Chains (novel)
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Followed by | Forge (2010) and Ashes (2016) |
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Chains, written by
Though the novel is fictional, elements of the story relate to the actual early stages of the war, such as the failed plan for George Washington's assassination and the hanging of
The novel contains 45 chapters numbered in
Synopsis
It is the first year of the Revolutionary War, and 10-year-old Isabel (it doesn't say in the book how old Isabel is this is just a guess) and her 5-year-old sister Ruth look forward to freedom, as promised in the will of their now-deceased owner. Unfortunately, they land in the hands of their owner's nephew, who refuses to seek out the will and disbelieves that a slave like Isabel is literate. He sells the sisters to an abusive couple, Elihu and Anne Lockton, who bring them to New York City from their previous hometown of Newport, Rhode Island. Isabel, determined to gain her and her sister's liberty, meets a local slave boy named Curzon, who asks her to spy on the Locktons, who are secretly Loyalists. He wishes to report back any suspicious plans to his own Patriot master (patriots and loyalists are opposing sides).
Isabel overhears her new master Lockton involved in a plot to bribe Patriots to defect, and she tells Curzon. Patriot soldiers soon search the house and arrest Lockton, releasing him the following day and leading to much domestic chaos in the home. Isabel soon also overhears Lockton plotting with the New York mayor to assassinate General
The British fleet enters New York Harbor, the Patriots topple a statue of the British king, and the Patriots formally declare independence. Isabel wakes one morning to find that Ruth has been sold to the West Indies. Furious, she confronts Madam Lockton, who attacks her. Isabel runs out to the Patriot fort, but Madam pursues her. The fort's colonel tells Isabel he cannot help her, and she is imprisoned for violating her master and branded with an "I" on her cheek for "insolence", taking six days to recover. Curzon encourages Isabel to keep spying but she ignores him, believing the Patriots do not care about the issue of slavery. At a gathering of slaves, she learns the British are offering freedom to slaves that join their cause.
The British enjoy a major victory at the Battle of Long Island, and Master Lockton returns home with the occupying British forces, some of whose soldiers begin living inside the Lockton house. Isabel is sent across town to tend on Lockton's sickly but kind aunt, Lady Seymour, when a fire breaks out across much of New York City. Isabel and Lady Seymour barely manage their way back to the Lockton home, where many more British soldiers and their wives are soon housed. Isabel worries about Curzon, whom she discovers has been taken by the British as a prisoner of war, beginning to visit him at Bridewell Prison by bribing the guard with food. A bookstore owner gives her Common Sense, which she reads. She continues tending to Lady Seymour and visiting the Patriot prisoners, sometimes passing them military secrets. Madam finally finds out about her activities, hits her, and confines her within the house, revealing that Ruth has not actually been sold yet and is being held in Charleston, South Carolina.
Isabel escapes, grabbing a map and filling out a pass to declare herself a
Major characters
Isabel
The protagonist and narrator of the novel, is always striving her best to do anything she can do to get her and her sister out of slavery and back to Rhode Island, where they belong. Isabel's ultimate goal is to find the lawyer who wrote Miss Mary Finch's last will and to set her and her sister free from slavery. Though at a very young age—thirteen years old—she has a very tough character and is devoted to anything she does. Her cleverness helps her in her various tasks of spying on the Loyalists and planning her escape. She is very nurturing towards her younger sister Ruth, knowing that she is the only person who can truly take care of her. She befriends a slave boy named Curzon who works for a Patriot, Master Bellingham, to whom she is a good friend he can always trust, which is shown when she desperately tries to deliver leftover food to Curzon, who is in prison; considering she knows the consequences of helping a Patriot when she is working for a Loyalist. She also shows a brave spirit when she stands up to Mrs. Lockton and demands information on the whereabouts of Ruth, whom Lockton said she has sold but in truth kept Ruth hiding away from Isabel to weaken her. This action results in her being branded with I for insolence on her right cheek as a punishment for standing up to her master, but towards the end of the novel she sees this mark standing for her name Isabel, and is proud to have everyone know her name. On the night of the Queen's Ball, she makes her move on her way to freedom, bringing Curzon along with her.
Ruth
Isabel's five-year-old sister and also a slave. Ruth, who is suffering from epilepsy, often encounters fits from this sickness. She does not talk very often and does what she is told without question, which becomes the more desirable slave to Mrs. Lockton and she would be kept in Mrs. Lockton's chamber for hours to be her maid. Because of her aloof behavior, she is sometimes described as "Addlepated". As a young child, she is sometimes stubborn, for example, she asks for her baby doll every night before going to bed even though she knows that Mr. Robert Finch has taken away all their belongings. Her innocent and vulnerable nature makes her very dependent on Isabel. She is sold to a different slave owner in the West Indies midway through the book.
The Locktons
The Locktons are the owners of Isabel and her sister Ruth throughout most of the whole book. They are both loyalists[3] and treat Isabel and Ruth poorly.
