In a book ripe with figurative language, it can be only expected that the author wouldn’t skimp on the rest of the book. This is certainly the case with Anderson’s book Chains. A series of transformational events can be found throughout the book pertaining to many different characters. Isabel is initially confused as to why she is not being freed, and by the end of the book has transformed into a freedom seeking insolent girl. However, a person must interact in order to be transformed, and she heavily interacts with her evil master, and friendly “boy [who] wore a floppy red hat…][27] ”The best time to talk to ghosts is just before the sun comes up. That’s when they can hear us true, Momma said that that’s when ghosts can answer us.”[1] Despite the obvious scientific inaccuracy, the idea of ghosts is very important for a person going through tough times, especially when ones family members have died. This is because it establishes permanence in that person; they are no longer merely a body that lies six feet underground but rather a spirit watching down from the sky. In Isabel’s case, it establishes comfort in the sense that her mother is protecting her, because her mother would never let anything bad happen to her. However, it is slightly symbolic that “ghosts couldn’t move …show more content…
Curzon is the first potential benefactor to this due to his relations to the rebel army currently occupying New York. Following his request of being a snitch in the loyalist household of her master, off the assumption that she can get a good reputation with the rebels and then be freed on behalf of them. She finds that her master is plotting an assassination of the rebel leader, George Washington. She is granted access to the local rebel camp,
Another example of Curzon being a risk taker and paying his freedom was when he became an American soldier. This is a huge risk because by becoming a soldier, he is risking his life and his safety. We read that Isabel does not see the difference about him at first, but then says, “It was his clothes. When I first met him, he was dressed like the house servant of a wealthy man, which he was. Now the tailored waistcoat was gone and his shirt was dirty with sweat and mud. It hung over a pair of working man’s breeches that were cut off below his knee. He did not have on stockings or shoes. Even his fancy red was flecked with mud” (pg.165). This quote explains how Isabel describes him to be a soldier, all dressed in...
In “The Jacket” by Gary Soto, the use of figurative language and perspective show his feelings towards the jacket and help describe it. In the beginning of the story Gary Soto opens with a statement about how his jacket determined his popularity. Then the reader is then introduced to a description of the jacket that he is hoping to get. He then receives a new jacket which he abhors, which he blames for all of his problems, unable to take responsibility. He also becomes very paranoid that he is being judged and laughed at. As he wears the jacket he slowly begins to accept that it is his new reality and becomes sentimentally attached.
During the small group discussions, we talked about a few major things such as; what Chains symbolized, the Frederick Douglas Memoir, and Dehumanization. Our group discussed that Chains symbolized, how Isabel is locked into slavery. Chains also represents how Madam Lockton is locked in to Master Lockton, and how she is treated terribly by Master Lockton. The Frederick Douglas Memoir was important, because they both taught themselves how to read, although reading did cause a lot of hardships for Frederick Douglas and Isabel. As stated in the memoir, “As I suffered, I at times felt
Ghosts, both figurative and literal, are very common in the Joy Luck Club and are a recurring theme in the book. The mothers of The Joy Luck Club were all raised in traditional Chinese households, which has influenced them to have deeper feelings about ghosts. Mentally, the term ghost is used to describe people who have become a shell of their former selves and rarely speak or do anything. Physically, ghost is used to describe the spirit of the dead. This is the basis of the mothers and others to be scared of the thought of becoming a ghost figuratively and literally. Christianity is the basis of physical fear of ghosts and traditional Chinese beliefs cause the mental fear of ghosts, this stimulates the thought of the afterlife to be
When reading ghost stories, a common occurrence or idea often takes place in all these stories. This occurrence is the repeated idea of the female character as either the victim of the supernatural occurrence or is the ghostly victim. The female characters are often the victim either in life, death, or both. This idea often coincides with the theme of isolation, as isolation is often a strong factor in the cause of the female character’s often untimely demise. Isolation in the ghost story genre is common as the mental isolation or physical isolation is from society and impacts emotional connection to others. The isolation mentally, physically and in some case both, causes the female character’s ultimate destruction in the end. Isolation is
