Examples Of Changing Loyalty In Chains By Laurie Halse Anderson

The American Revolution resonated with all classes of society, as it stood to divide a nation’s loyalties and recreate the existing fabric of society. During the 1770s to mid 1780s, no group living in the British American colonies was left unaffected. For blacks enslaved in America, the war presented the fleeting possibility of freedom in a nation that was still dependent on an economic structure of oppression and bondage. For those blacks that were free, they chose their alliances wisely in hopes of gaining economic opportunities and improving their status in the American colonies. The American Negroes, whether free or enslaved, could be found on either side of the battlefront. They took on many different roles, some fighting on the

Certainly, freedom was supposed to be “freer”” for those slaves that had fought for their rights after years of submissionn, but, unfortunately, many white Southern people continued to ignore the law by not showing any respect for Africans-Americans. Because of the radical reconstruction in the south, the African-Americans were a step closer from the same political

Slavery, Hardships, and Freedom? This book describes a day in a life of Frederick Douglass. In 2013, I saw a movie called ’12 Years A Slave’ reading this book and watching the movie was eye-opening for me. ‘My Freedom’ in this book explains that young Douglass suffered as a slave, when which he failed to flee his ‘Bondage’, then eventually he escapes that life. Douglass’s story continues to reverberate throughout his life and the American Dream that he conquered all the obstacles that he overcame and reached his goal. He shows us that you can achieve your goals if you strive for it. “My Bondage and My Freedom” is an eye-opener for your life and you can compare your life and see how you can make a change

During the times times of when the founding fathers lived, the slaves they brought in suffered from the chains on their hands and being dragged by their owners. In the book, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, the protagonist, Isabel, is one of those slaves. She was taken away from her home and was sold with her family when she was only 1 year old. Curzon is a slave who fights for the patriots in order to gain his freedom. Isabel and Curzon are bound by their chains from their lives. Even as their experiences may be different, they share many chains events that bind them together. This is shown through their scars, their quest for freedom, and their imprisonment.

Freedom and Liberty are explained in many ways and in “Chains” by Laurie Halse Anderson it is explained in the American Revolution by different types of people like Patriots, the rebels that are fighting against the king to become independent, the Loyalists that want to stay with the king of Great Britain, and the slaves. The slaves are working for both Patriots and Loyalists and they chose different sides but still have their own opinion like Isabel who is more on the Patriots side but still has here opinion on freedom. They all have their own interpretation of the words, “Freedom and Liberty” but they're all different. In the book Isabel is a slave with her sister Ruth, and is with a kind woman until she dies then she is sold to the

In this statement, the white men threaten to beat Henry Adams and every other negro that said they didn't belong to anyone. If they were truly free the slaves would not have to worry about anything like this. This is just further proof that slaves were not actually

Douglass began his speech to the audience by asking a series of rhetorical questions in addition to the use of sarcasm. He referred to the Declaration of Independence as “that” instead of “the” Declaration stressing a separation between African-Americans and the freemen of the United States. He extended the use of his rhetoric by asking, “What have I or those, I represent, to do with your national independence?” Slaves, whose freedom is denied, do not share other Americans’ patriotic feelings regarding the Fourth of July. His use of these rhetorical questions was valid because it separated Douglass as a different man than the rest of his white audience. Furthermore, Douglass asked, "Would you have me argue that man is entitled to liberty?" He indicated that people knew in their hearts that all were entitled to freedom. Douglass demonstrated sarcasm in this principle of freedom, almost as if the aforementioned rhetorical question shouldn’t need to be stated. He further declared that the stigma separating free whites and enslaved African-Americans was blatantly foolish.

By supporting the Revolutionaries actions to break free from British Rule, Douglass alluded to the similar fight that the American population faced to attain the same liberty that white citizens had. With the same courage the Founding Fathers had to create a free country, the American generation of 1852 faced a similar test to uphold the values of the Declaration of Independence, and liberate American slaves.7 After applauding the Founding Fathers, Douglass acknowledges that the emphasis of his speech is not to give praise, but to call on America to act on it’s own failures and begin to faithfully fulfill the nations oath.8 He asks his audience, “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us [African Americans]?”9 This rhetorical question Douglass presents, challenges America to reevaluate what they are truly celebrating on the Fourth of July, for it is surely not the freedom in which they claim to have achieved. Douglass asserts that asking black people to rejoice in the “shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery”10 and do not respect the courage, and steps the Founding Fathers took to create a free, liberated nation.11

According to google, the definition of freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. The Freedom from imprisonment or enslavement from those who holds a person against their power or will. However, when freedom is expressed by an ex-slaved, their views are completely different. Ex-slaves found it difficult to adjust to the liberal freedom because they have to deal with relocating families, no political rights to vote, and the ability to establish land.

