Value Of Courage In Chains By Laurie Halse Anderson

In today’s world, many different people from many different backgrounds and countries hold certain values close to their hearts. Though different values are held close to different people, people always have held values close to them. A major value that people around the world hold close is courage. A major reason that people hold courage close is because people who have courage are often looked up to. In today’s world however it seems that many people undervalue courage.
Having the courage to do something is a quality that although not many people admit, many people do not possess. Whether it is about trying out for a sports team or standing up for a friend, for some it can be hard to muster the courage to do these things. Throughout history, people with courage were often looked upon with reverence and as leaders. Someone with courage would often fight the beasts of the wild, charge into battle with no fear, and stand up for themselves and their families. Today, courage does not seem to be as important a value as it used to

The book is about a young slave girl, Isabel, who is a salve for a rich family in New York. After experiencing severe abuse from her owners, she along with a slave boy that she met, Curzon, run away from their owners and sail away from New York into New Jersey. Although there are many courageous displays of courage throughout the book, the escape of Isabel and Curzon is the best display of courage in the book. Even though being caught could almost certainly result in death, they continued on their journey and ended up gaining freedom from their owners. Their escape showed me the true value of courage. Not only did it show me that courage is vital if one wants to represent and do something for themselves, but it is also important if one wants to stand up for or represent someone