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Identity And Family In The Book Chains

733 Words3 Pages

How would a black girl in 1776 survive and help her family reach freedom? The book chains is about a girl named Isabel and her struggles with slavery, family, and freedom. It shows the struggles of a young black girl in 1776 who tries to make her life better after she is sold to a rich torie couple. Identity and family play huge parts in Isabel's life and journey through the book. The way family and identity are connected is without family you lose your sense of identity you lose part of yourself. You can see this with Isabel. When Isabel starts the book she cares about herself and is hopeful then you see ruth get “sold” Isabel gets careless and sad she also begins to forget her mama and dad A theme in the book Chains By laurie halse anderson …show more content…

This is shown on 5 pages but one important one is on page 286 after escaping the potato bin she looks into the mirror and realizes that her I brand doesn't mean insolence but “I stand for Isabel." It gives Isabel the confidence boost she needed this whole book. It also gives her the power and strength(figuratively) to go out and save Curzon And try to find ruth. Even after being patronized, beaten by madam Lockton and branded Isabel still has confidence after she finds herself. Identity is a massive part of the book and Isabel changes a lot from when we meet her. When you first meet Isabel, she is alone, with no family members to support her. Despite having a 5-year-old sister Ruth. who can't take care of herself we learn she is disabled and can't look after herself, they lost their mom to smallpox a year ago and their dad four years before that when he was murdered at a slave auction. After her owner's death, Isabel is not released as her owner that she was promised in the will. Instead, Isabel is sold to a wealthy couple in New York, who renames her Sal and gives her an I for insolence before selling Ruth. Isabel tries to forget Ruth and her other family members in order to protect herself mentally and emotionally. But, as Madam Lockton becomes increasingly cruel to Isabel, Isabel realizes it's not her fault. This shows in Isabel's

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Throughout the book, Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, it discusses the adventures and mishaps of a young girl named Isabel, struggling to gain her freedom with her sister, Ruth. In the beginning of the story, Isabel and her sister are forced to leave to New York after their old owner died to live with their new, selfish owners, Mr. and Mrs. Lockton. When Isabel hears the news about the start of a riot from the British colonies trying to attain their freedom from her new friend, Curzon, she begins to spy and give details about Mr. Lockton's plans and schemes. Eventually, Ruth gets taken away from their home after a series of on and off ilnesses, and Mrs. Lockton realizes that Isabel has been giving information to the Patriots, their enemy,

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He pointed the pistol at my belly, as I had hoped. ‘Run Isabel’” (275). Curzon is very determined to save Isabel through this whole, chaotic time even if it means giving up his life for Isabel’s.

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In the novel Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, on page 280, Isabel thinks that Madam Lockton has “more than her share” of evil. This can be proven because of all of the evil things that she has done since she had bought Isabel and Ruth Gardner. On page 93, it states, “Madam brought the broom down on the small, twisted body. Ruth couldn’t raise her hands to protect herself.” This means that Madam Lockton didn’t care that Ruth was having a seizure and she started to hit her with a broom to “get the devil out”.

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When he gets put in prison How does this realization help her forgive him? She remembers how he helped her when she was in prison. At the beginning of the novel, Isabel needs Curzon. How does he need her at the end of the novel?

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