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Chain Isabel Analysis

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It is hard to imagine being beaten until moving is not possible but still being forced to work. How would it feel? This was the case for many slaves in the late 1700s. In the historical fiction book Chains the main character, Isabel is a slave who has experienced brutal slave punishments. This was normal for slaves to be treated terribly at the time. Slave’s actions, whether disrespectful or not, caused them to be beaten and punished frequently. Even the smallest actions of slaves caused them to endure harsh punishments in the late 1700s. Most of the punishments slaves received shortened their lives. In Chains, Isabel the protagonist of the story is branded on her cheek with the letter I for insolence. Isabel did not deserve such a harsh punishment for only trying to escape the grasp of her evil owners. Branding is one of the worst, most brutal punishment a slave could have (Simkin). Isabel says “The glowing iron streaked across my face like a comet” (Anderson 23). Masters of slaves were afraid that if their slaves converted to Christianity then they would feel equal (The Life of…). The masters believed that …show more content…

Slaves either started working as a slave extremely young or they were taken from their homes in their teenage years (Boston). Slaves worked for about twelve hours a day and did not have a warm, comfortable bed to sleep in at night. Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist who escaped slavery himself said, “A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation” (Boston). A freeman is a person who is entitled to full political and civil rights. Slaves on a plantation had it harder than those who were slaves in the cities (Boston). It took time before slaves could be put on trial by their masters. This arose slowly and started by different states allowing this action (Morris). In 1712 slaves could be examined for evidences, proofs, and testimonies

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