Elihu Lockton (Master Lockton)
A
Anne Lockton (Madam Lockton)
The main antagonist of Chains (and arguably the entire trilogy) and the wife of Elihu Lockton, she is also a Loyalist, though not as strongly committed as her husband. Very abusive towards Isabel, both physically and mentally, she does not call her by name and instead calls her Sal; in return demanding Isabel refers to her as Madam. Her harsh and brutal character is shown in her
Curzon
A slave of Mr. Bellingham, a Patriot, he helps Isabel to achieve her wish for freedom by telling her to become a
Lady Seymour
Elihu Lockton's aunt, is very kind to slaves, unlike the rest of the people of the society. She acquaints Isabel and welcomes her dearly, and she always helps Isabel whenever she needs it. When Isabel comes to her house to pass the information that Mr. Lockton has been arrested and that Madam needs his aunt, she tells Isabel to come in the house and even serves her milk and cookies to nourish herself; something nobody at the time would do to slaves. She also took care of Isabel while in recovery right after getting branded, which in return was paid by Isabel helping her escape from the burning bush burning buildings and save her life.
Minor characters
Miss Mary Finch
The previous owner of Isabel and Ruth before she died and they were sold to the Locktons. She promised Isabel that she and her sister would be free when she dies, as a part of her will. Isabel views her as one of the nicer slave owners, describing her as being polite to her slaves by saying please and thank you when assigning tasks. Along with those acts, she taught Isabel to read and write. She worked as a policeman for most of her life.
Robert Finch
Miss Finch's nephew and only relative. He denies Miss Mary's will by saying that it is verbal and not physically extant thus making it non-legal and claims that the death of Miss Mary would mean Isabel and Ruth belongs to him. He then sells the girls to the Locktons and takes away all of the girls' only belongings, including Ruth's favorite baby doll.
Mr. Bellingham
A patriot who is Curzon's master. He is supposed to join the army for the Rebels, however, he pays Curzon to do it for him, also suggesting he will free Curzon if he joins.
Angelika
Angelika is Lady Seymour's servant who only speaks Dutch and does not show interest in learning English. She treated Isabel's wounds when Isabel woke up from being branded with the letter I for insolence.
Becky
She is a maid in the Lockton house, and she often helps Isabel whenever she is having tough times due to Mrs. Lockton's orders and actions. She reminds Isabel to do what Mrs. Lockton says, and she tells Isabel what and what not to do in the Lockton house. Becky also tries her best to get Isabel and Ruth out of situations where they would possibly get punished. She told Isabel about a slave who worked for the Locktons a couple of years earlier who got beaten severely for talking back to Madam, trying to get Isabel to stay cautious in her actions and hold her fists down.
Grandfather
He is an elder African-American slave who is in the line of the distribution of water from the Tea Water Pump. He seems to know much about the gossip of the war, which is passed around every morning when slaves come to the pump to obtain water for the day. His real name is not revealed, but most slaves refer to him as "Grandfather", because he is kind to everyone.
Colonel Regan
A colonel who works for Mr. Bellingham, he is Isabel's only hope to get her and her sister back to Rhode Islands. He retrieves information and evidence in the form of a list of names of the plan to assassinate General George Washington from Isabel, who secretly spied on Mr. Lockton during one of his meetings. He promised to help Isabel in return for the information, but he, later on, dismisses her when she begged for help when she ran away from Madam.
Captain Morse
Leader of the
Captain Farrar
A military officer who Isabel goes to in the midst of her task of being Captain Morse's personal messenger. He gives a note to Isabel which was demanded by Mrs. Lockton when she discovers that Isabel has been working for the rebels. Isabel surprisingly throws away the note in the hearth so that Mrs. Lockton would not be able to obtain the information in the note.
Pastor Weeks
A pastor that fulfills Isabel's parents funeral. He also helps Isabel with trying to get to a safe place, and where she would be best happy, even though she would still be a slave.
Old Ben
Pastor Week's horse who pulled the wagon carrying a pine coffin containing Miss Mary Finch's body at the beginning of the story.
Momma (Dinah)
Isabel and Ruth's mother who died when they were young from pox. Isabel sneaks her seeds when she gets sold to the Locktons.
Jenny
A woman who works at the tavern that Isabel and ruth were sold at. Described as having milky skin, freckles, and being large. Jenny was Dinah's friend while they were both indentured to their old master.
Papa
He is the father of Isabel and Ruth and the husband of Dinah, their mother. He has tribal scars from when he lived in Africa, and Isabel compares her own scar to his toward the end of the book while confined to the potato bin, all alone.
Honors
- Selected by Indie Booksellers for the Winter 2008 Kid's List[4]
- Selected in the Booklist Editor's Choice:Books for Youth in 2008[5]
- National Book Award finalist in 2008[6]
- Winner of the IRA Teacher's Choices booklist in 2009[7]
- Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction in 2009[6]
- Winner of the Top 10 Black History Books for Youth in 2009[8]
- Winner of the Notable Children's Book Award by the Association of Library Service to Children in 2009[9]
Bibliographiy
- Anderson, Laurie Halse (2008). Chains. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4169-0586-8.
References
- ^ YABC. "Chains (Seeds of America #1) by Laurie Halse Anderson Book Reviews". YA Books Central - Explore Young Adult Book Releases and Read Reviews. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
- ^ Pruitt, Sarah (4 February 2020). "Did George Washington's Bodyguard Plot to Kill Him in 1776?". HISTORY. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
- ^ "Chains Summary". GradeSaver.com. 15 November 2022.
- ^ "Indie Bound". American Booksellers Association. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
- ^ "Booklist Online". Booklist Publications. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
- ^ a b "The Pennsylvania Center for the Book". The Pennsylvania State University. Archived from the original on 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
- ^ "Teacher's Choices 2009" (PDF). International Literacy Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-28. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
- ^ "Booklist Online". Booklist Publications. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
- ^ "2009 Notable Children's Books". American Library Association. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
External links
- Chains (novel)