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Chain Isabel Analysis

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It is hard to imagine being beaten until moving is not possible but still being forced to work. How would it feel? This was the case for many slaves in the late 1700s. In the historical fiction book Chains the main character, Isabel is a slave who has experienced brutal slave punishments. This was normal for slaves to be treated terribly at the time. Slave’s actions, whether disrespectful or not, caused them to be beaten and punished frequently. Even the smallest actions of slaves caused them to endure harsh punishments in the late 1700s. Most of the punishments slaves received shortened their lives. In Chains, Isabel the protagonist of the story is branded on her cheek with the letter I for insolence. Isabel did not deserve such a harsh punishment for only trying to escape the grasp of her evil owners. Branding is one of the worst, most brutal punishment a slave could have (Simkin). Isabel says “The glowing iron streaked across my face like a comet” (Anderson 23). Masters of slaves were afraid that if their slaves converted to Christianity then they would feel equal (The Life of…). The masters believed that …show more content…

Slaves either started working as a slave extremely young or they were taken from their homes in their teenage years (Boston). Slaves worked for about twelve hours a day and did not have a warm, comfortable bed to sleep in at night. Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist who escaped slavery himself said, “A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation” (Boston). A freeman is a person who is entitled to full political and civil rights. Slaves on a plantation had it harder than those who were slaves in the cities (Boston). It took time before slaves could be put on trial by their masters. This arose slowly and started by different states allowing this action (Morris). In 1712 slaves could be examined for evidences, proofs, and testimonies

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Summary Of Chains By Laurie Halse Anderson

364 Words | 2 Pages

In the historical fiction novel, chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson showed me that people who were slaves in the past were treated cruelly and inhumanly. To start off, Isabel and Ruth’s owners (Madam Lockton and Mr. Lockton) don’t ever think of the girls as people but just as slaves that do their work for them. For example, in the book when Madam Lockton or Mr. Lockton needed to get their attention or call them over, they didn’t address them by their real names but as “girl” or “Sal”. This shows how careless Madam Lockton and Mr. Lockton are about Ruth and Isabel and they can’t even call them by their real names, which is very frustrating for me when I was reading this part in the book.

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Summary Of Chains By Laurie Halse Anderson

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Slaves in every situation, had the short end of the stick, and were not allowed to be themselves at all. In the book “Chains” by Laurie Halse Anderson it follows two girls that go through different situations, Isabel and Ruth. And this book has an amazing metaphor and a lot of them throughout the book, the main one is Chains, or the book title. I will share with you what I think this means. Isabel, the character that the book is told in, goes to New York, where the people are really divided.

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Character Analysis in 'Chains' by Laurie Halse Anderson

1357 Words | 6 Pages

Chains Character Essay How is it that an entire society can envision their future in freedom when one girl can’t? Chains, Laurie Halse Anderson’s award winning book is a compelling historical fiction story that will show instead of tell you the tear jerking truth about slavery, whilst keeping you at the edge of your seat wanting to continue on your literary journey with every page awaiting your arrival. Because she’s gullible, and superstitious Isabel’s negative characteristics are obstacles in the path of her finding her freedom. Despite these flaws her resilience is able to help her win against slavery.

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Marcus Rediker The Slave Ship

552 Words | 3 Pages

Many slaves being shipped to America had been betrayed by their own race, kidnapped and sold into slavery. The conditions on the ship were horrendous and each man was chained to an area and given about six feet long by fifteen inches wide. The boats were extremely packed with close corners and no bathroom, and women or children got even less space than the men. Many a times, the crew tried to justify the chaining by stating the it was a form of protection to avoid an uprising. In one of the examples Rediker gave, the slave ship, with Captain Tomba, who was known for brutal beatings including whipping, handing out cruel punishments to scare the other slaves into not acting out.

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Douglass uses paradox to demonstrate that slavery degragrates the slaverholder. When Douglass under Mr. Sever’s care he described that: “He was less cruel, less profane… He whipped, but seemed to take no pleasure in it. ”(Douglass 24). Most slaveholders are characterized to be cruel and inhuman because of the whipping and the way they treated the slaves.

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524 Words | 3 Pages

When he was, what the slaves called a young child, a lad, he was sent to work as a house servant. African American slaves that live on a plantation, were not know as human beings, they were more so treated like animals. Frederick Douglass talked about how food was thrown into troughs for them to eat like pigs with no eating utensils. While a lad, Douglass was moved around a lot because slaves were loaned to others. one thing about Fredrick Douglass, he showed the personalities of slave owners, an the overseers of plantations.

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471 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel Chains, Laurie Halse Anderson illustrates the theme of slavery and the dehumanization that was faced by Negroes living in the time period of the Revolutionary War. Not only was the American Revolution a time of warfare and riots, but it was also a time when resources were extremely limited. Slaves, however, suffered the most treacherous of these conditions, and they experienced everything from heartbreak through the loss of one's family, to extremely poor living conditions during the war. At the very beginning of the novel, the protagonist, Isabel, is freed by her owner, Miss Mary Finch, who sadly dies before the readers meet her. Disregarding his aunt's wishes, Mr. Robert sells Isabel and her sister Ruth to the first person he can find, ignoring the fact that Isabel is a free woman.

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In the story “Kindred” by Octavia Butler the slaves hardly fought back. The book showed that the slave owners as a whole weren't the entire problem, society was. No matter how much the slaves fought against it in their personal lives it was still widely accepted and enforced. The slaves had virtually no rights and were seen as sub human even when they were freed. Every part of society was against them and fighting back did much more harm than good.

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Frederick Douglass’s narrative provides a first hand experience into the imbalance of power between a slave and a slaveholder and the negative effects it has on them both. Douglass proves that slavery destroys not only the slave, but the slaveholder as well by saying that this “poison of irresponsible power” has a dehumanizing effect on the slaveholder’s morals and beliefs (Douglass 40). This intense amount of power breaks the  kindest heart and changes the slaveholder into a heartless demon (Douglass 40). Yet these are not the only ways that Douglass proves what ill effect slavery has on the slaveholder. Douglass also uses deep characterization, emotional appeal, and religion to present the negative effects of slavery.

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3339 Words | 14 Pages

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771 Words | 4 Pages

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