“The handcuffs forged by the mind I feel” the speaker shares with the reader the fact that people's minds are not free, but in fact restrained or held by their various situations. For most during this time, money was never something they did, many earned little or nothing. Many children worked to help their families or simply for the sake of survival. Although people are not held physically, they are held solely in the mind. It is in their thoughts that people feel the weight of how they live, such as their economic status. The speaker is explaining that even though people are doing their best to survive and move forward, they still manage to break free