“Open your eyes!” the voice commanded. “We must hurry away from here!” I blinked again. Before me sat a girl, her right cheek scarred . . . , her eyes swollen with fatigue.
’Twas Isabel, who was my friend.
I blinked for the third time and took a deep breath. Isabel’s hands lay in her lap, bleeding from torn blisters. The handles of both oars were bloodstained where she had gripped them.
Like a flint hitting steel, a memory sparked, then flared.
Isabel had freed me from the Bridewell Prison. She’d rowed a boat, this ancient boat, all night long. Rowed us away from Manhattan, the British army, and those who owned us.
The memory exploded.
We are free!
I stood, legs quivering, head pounding, heart leaping. “You did it! How? Don’t matter. Country, you did it!”
She shook her head violently and pulled me back down to my seat, a shaky finger on her lips to quiet me. “Hush!”
“But it’s wondrous,” I said, voice low. “Is it not?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “No.” The wind swirled a veil of snow between us. “Perhaps.”
“Do you know of a safe house hereabouts?” I asked. “The name of folks who would help us?”
“We have to help ourselves.” She looked over her shoulder at the field beyond the riverbank. “We have a handful of silver coins, some meat, and a map. I forged a pass too, but the river ruined it.” She wrung out the water from the bottom of her skirt. “We have to walk to Charleston.” . . .
The river gurgled and tugged, trying to pull the boat back into the current. I clutched at the sides of the unsteady craft and shivered. Isabel had brought us this far. Now it was up to me.
But how?
We were escaped slaves, half froze and exhausted. We needed to warm ourselves, sleep, and eat. But above all, we had to stay hidden. The business of returning or selling runaways was profitable for both redcoats and rebels.
I tallied our advantages: A few coins. Food enough for a few meals. Disadvantages: No horse. No gun. No one to trust.
A large piece of ice floated down the river as the second truth crackled in me.
This freedom could kill us.

Claim/Thesis -
The author characterizes [character] as [trait] when [brief example].

Evidence - Choose a piece of evidence that will prove your thesis.
Anderson writes, “.”
or
The narrator says, “.”
or
The narrator is described as “”

Commentary - Explain what the quote is doing.
This demonstrates that [character] is [trait] because [how your quote proves they have this trait].

FINAL PARAGRAPH - Combine your sentences below into one paragraph.