Sibonia Vs. Pie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brianna Leuzzi

February 12th, 2015

Professor Young

Essay 1: Freedom

 

 

Slavery Doesn’t Necessarily Mean No Freedom

If a person is owned by another person and has to follow his or her orders, is he or she free? Freedom is the ability to be who one wants to be, think what one wants, and does what one wishes to do. A slave can still have freedom if they are free-spirited; someone who is not weighed down by life’s troubles, is themselves regardless of the situation, and is not restricted by other people’s opinions. However, in order to obtain freedom, one must let themselves be free which is another term for being free-spirited. In the novel The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, two slaves Sibonia and Pie are slaves but in completely different ways. Pie has more freedom with her master but is not more free. On the other hand, Sibonia has less opportunities than Pie but has more freedom because she is free-spirited. For instance, Sibonia is crazy but she embraces this feature to her advantage and is not ashamed of who she is. This enables her to say what she wants and do what she wants without caring what anyone thinks of her. Meanwhile, Pie cannot say what she wants without getting in trouble, she is forced into doing things she doesn’t want to do, and has to pretend to be someone she does not desire to be. Therefore, Sibonia is the slave that has the most freedom.

Among the slaves Sibonia is considered crazy, but she uses this for advantages in many ways. Instead of hiding who she is, she uses it in a brilliant way. She is able to say what is on her mind regardless of the situation because she has something to blame her words on; her craziness. Every time she says something she shouldn’t, her sister will cover her by saying, “Don’t mind her. She’s feebleminded” (McBride 161). Therefore, Sibonia can say whatever she wants and get away with it because people think she is crazy and does not know any better. Thus, part of having freedom is being able to speak his or her mind, and Sibonia has the capability to obtain this part of freedom. Hence, Sibonia is freer because she is able to speak her mind without any punishments.

In contrast, Pie cannot speak her mind because she has much more consequences. If Pie were to say what she wanted she could be kicked out of the whore house or beaten. For example, her master would say something like, “I’ll have Darg come up here” (McBride 149). Darg is this big muscular man that takes care of punishing the slaves when they do something wrong. She is afraid to say much because she doesn’t want to lose her position with Miss Abby and does not want to be beaten by Darg. Ultimately, Pie cannot say what is on her mind without getting in trouble, which mean she does not have freedom.

Furthermore, Sibonia acts how she likes and does not care about other people’s opinion on her actions. In the novel, the main character Onion goes outside to try to find his friend and is confronted by Sibonia. Sibonia knows he is “higher up” than her and throws mud balls at him. Onion explains, “That crazy fool woman scooped up another handful of mud by the time I looked, and throwed that in my face” (McBride 161). Sibonia knows Onion can tell the master and get her in trouble, “Miss Abby would flog her righteous if I was to tell it” (McBride 161). She knows her consequences but pays no attention to them and throws her mud balls anyway. Sibonia will take actions for herself, giving herself the right to freedom. Additionally, another part of having freedom is the ability to take the actions one wants. As a result, sibonia is more free because she has this capability.

Meanwhile, Pie has to follow everything Miss Abby tells her to do because she is too afraid to lose her position. Pie has to cover up other people’s action, not even her own, in order to not get in trouble. For example, Onion accidently rips Miss Abby’s scarf and Pie has to pay for that action. Pie worriedly said, “Ill fix it. I’ll pay for the scarf” (McBride 149). Pie does not even get the chance to do what she wants because she has to pay for other people’s mistakes, like paying for the ripped scarf. Hence, Pie suffers for others mistakes, not even getting a chance to make her own, which makes her unattainable to freedom.

Lastly, Sibonia is not ashamed of who she is; she understands she is a slave and wants better for herself. For example, she tries to escape slavery instead of accepting it and staying where she is at in life. Sibonia uses her cunning skills to talk Onion into writing her something. She states, “If I was to tell you about your Bob, would you write me something? Like a pass? Or Bill of State? (McBride 165). Stating this shows how cunning and smart Sibonia really is. Sibonia knows this will get her out of where she is and to something better because she knows she deserves better. This is what makes her free, she does not accept the fate she is handed, she tries for better. Also, she has an opportunity to escape and create this better life for herself that she so rightfully deserves. As a result, Sibonia has more freedom because she will not settle for being a slave.

 However, Pie does the exact opposite; she pretends to be a whore in order to keep her higher slave ranking. Her higher ranking includes living in a house, getting her own room, good meals, and authority in Miss Abby’s house. Even if she wanted to escape she could not because too many people have slept with her and would recognize her on the streets. Readers can see this when Pie states, “Even with a pass, too many people ‘round here know me. Still, it’d be nice to pass the time reading dime books like the other girls” (McBride 155). Pie shows signs of resentment to other girls because they are who she wishes to be and does not have enough courage to become. Pie wants to be able to read, go outside and walk around, and not have sex with every guy that walks in; just like every other normal girl. Unfortunately, Pie accepts these circumstances and has no chance of escaping without getting caught. Therefore, she is less free because she will always be stuck in the whore house with no hopes of a better future.

Overall, Sibonia may have less opportunities and much more hardships but she definitely has more freedom over Pie. Sibonia has to live outside whether its raining or freezing, has to do hard labor work, and sleeps on the ground. However, Sibonia is free-spirited by her attitude towards life which leads her to have the freedom of speaking her mind and taking the actions she decides. Unfortunately, Pie has more privileges but cannot say something without punishment, pays for other people’s consequences, and can never escape. Thus, even though both are slaves, Sibonia has more freedom. This goes to show that even slaves can have freedom if they believe they are worth more than everyone exclaims.                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

McBride, James. The Good Lord Bird. New York: Riverhead, 2013. Print.