Chains (#1) By Laurie Halse Anderson

Chains

By Laurie Halse Anderson

Essay based off the question: What really hard things are happening in this text? Are these things happening in the world now? Where?

In my life today, I am always complaining about the “hardships” in my life: my homework, my little sister, my parents, and even walking to school in the rain. I always regret complaining about it later because I know my life could be much worse. In the book, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character Isabel faces many actual hardships. She deals with being a slave, and everything that comes with that, during the time where the Revolutionary War is about to take place. These issues are also seen in the world today as well.

Isabel and her little sister, Ruth, are both slaves who had just been sold against their wills to two new masters who live in New York. Isabel is trying to find a way to bring Ruth and herself back to their rightful home in Rhode Island, so that they can live out their days in freedom. Isabel struggles to hold her tongue in front of her masters because she knows that it is her right to be free. For instance, when Isabel is upset that Madam Lockton I treating Ruth poorly, she thinks, “I took another breath, slower than the first, and tried not to think about the freshly sharpened knives on the kitchen steps” (Anderson 56). This shows that Isabel has to hide her true feelings about Madam Lockton. She has to worry about watching her tone and what she says around her masters. This is a hard task for her because she knows that it is her right to not be a slave anymore, so she does not deserve to be treated like one. This problem can be related into the world today. I know that I sometimes struggle to control what I say in front of someone I don’t like. People around the world sometimes lose their temper all the time, and it can affect everyone and everything around them.

During the time period of the book Chains, the Revolutionary War is becoming more of a realistic concept then just an idea. Isabel hopes to assist the rebels to earn her way out of New York and back to Rhode Island. Little does she know that she is helping the Revolutionary War start. For example, Isabel eavesdrops on her master’s conversations, and takes the information to her rebel friend. Isabel says:

I dashed towards him, keeping to the edge of the tavern candlelight. ‘I have news.’

            ‘Of Lockton?’ [Her rebel friend, Curzon, said]

‘And more.’ I quickly told him everything I had seen and heard… ‘Will this be enough to send us home?’

            This proves that Isabel is trying the best that she can to get herself and Ruth out of New York. Isabel is very brave to be putting her life at risk to deliver the news of her master. This can be related to the world today because this situation reminds me of gossip. Gossip is a huge issue today, especially within schools and on online websites. Gossip usually starts from a rumor, and if that rumor is posted online it can be spread around the world. This is a huge issue that doesn’t really have a solution.

            Isabel is a strong girl for being able to deal with helping her sister and herself deal with being a slave to cruel masters during the time before the Revolutionary War. Even though I have not finished the book, I know that Isabel had to deal with really hard things, like giving up all of her possessions and having to move away from her hometown. My “hardships” don’t even compare to what Isabel had to do.