FREEDOM!

Recently in class, regardless of who we have been discussing, we seem to return to this concept of freedom.  What does freedom mean to you?  What does freedom mean to me?  Am I free right now?  Are you free?  All of these questions are explored by the writers we have been studying.  Below I have examined what I believe to be the ideal form of freedom for Whitman, Emerson, Douglass, and Dickinson.

Whitman: 

 "Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems, You shall possess the good of the earth and sun . . . . there are millions of suns left, You shall no longer take things at second or third hand . . . . nor look through the eyes of the dead . . .nor feed on the spectres in books, You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, You shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself."

Here Whitman describes freedom as the ability to get close and develop a personal relationship with nature and the world around you.  His ideal form of freedom would be someone who is exploring and learning for themself, first hand, using their own senses, and coming to their own conclusions, all based upon personal exploration.

Emerson:

"The world is nothing, the man is all; in yourself is the law of all nature"

I think that here Emerson shows a very similar idea of freedom as Whitman.  Emerson also describes personal and individual thought and idea as true freedom.  Finding answers within oneself, experiencing, observing, and concluding for oneself.  When being held to the ideas and standards of those around you, rather than personal and individual thought, you will not be free. 

Douglass:

"This battle with Mr. Covey was the turning-point in my career as a slave. It rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood...My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact."

Douglass describes mental and personal freedom, despite physical enslavement.  Even though he was a slave he states he still had "embers of freedom".  Even though he was a "slave in form" he did not allow himself to be "a slave in fact".  Douglass shows that true freedom lies within oneself, and lies within your mind.  Although he had the appearance and form of a slave he did not in fact allow himself to be enslaved.  Douglass' body was enslaved but Douglass as a man was not.

Dickinson:

"They put me in the Closet --

Because they liked me "still" --

Still! Could themself have peeped --

And seen my brain -- go round --"

Dickinson's idea of freedom is very similar to that of Douglass.  She also describes a situation in which she was somehow held captive, in some way, yet her brain continued to "go round".  Just like Douglass she explores the idea of still being a free person by way of your thoughts, regardless of where you are physically.  Although "they" thought she was being kept still, "they" could not keep her mind from continuing to explore.  For Dickinson freedom is mental, not physical.