Bees creating a commotion in someone's brain, a bright red hat, and a water pump in New York City. There seems to be no connection between those objects, but in reality they all have something in common; they are all symbols in the book Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson. In that novel, Isabel and Curzon, two New York slaves, are ready to escape slavery after being tormented by their cruel masters. But on their path to escape, they encounter symbolism that helps them recognize their inner thoughts and feelings. Symbolism provides richer meaning to a story and gives the reader insight into events beyond the ordinary by using bees, Curzon's hat, and the tea water pump, among Chains' most powerful images. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Exploring the Historical Facts of New York with the Help of Symbolism Isabel's mood and feelings change rapidly, as shown symbolically by the bees surrounding her. First of all, the bees not only show anger and confusion, but they can also show that Isabel is rested. When she thought about joining the English: "The thought swept over her like a river, sweeping away the dead bees that filled my brain with confusion."(174) The river sweeping away her dead bees means her confusion has been swept away away. away from the thought of joining the British, meaning he is rapidly changing his mood from confused to rested and ready to join the British. Also, after the big fire, Isabel realizes that she lost Ruth's doll in the fire. The bees came back and buzzed so loudly that she couldn't even think about the doll. Since Ruth's doll is the only thing left of her, Isabel realizes that she has lost everything. And because he has lost everything, his emotions quickly shift from thinking about staying alive in the fire to thinking about his losses. Finally, when the lady tells Isabel that she cannot go to Bridewell Prison, she experiences a sudden change of feelings. Now that she could not go to prison and care for Curzon, "The ashes of sadness and the buzzing bees of my melancholy raised a storm within [her]." (246) The bees inside her created a storm in her mind and suddenly change her mood to melancholy. The bees within Isabel show feelings using symbolism, but symbolism can also represent the health of a person or object, as in the use of Curzon's red hat. Curzon's health is depicted symbolically through his red hat rather than through his physical appearance. Before Curzon goes to the Battle of Long Island, his hat is bright red and he is confident in the battle. He feels energetic and happy about the situation and wears a red hat that symbolizes his health. He's in good shape and his red hat shows he's ready. But later, Curzon is captured in battle and will end up in prison. He is fragile and the only way Isabel recognized him is "[his] hat, closer to brown than red now." (204-205) Since his hat is now brown, his health is fading. When Curzon was healthy, his hat was red, but now, defeated in battle, his hat is turning brown. But in prison Curzon's health is at its lowest ebb. Dibdin, the new commander wears his hat and Curzon is near death. He's lying on the ground and can't even hear Isabel, who's right next to him. He doesn't even have his hat on, which means he's in very poor health. But once Dibdin puts the dirty hat back on him, Curzon gets a little better and gets the treatment he needs. The symbolism.