Freedom And Liberty In The Book Chains By Laurie Halse Anderson

In Laurie Halse Anderson’s historical fiction novel Chains, Anderson uses fictional characters to describe real life situations that some may have faced during the Revolutionary War. All these characters in the story are fighting for the same thing, freedom. The definition of freedom, however, varies for multiple characters in the story. Curzon, an African-American slave who sides with the rebels, is fighting with “my master and those he serves, the rebels, the Congress. We’re fighting for freedom from people like Lockton [a loyalist].” (p. 39) The main character of the story Isabel meets another African-American slave at a well who was taught that “if the British win, we’ll all be free.” (p. 165) For the other races

In the book “Chains” by Laurie Halse, it talks about a girl named Isabel, who was born as a slave. Isabel has faced many challenges in her life, ranging from her abusive witch-like owner Madame Lockton, to choosing whether to side with Great Britain or America. The old man Isabel calls grandfather, tells her, “Everything that stands between you and freedom is the River Jordan.” When talking about about the River Jordan, her grandfather means that Isabel must overcome her problems (the River Jordan) to find freedom and escape from the brutality of being a slave. There are many things that get in the way of Isabel on her quest to freedom, such as Madame Lockton, choosing sides, finding Ruth, and a potential way Isabel can find freedom. Each

Injustice is a prevailing theme in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Tubman, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, Spider Woman 's Web by Susan Hazen-Hammond and Great Speeches by Native Americans by Bob Blaisdell; the diligence of several characters have made it possible for them to preserve and overcome injustices. America has not always been a land of the free for colored people; white settlers destroyed the meaning of freedom when they robbed the land from the indigenous people. Freedom was also destroyed when slaves in America were not treated as full human beings. Despite of many obstacles the oppressed faced, their thirst for freedom and determination helped them in reaching their goals.

as shown on pg 246, “In this quote she clearly states that she dislikes her lifestyle but finds no other way to escape this punishment then to run away. but she doesn’t only suffer from physical chains. Her mental chains affect her even deeper than her physical chains. She is bounded by her hope to find her sister Ruth who was sold away, evident on pg 132.” “She’s(Ruth) gone,’ Becky said ...’Where’...Sold ”. She also has a specific sense of freedom her from others. So even when she gets hurt over and over again Isabel takes initiative for her freedom. She spies for the rebel group, only to be betrayed by one of the higher-ups. Which later causes her to join the British cause who assured her freedom but is revealed to only take rebel slaves. She was betrayed twice and hurt more times then to be counted but yet she doesn’t give up that sense of freedom. She tries her

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 Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson is about the struggles of a slave's life. In the beginning of the story we meet Isabel and Ruth whose parents are dead. They are African-American slaves. They become slaves for a planation, small farm, and a city. In different places such as a planation, small farm, and a city they had different life styles.

“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.

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.

A slave’s life is one of poverty, no privacy, severe punishments, and cruel working conditions. A slave’s home life on the plantation consisted long hours of hard work, and harsh punishments if they were to make a mistake. According to a source titled On the Plantation, it states, “She say [slaves] didn’t need nothing to eat. They just like animals, not like other folks. She whip me, many time with a cowhide, till I was black and blue.” Some challenges a slave faced during escape was having to travel hundreds of miles to freedom, and having to be very cautious of being caught by slave hunters. According to a source titled Escape!, it states, “Robert Brown rode another 40 miles through the mud roads. When the courageous horse gave out, Robert tied him to a fencepost, and walked on. For two days, he dared not talk to anyone for fear of being arrested.” Reaching safety affected a slave because they still had to be very careful about being caught, since slave hunters were looking for the missing slaves. According to a source titled Reaching Safety, it states, “Anyone who refused to aid in the capture of a fugitive, interfered with the arrest of a slave, or tried to free a slave already in custody was subject to a heavy fine and imprisonment.” Therefore, freedom impacts a slave because they have a chance to help other slaves reach

In the book, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson there are many scenes that take place and have many importance to it. Many of them describe where the slave lives or what they are doing there. In the book, Isabel has visited or lived through all of three main places. The three main places that the slaves live in or on are plantations, small farms, and cities. The plantations and small farms may seem alike but in different ways they are not.

In my opinion, he made him the request to make his colonel feel angry in a way. For example, his colonel wanted him dead so knowing that he is alive and doing better off without him, makes the colonel look dumb for trying to kill him.

Freedom means different things to various groups of people. For African Americans, freedom was being released from slavery and given the same rights that their white counterparts were allowed. For female suffragettes, freedom meant the right to vote, and to have a voice equal to the one that men had. Different groups have a different definition of what freedom means to them.

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

What is freedom exactly? Freedom does not merely refer to unshackled chains of slavery, although in the 19th century, this was the generally accepted belief. When the Civil War ended, many believed that for once, America was a “new nation, for the first time, wholly free” (Fonera 2). However, emancipation from slavery dramatically changed some Americans’ conception of freedom. In 1865, James Garfield asserted that if freedom is understood as “the bare privilege of being unchained…the absence of slavery…then freedom is a bitter mockery, a cruel delusion” (Fonera 2). Instead, freedom is about “civil rights, the vote, ownership of property” (Fonera 2). Freedom is defined by the liberties that

Race was a variable that changed people’s definition of freedom and liberty. In early America, slavery was still a common practice, especially among the Southern states. In the slaves’ view, they had not yet achieved freedom like the white men in the country had from the revolution. In the document Slaves’ Petitions for Freedom During the American Revolution the first group of authors wrote to members of the Massachusetts assembly stating that they, “…expect great things from men who have made such a noble stand against the designs of their fellow men to enslave them.” And implored that in their next session the slaves may be considered for “…civil and religious liberty…” The authors of the letters were claiming that just as the colonists were being mistreated by the British, the slaves were being mistreated by the Americans. These authors defined liberty as, “…all that of right to [them] for past services,”