Character Analysis Of Isabel In 'Chains' By Laurie Halse Anderson

Just Try Isabel is a young girl. Isabel is a slave. Isabel is a girl who is constantly juggling new problems that are thrown at her. In Laurie Halse Anderson’s book Chains, people walk right over Isabel without even a thought. Isabel still gets back up. Three quotes that I think resemble Isabel’s situations are; “Life is tough my darling, but so are you”, “You have brains in your head, feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose”, and “Hope is the little voice in your head that whispers ‘maybe’ when it seems the whole world is shouting ’no’”.

“Life is tough my darling but so are you.” A powerful quote and a meaningful one. Isabel
Isabel is always looking in new directions and at different angles. One example of this is she never really gave up trying to get Ruth back and getting them freedom. She always made things possible for herself, like when she sneaks out to tell Colonial Reagan new information about Master Lockton. She did this because she wanted freedom, and she wanted it badly. When her plan fell apart and Colonial Reagan abandoned her, she tried to become a loyalist to gain freedom. I think the only reason she made these decisions was because of her desperately wanted freedom. “My sister and I were wrongfully taken from Rhode Island. I mean to get us back there.” (102) Isabel told Colonial Reagan this in return for information about Master Lockton’s stealthy plan. Isabel’s whole life depends on hope.

“Life is tough my darling but so are you”, “You have brains in your head, feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose”, and “Hope is the little voice in your head that whispers ‘maybe’ when it seems the whole world is shouting ‘no’” are quotes that help us learn the real Isabel; the sweet and thoughtful Isabel and the strong and mighty Isabel. She is a dazzling and determined girl that is never ready to say “I quit.” I believe that these three quotes explain Isabel