Chains Essay
It's hard to never give up. People can make fun of you and let you down. Your own mistakes and problems can pile up, smashing your hope and passions. Even through times of hardship with no motivation or joy, we have our family, teachers and friends to pull ourselves from the ground and get us back on our feet. In Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Isabel, the main character, faces many great challenges. Through getting transported to New York without her will, getting sold to the Locktons, the most cruel masters in town, getting separated from her sister Ruth, and getting branded, Isabel eventually starts losing her spark of hope and motivation to escape. That is until she realizes the fate of her sister, Ruth, and Curzon is in
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That is until she wakes up to perpetual screams. There is a deadly fire, so Isabel scrambles to put on her shoes, grabs Ruth's doll, and runs out the door. However, Isabel finds herself in a difficult situation with little time to ponder. She hears Lady Seymour beseeching for help, and has to choose whether to help her or not. Isabel knows she is risking her safety, and her most prized possession, Ruth's doll, but her altruism kicks in, making her not hesitate to save Lady Seymour. Isabel's decision to save Lady Seymour and sacrifice her belongings starts when she "dropped the boxes and doll, draped her arm around me, and half fell down the rest of the stairs…I opened the front door and dragged the two of us out to the street" (193). Isabel cares about Ruth's doll so much. It is her prized possession, her only memory of her sweet sister, Ruth. Despite this fact, Isabel's altruistic side doesn't hesitate to sacrifice everything she has for Lady Seymour. After Curzon gets captured by the redcoats, his life is getting drained in prison. Diseases are spreading, and sudden death happens daily, so you never know when it's your last day. As Isabel makes her way to the harbor, there is an abrupt