Wagenbrenner 1

Katie Wagenbrenner
Mr. Maite
Humanities VIII-1A
16 February 2014
Chains Essay 3
Throughout Chains there were many times that the author brought attention to themes of
freedom and slavery. The themes were shown through the characters and symbols. The
characters and symbols helped make the book have a stronger meaning, and showed how hard
true freedom is to obtain.
There were many characters in the book that werent free. Isabel, Ruth, and Curzon were
slaves. They wanted freedom but unless their masters said that they were free then they were
slaves forever. Even the masters werent truly free. Madam Lockton, Isabel and Ruths master
was in an abusive relationship and couldnt escape it (108-109). She was bound to her husband
and he took away her freedom. Master Lockton, Madam Locktons husband, wasnt free because
the rebels were always trying to arrest him (109). He always had to hide so they couldnt find
him. There were no truly free characters in the whole book. Even the people who seemed free
were still ruled by the king. Everyone had something they were bound to.

Some characters in the book wanted freedom more than others. One of those characters
was Curzon. Curzon wanted freedom so much that he was willing to fight in the war to achieve
it. He risked his life and got put in jail because being free meant so much to him. His master told
him that he would be free if he fought for the rebels in the war (166). Another character who

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wanted freedom was Isabel. Isabel thought that she was going to be free in the beginning of the
book, but Mr. Robert took her freedom away (11). All throughout the book Isabel was trying to
figure out ways to be free. For example she was told if she helped the rebels that she would be
free so she did, but they never helped her gain freedom (104).
In the book freedom many times was symbolically stated. For example Grandfather was
telling Isabel she had to find her River Jordan to be free (167). This is symbolic because Moses
led his people to freedom after he crossed the river Jordan, and Isabel had to cross her own River
Jordan to truly be free. Slavery was also symbolized in the book. An example of this would be
the name of the book. The book has nothing to do with chains. The chains are supposed to
represent slavery, and how slavery takes away freedom. A person who is chained up cant move
unless the person who chained them removes the chains. It is very similar to slavery where you
cant be free unless the person who bought you allows you to be free.
The characters that are concerned with freedom, the symbols of slavery and freedom,
and the characters who do and dont have freedom all help emphasize the themes of freedom and
slavery in the book.