Summary Of The Book 'Chains' By Laurie Halse Anderson

Slavery is the main topic in the book “Chains” by the author, Laurie Halse Anderson. A slave’s life such as the main character, Isabel, could take place in locations ranging from small farms, plantations, or the city. A slave’s life that took place on a small farm was usually in the highest quality. These small farms were not very common and they existed mainly in the Northern colonies. The Americans usually owned one to two slaves in order to put them to work on their small family owned farms. Large farms found mainly in Rhode Island and Connecticut, contained about twenty to thirty slaves working and living on them. The novel states, “The mist swirled between the tall grass and the low-hanging branches. Two black butterflies danced through a cloud of bugs and disappeared. Chickadees and barn swallows called overhead” (Isabel 5). This detail describes the daily life of a slave located on a small farm. Another location in which slaves could be found in this time period were plantations. These plantations were more often found in …show more content…
Their lives were found in the lowest quality because slavery was not very popular in this location. On average, during this time period in the city, one to two slaves would sleep in their owner’s home. These slave’s lives located in the city were also found in the lowest quality because they endured suffrage that ranged from poor nutrition, diseases, and back breaking labor, which at times lead to death. The passage concludes, “If I opened the gate, I would be a criminal. Slaves were not allowed after the sunset without a pass from the master. Anyone who caught me could take me to the jail” (Isabel 64). Based on this detail, I can tell that most of these slaves were not at all treated well. To conclude, the slaves who were found on plantations, small farms, or the city all endured different pain and different types of work based on where they were