Haley Perez
Professor Mignano Brady
English 102
4/19/18
The Fight for Autonomy
Jean-Paul Sartre once said, “Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you” (Brainyquote). The theme freedom is seen clearly throughout the two short stories which refers back to the quote by Jean-Paul Sartre where the characters in the short story were oppressed but turned that into a drive for freedom. In the short story The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin and Children of the Sea by Edwidge Danticat, the main characters search for freedom due to the oppression that they faced. In our current world, freedom connects to the issue over guns which is discussed in a report from Global News. In all three connections freedom is a common theme.
In The Story of an Hour, Mrs. Mallard who is the main character has a heart condition which does not allow her to do much but her husband cares for her greatly. Her condition combined with the care of her husband may make her feel repressed. This was until she received news that her husband was killed in a train accident which caused Mrs. Mallard to have mixed emotions. She felt lost without him but at the same time was overwhelmed with the feeling of freedom. She did not know what this feeling was which was shown in this line, “ But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air” (Kate Chopin). The scents, sounds and colors which filled the air is symbolizing how open everything is now compared to her lack of freedom she had before. In another line she shouts out, “Free! Body and soul free!” which is showing literally how she feels that she is free (Chopin). Physically and internally she now has freedom compared to what she had when her husband was around. Towards the end of the story when she is inside her home filled with all of these powerful feelings which she has never felt before until her husband walks in which causes her to suffer from a heart attack and pass away. This part of the story is very important in symbolizing how much the theme freedom affects the characters. Her husband returning was ultimately the end point of the freedom she started to gain which crushed her feelings. Freedom which is seen in this short story is also seen in another.
In The Children of the Sea, freedom is overall the main goal and an important theme that plays throughout the story. In this short story there is an undisclosed writer who is writing to his loved one at home. From what is written in the letter, you can see how the writer is escaping from oppression from the government. The undisclosed writer is on a boat with many people looking to seek freedom as well. At one point he talked about a radio show he wanted, he explains, “Where we could talk about what we wanted from government, what we wanted for the future of our country” (Danticat). He is describing how he wishes a radio show can go on with new kids in charge running it since he left home. This radio show can open up new doors to escape from the harsh reality. Freedom is what kept the people going on the ship which was headed for America, specifically Miami. He describes what they sky looks like in one line, “The stars look so huge and so close” which can mean figuratively how his view of the reachability of freedom is (Danticat). The stars can compare to freedom which was what the people aboard were looking for and reaching for. During their voyage over to America, freedom played a role in their attitudes and reasoning for what they were trying to accomplish. There was much oppression and negativity but freedom is what lifted many of them to keep going for what they want. This ties in with gun control and our freedom to have guns.
In a Global News report, gun control was the main discussion where people who felt oppressed spoke up for what they believed in which was their freedom to carry guns. There has been much debate over guns and whether or not they should be banned or not. There are people who feel that they should not be banned and others who believe they should be totally banned and rid of. In this news report, Wayne LaPierre speaks up against the non supporters of gun rights saying, “Critics of the National Rifle Association are only interested in eliminating liberty for all Americans” (Dangerfield). He is saying that anybody who is disagreeing with the National Rifle Association is also getting rid of our freedom to have guns in our possession which is our Second Amendment. That is a freedom that we have so he is proving that those going against it are just trying to take away our freedom. He also states,” They hate the National Rifle Association. They hate the Second Amendment. They hate individual freedom” which in other words means that those who are against the National Rifle Association do not have any type of regard for our Second Amendment which protects our freedom to bear arms and show no care for our individual freedoms that we all have and live for (Dangerfield). In this report and situation, LaPierre feels like the Americans are being stripped of their rights and being oppressed in a way which relates to the other short stories discussed in the earlier paragraphs who were fighting oppression. This outside connection continues to show how important the theme freedom is and how relevant it is to our current world not just in stories.
Freedom is a very important word. Freedom are the rights, liberties and the ability to do what we would like to do without oppression getting in our way. In the short stories The Story of an Hour and Children of the Sea, the characters are feeling oppressed and they fight through it pushing what they believe in and would like. Those connect to the current issue in the Global News as well which also shows the importance and meaning of freedom. Without freedom, we would be captive to whoever claims all power over everyone which would destroy people mentally as well as physically not allowing people to do what they would like to do. Freedom is ultimately up to you to protect and is a strong word as well as theme.
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