to do anything and everything. The slaves had no rights and would be beaten or killed if they tried to rebel. “A scar is a sign of strength. . .the sign of a survivor.” This quote is referring to a scar ISabelle got for disobeying her master. I choose this quote because it is an example of the attitudes the slaves had to have to survive. Slavery wasn't the only battle going on during this time. There was the battle between the loyalist and the rebels. All of England was under the rule of King George III, but some didn't want to be. These people were called Rebels and they wanted their independence and freedom from the British. In the book you will find information on battles during the war and what it was like to fight in these battles. ‘’Just because their owners don't give them credit to act on the information they hear doesn't mean that slaves can't do something with it.’’ I liked this quote because it taught me something I had never even thought about. Masters would say anything in front of their slaves and not give it a second thought because they didn't consider them …show more content…
For example, I knew slavery was harsh but it is completely different when you read about their daily life and how extreme things were. The book also allowed me to feel connected to Isabelle and to the time period. I liked Isabelle and her determination, so whenever she was hurt I took it personally and felt like it was my friend hurting. The book gave a realistic account of being alive during the Revolutionary War, which I liked. Many people think of the Revolutionary War as being glorious, but it wasn't, People were shot and killed and if you weren't killed immediately you were taken to a prison and starved.
The soldiers were dedicated to their army and gave everything to be victorious. In conclusion, I thought it was a very well written book and I enjoyed reading it. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. The book is very helpful in giving a relatable version of life during this time. Although you don't need to be obsessed with this topic, the book would be more enjoyable for people who are interested in the Revolutionary
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson tells the story of 13-year-old Isabel, a slave during Revolutionary War times. Miss Mary Finch was the previous owner of Isabel and her 5-year-old sister, Ruth. She had promised the girls freedom (from slavery) in her will. Despite this, after Miss Mary’s death, her nephew, Robert Finch sells the girls to a malicious Loyalist couple living in New York City. While Isabel is figuring out the city, she meets Curzon Bellingham, a slave with a passion for the Rebel cause, who tells her that if she provided them with information about the Loyalist’s activities, she would be helped to escape back to Rhode Island with her sister.
In the book, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, both Isabel and Ruth lived a slave’s life. Their quality of life varied in the three places they had stayed. Each place they stayed of course had they’re downfalls and some had small perks, but no place was nothing like home. Since the two girls mom was stripped away from the girls leaving them with no one else to protect them, the girls had no other choice then to become a slave. The girls slaved at three places throughout the book.
Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a slave and having to work for somebody and listen to their every command and follow through with it? Well if you have, then you might know how Isabel felt. She had to listen to somebody tell her what to do and pity her like she was a wild animal because if you had dark skin, you were basically a wild animal. Slaves were treated differently in different areas and had different jobs to do. It all depended on the location you were in. Throughout the book, Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Isabel went to different work environments such as a small farm, plantation, and a big city.
In the book, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character Isabel has lived in many different places throughout the book.She has lived in plantation, the Lockton’s home in New York, and the small farm that Miss Mary Finch owned before her death.City life for a slave was usually pretty good depending on your master. In the book Isabel unfortunately gets stuck Madam Lockton who treats her worse than a slave owner usually would. Slaves would usually go to the market many times a day to get their master anything they needed as often as they needed it. The work load for a city slave was usually the basic cleaning and cooking for the slave’s master. Small farms was in the middle of city life and plantation life. The work would often be tending
“Chains” by Laurie Halse Anderson portrays the life of Isabel, a young slave in the American Colonies. When her master died, she was promised freedom out of her will. However, her master’s nephew took her ownership and is sold to the Lockton family. During this period of hardship, another great conflict takes place. The American Revolution.
During the colonial era, there were three groups of people with three varying political beliefs; the Patriots, the Loyalists, and the slaves. In the novel Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, she writes about how the term “Freedom and Liberty” meant something different to each of the groups. This liberating idea drove the different parties to act a certain way throughout the book. For example, the Patriots fought courageously against Britain even though they posed no threat whatsoever to them. The Loyalists, on the other hand, conquered entire Rebel cities to drown out the Patriots’ beliefs. Lastly, the slaves would act fearlessly and do things to spite their masters regardless of their political position. All in all, these diverse classes of
The book I read was called Chains written by Laurie Halse Anderson. This book was about standing up for your self even if you are not the biggest person or the most powerful person in the room. I think it teaches a lot of children a lesson. You can stand up for yourself, no mater what atmosphere you are in. A lot of people struggle with feeling not important and people can say what they want, because you don't matter. The author did a really great job of teaching that lesson.
The book was very well put together and organized with documented evidence and interviews from important people. A lot of research was put into this book and all the research used is cited in the back of the book. Since the topic is such a controversial topic I understand that all the information had to be correctly used which is why the research was so in-depth. The book was easy to read there was a few words I was unsure of and had to define in order to better understand them. The situation itself brought up other issues of that time such as: social, economic, and politics. The conclusion at the end really helps by summing up some main points considering there is a lot of information throughout the reading. The drawing and pictures included in the text are very interesting and it is really cool to get to see
The book is a good book because it makes you ask questions while you're reading it but what's happening and to get a better understanding on what's happening in the story. Like in my book the characters wonder if their dad is going to come home from the war and if he's alive or dead. This makes you question if he is really dead or alive
The life of a slave was an unfair and unjust degrading way to live. "I was often awakened at the dawn of the day by the most heart-rending shrieks, the louder that they screamed the harder they got whipped. Where the blood ran the fastest, there he whipped the longest" (Douglass, 3). Slaves were classified as property; they were inferior
But, the way the author used symbolism, foreshadowing, and relatable quotes stood out to me the most. When I was reading and even after, I found myself making connections and thinking deeper into the books
For the most part, the novel was very enjoyable. One aspect of it that I loved was that the storyline was extremely intense, which always compelled me to find out what would happen next. For example,
What does this account reveal about the nature of slavery and how slavery affected southern society?
I really liked the book. It was very enjoyable to read. I would recommend it to my friends, because I think they
A law was made that allowed all slaves who fought in the war to be free after one year of fighting. The slave’s owner, of course, had to consent. Over the course of the revolution, the concept of a slave went from a lowly character to a person of worth – anybody fighting for the colonies was respected for standing up for the rights of the colonies.