In these two tales of brutal bondage, Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Frederick Douglass' Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the modern reader can decipher two vastly different experiences from circumstances that were not altogether that dissimilar. Both narratives tell the story of a slave gaining his or her freedom from cruel masters, yes, but that is where the most prominent similarities end. Not only are they factually different, these stories are entirely distinct in their themes.

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”- Nelson Mandela. The quote is describing how freedom is not only being out of chains but to be able to be in society with respect from all. Freedom can also mean a lot of different things depending on the person. For example to a teenager freedom could mean them getting out from under their parents supervision or parental control. But, freedom to an adult that works everyday of the week, their freedom can be, not have to work on the weekends, which gives them their freedom to do anything they want to do. In the slave narrative Incidents of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs about her life as a slave, freedom means Linda (aka Harriet Jacobs) being free from slavery, being away from Dr. Flint, and to have her family free with her. She tries to achieve her freedom in many different ways. She confesses to Mrs. Flint about the advances Dr. Flint makes towards her, she falls in with a free black man, and gets pregnant by Mr. Sands. She uses these to achieve her freedom from Dr. Flint’s advances. She also achieves her freedom by running away to her grandmother’s attic, and running away to the North. Linda also achieves her freedom when Dr. Flint had died and when Mrs. Bruce being her savior.

However in the novel, The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead, freedom is just a dream every African American character desires. Whether enslaved or free they must navigate the impossible choice between slavery or racism. The stigma of colored people create this idea that Ridgeway believes "If niggers were supposed to have their freedom, they wouldn't be in chains. If the red man was supposed to keep hold of his land, it'd still be his. If the white man wasn't destined to take this new world, he wouldn't own it now." (Whitehead) Similarly, any white person who feels sympathy for the enslaved is confronted with the fact that if they choose to assist enslaved people, they will likely be killed along with their families.

Throughout history, rebellions have occurred in attempts to solve issues of discontent caused by wants or needs that were not met. Bacon’s Rebellion, the Stono Rebellion, the uprising of the Paxton Boys, and the Regulator Movement all represent situations of this kind. For Nathaniel Bacon and the Paxton Boys it was conflict of security; they were not receiving adequate protection from the natives. For the slaves and the western Carolinians, it was an issue of freedom and injustice.They resented the unfair treatment they experienced and wanted this inequality to change. These events represented just four in a long history of American conflicts and oppression where, as Bacon, the slaves, the Paxton Boys, and the Carolinians demonstrate, one

During the mid 1800’s, slavery was a large problem in southern America. The slaves were underclassmen who had no rights, were treated terribly, and were often harshly punished. Many African Americans were angered with the poor treatment, and could not do anything about it. Change was in order, but America had not made any changes. That is until Frederick Douglass, an escape-slave, spoke at a large Fourth of July celebration in Rochester, New York about slavery in the United States. Frederick Douglass was once a slave in the South, but he was able to escape to Northern America, where he worked as a laborer to make a living for himself. Douglass was then able to buy his own freedom within the United States, enabling him to start a newspaper column supporting the anti-slavery movement. He wrote about the lack of rights African slaves had and what could be done differently within the United States. Until one day he was able to finally tell everyone the truth about America and the African American slaves during his speech. Frederick Douglass supports the theme that all people should have the same independence rights in his speech “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” with the use allusions and repetition.

It is tragically ironic that white Americans brazenly celebrate their freedom and independence while denying those rights to others. Not only do they withhold independence from slaves, but they force them to partake in independence celebrations that do not apply to them. Douglass uses symbolic imagery such as the “temple of liberty” to illustrate the desperately craved, almost holy place of autonomy that slaves cannot reach. If Americans actually practice the ethics that state mean so much to them, situations of mass enslavement of a race of people would not exist. Americans must, “stand by its esteemed principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost” (Douglass