For starters, the title of the book, Chains, fits well with the topic of slavery and being held captive for reasons that we see unjustly now. I say unjustly reasons now because during this time period slavery was a normal service that a majority of people participated in. I think that Anderson perfectly wrote the book about a girl seeking freedom during a time in history where America as a whole was also seeking freedom, which also helped her argument. They both shared the common idea of fighting for freedom and how it pertained to both of them just in different scales. Anderson incorporated descriptions of the Revolutionary War as well as both sides of the Patriots and Loyalist of this war. Many pieces of history were scattered throughout the book, like the Quartering Act when several loyalist soldiers took shelter in the Lockton’s house. Anderson also managed not to hold back towards the graphic descriptions of what Isabel saw being done to other slaves as well as the severity of the cruel and heartbreaking punishments Isabel suffered over the years. Chains was written in the first person point of view of Isabel, which really helped me get a better sense of the emotions and feelings she felt during her slave years. All which helped put me in her shoes and period of time. At the very end of the book, Anderson offers several discussion questions to further engage the reader over the subject and their thoughts over the material they just read. Anderson also offers a plentiful number of historical facts and dates which all relate back to the book. By adding these historical facts, the credentials of the book go up. This also helped, clear any complications I had while reading the book, the extras at the end book basically helped piece the book and time period more clearly by providing me with the missing pieces of information I needed. Overall, I think the book, Chains, was accurate
“Chains” by Laurie Hale Anderson is a riveting historical fiction novel that changes your perspective on slavery in colonial America. Isabel, a slave, and her younger sister Isabel have been sold to the Locktons, a Loyalist couple in New York City, despite being promised freedom upon the death of their former owner, Miss Mary Finch. Isabel’s only concerns are protecting her sister and herself, but when she is approached by a young Patriot, Curzon, who offers her a job spying on the Lockmans in exchange for a shot at freedom, Isabel accepts. This begins her harrowing journey of fear, heartbreak, and ultimately, whispers of hope. Hale establishes themes of courage and family by detailing Isabel’s love for Ruth and her willingness to risk her
Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is the harrowing story of Isabel’s escape from slavery. Isabel must escape Madam Lockton, her cruel slave owner. Through Isabel’s utmost dedication to crossing her “river Jordan” to her freedom, the author displays the theme: “Persistence is key in life.”
Isabel learns that a bad situation can become good when her best friend Curzon joins the army and
...ess her feelings as she is open about being carried away with the master and exerts her love for the children. Although the Governess is seen as over-sensitive, this quality may be the reason as to why she is able to see the ghosts and others cannot.
In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, a slave narrative published in 1845, Frederick Douglass divulged his past as a slave and presented a multifaceted argument against slavery in the United States. Douglass built his argument with endless anecdotes and colorful figurative language. He attempted to familiarize the naïve Northerners with the hardships of slavery and negate any misconstrued ideas that would prolong slavery’s existence in American homes. Particularly in chapter seven, Douglass both narrated his personal experience of learning to write and identified the benefits and consequences of being an educated slave.
Clive Staples Lewis once stated, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, what, you too? I thought I was the only one.” This is an example of tone, as well as all the books in the world have tone in them.”
“Ghost, according to tradition, is the spirit of a dead person that returns to the living world. “ (World Book Encyclopedia 2011, 182) There are two separate and distinct types of Ghosts. The first type of Ghost is the typical “Halloween ghost”. This ghost is also referred to as the “Folklore Society’s ghost”. The Folklore Society ghost appears as a shadowy figure in a long trailing robe. It often looks like something straight out of a Hollywood picture.
After being accused of being possessed by the devil and visited by her Uncle Marco’s dead body, Clare del Valle began to keep a diary. Fifty years later, her journal was used to solve the puzzle of a family history. In The House of Spirits, Isabel Allende tells the story of many generations of a family in Latin America. There are three prominent themes in The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. First, the social divide between those who are “civilized” and those who are supposed barbarians. Second, the influence of women and their role in society. Third, the clash between social classes.
Before I get to her story, I should probably explain the difference between ghosts and spirits and to do that I went to books I own by Sylvia Brown. In Sylvia’s book The Other Side and Back ghosts were explained as people who do not realize they are dead. Ghosts are earthbound because they either committed suicide, have regrets of their mistakes they made, feel the need to stay behind for loved ones or they just died so quickly that they have not realized the truth.