Sibonia Is as Free as a Butterfly

                                                   Sibonia Is as Free as a Butterfly

             Butterflies have a stage in their process where they are not free. They are trapped in a cocoon until they are fully developed into the creature they are predestined to become. Similarly, blacks when they cocooning inside their mother’s womb to be born into the harsh reality of slave life. We have this preconceived notion that blacks were always fighting for their own freedom, but some were fearful of the results. James McBride’s novel illustrates the complexities of life in pre-Civil War America, beyond a simple slave vs. free man story. In James McBride’s, The Good Lord Bird, Sibonia is freer than Pie because Sibonia is able to express herself without any fear.
       The definition of freedom is the ability to express oneself freely without undo restrictions. Simply put most people Freedom in the days of slavery was debatable since slaves were often simply defined as property. There were varying opinions on slavery,while freedom was more scene as an intimidating factor because of the results that could occur, such as being hung. If slaves during this time were caught scheming, most would be whipped or even hanged for their misdemeanors. Slaves saw this, and backed down to their master’s demands,as with Pie in The Good Lord Bird.

             Pie is given a luxurious home, for in return she has to sell her body and be enslaved to Miss Abby, which makes her less free than Sibonia. Pie has no ability to ever express herself honestly, but is given much better living conditions than Sibonia.She is given a comfy bed, warm meals and is always given clothing such as a “flowered blue dress of the type whores naturally favored” (McBride 144). The lifestyle of Pie is a façade of beauty and glory on the outside but captured and enslaved on the inside.

Sibonia lives in horrid conditions because she is disguising herself as a mentally ill person to fool the headmaster and compose a plan that could set her free. Sibonia’s living conditions are grimy and are comparable to pigs being packed in at a farm. She lives in a dirty pen where “the smell of the place was infernal” (McBride 160). Sibonia is fearless because she is willing to live through horrid conditions just for the chance of freedom, by creating a façade that has easily fooled the headmaster.

Sibonia is taking the risk for her freedom, to make a deal with Onion to have a Bill Of Sale in her possession. She asks Onion to retrieve a Bill Of Sale and in return Onion will be given the location of Bob. Sibonia asks Onion because he can write her The Bill Of Sale which will set her free. But Sibonia has to be fearless and audacious about the way she expresses herself to Onion. Therefore, she warns him by stating that if he says anything to Pie or anyone else, “you’ll wake up with a heap of knives poking out that pretty neck of yours” (McBride 166). Sibonia is risking her life and expressing herself strongly to make a two way deal with a stranger because she treasures the idea of gaining her freedom.

             Two cocoons of the same kind of shape and structure yet inside two unique insects that can be quite different from each other. Pie and Sibonia are two females who entered society under the harshest of circumstances. But during these times, your circumstances can take you to very different places, as with Sibonia, a fighter for freedom, as contrasted with Pie, a chameleon, one who blends in with their surroundings. Pie is confined due to her fears. Sibonia also has fears, but her paramount drive is her fight for freedom. This hope and drive for freedom allows her to feel less confined than Pie, as free as a butterfly.