My professor recently asked me to examine what is meant by the idea of freedom, keeping in mind three recent literary works we have studied recently: Walt Whitman's Song of Myself, Ralph Waldo Emerson's The American Scholar, and Frederick Douglass' Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. My initial instinct was to examine and write about how each of these author's ideas about freedom differed from one another. However, as I attempted to take this avenue I found myself ending up back to one overwhelming thought...that the ideas of freedom in these three literary works do not differ, but are instead eerily similar. Although each literary work is very different, one is an essay, one a poem, and the other a narrative, they all revolve around the idea of man being an independent being, capable of independent thought and choice.
     In Emerson's essay he stresses the importance of learning for yourself through processes of first hand observation and discovery.  To Emerson freedom means being able to study, examine, analyze, and think for yourself, rather than being held to arbitrary, narrow and didactic methods of education and thought. Whitman portrays freedom as being carefree and in harmony with nature as well as other human beings, and having the ability to openly experience and overtly appreciate the beauty of the world around you. Douglass plays with two ideas of freedom, physical freedom and mental freedom. However he shows in his narrative that as long as one is mentally free they can never truly be physically a slave, that freedom lies within yourself, and your ability to continue to imagine, dream, think, and educate yourself. 
     In each example freedom relies solely upon the individual. Each person has to take responsibility for their own freedom. It is up to me whether or not I will be held captive to the ideals of my peers, country, government, family, teachers, friends, and the like. I can be physically free, while at the same time allowing myself to be mentally enslaved. Or, I can be physically enslaved, and at the same time remain a free being within my thoughts and beliefs. All three of the above authors agree that if you want to be free the choice is YOURS!

http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=Whi55LG.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1

http://www.emersoncentral.com/amscholar.htm

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/Autobiography/