Chains

by

Laurie Halse Anderson

Indentured Servant Term Analysis

Indentured servants were people brought to the American Colonies, mostly from Europe, to work for a set number of years to pay off their debts. Some people also entered into a period of indentured servitude from the Colonies when they couldn’t pay off debts. Unlike enslaved people, they were free to go at the end of their indentured servitude.

Indentured Servant Quotes in Chains

The Chains quotes below are all either spoken by Indentured Servant or refer to Indentured Servant. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Freedom Theme Icon
).
Chapter 25 Quotes

Melancholy held me hostage, and the bees built a hive of sadness in my soul. Dark honey filled up inside me, drowning my thoughts and making it hard to move my eyes and hands. I worked as a puppet trained to scrub and carry, curtsy and nod.

Related Characters: Isabel (speaker), Ruth, Madam Lockton
Page Number: 157
Explanation and Analysis:
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Indentured Servant Term Timeline in Chains

The timeline below shows where the term Indentured Servant appears in Chains. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
Freedom Theme Icon
Slavery and Dehumanization Theme Icon
...the least she could do for Dinah, their mother. Jenny explains that she was an indentured servant working on the same farm as Dinah; Dinah was very nice to her. Isabel quickly... (full context)
Freedom Theme Icon
Slavery and Dehumanization Theme Icon
...wife can’t just “procure another indentured girl” in New York, but Missus Lockton snaps that indentured servants just complain and steal. She then asks if Ruth is “simple.” Isabel says Ruth is... (full context)