Isabel’s Freedom in Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (Essay Sample)

If you don’t risk anything, you risk everything; a never ending paradox that Isabel had been forced to live with whilst she was enslaved at the Lockton’s home. The society that was based around the 1800’s century was the most substantial obstacle to Isabel’s freedom in the novel, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson.

“The fire in me burned on and on.” (150) Isabel was a 13-year-old enslaved girl whom was sold into the Locktons custody before she could prove that her previous owner, Miss Mary Finch, promised her freedom. Despite the fact that Isabel fought as hard as she could to work aside her younger sister, Ruth; Madam Lockton, one of her new owners, still managed to discover a strategy to steal Ruth away from her arms. “For that, I shall never forgive myself.” (129) Nonetheless, even if Isabel wanted to advocate against the cruelty she was faced with all those years, no justice would have ever been served to her; nor to any other African American who tried to do the same.  “We were all fighting for liberty.” (137)  The morning in which Isabel awoke to Ruth's disappearance was a key aspect of Isabel’s journey to gaining her freedom, which yet also happened to leave marks on Isabel; both psychologically and physically. When Isabel was involuntarily forced to go to court because of Madam’s own horrific actions; predicting the outcome of the jury was not too difficult. Hence Isabel’s skin color, she was automatically treated differently nonetheless; with less respect and lots of blame to point a finger at. The court never had any skepticism towards Madam, due to the fact  that she was white and a “law-abiding” woman, who would absolutely never speak of anything but the honest truth.  For that reason, Isabel was never able to live like she should have lived. The society in which Isabel lived in was one that was controlled by old white men whom were rich in coins and land, yet relied on slaves and servants to perform their tasks. From the day that she was sold into Lockton's custody, Isabel was overworked. Throughout the day and night, Isabel would complete chores around the home that should never have been handed into a little girl’s responsibility. Not to mention that even when Ruth was taken away from Isabel’s wings, Isabel was forced to work through all of her hidden pains.