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Start:Martha Whaley

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Freedom in the Novel

Assessing the role that freedom plays in literature; a study of 4 novels.

"Great Expectations" "Dracula" "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" "Mrs. Dalloway"

By: Jessica Barnes, Rychelle Carrion,

Shawna Garanzuay, and Martha Whaley

Humans have a basic need for freedom. Every person is born with an instinctive drive to think, act, and speak freely. The desire to be free is universal; without this humanity cannot progress, it cannot evolve. This drive to be free has followed humanity throughout our evolution; it is in our music, our art, and our literature. Novels particularly have shown the pursuit of freedom in their motifs and themes. By looking at five novels and following freedom throughout it can be said that novels are a way to reflect people’s desires, hopes and fears. Novels reflect humanity, and in humanity is the desire to find freedom, to live at liberty without fear of oppression, whatever form that oppression takes.

In Great Expectations the main character Pip is searching for freedom throughout the novel. At the start of his quest he desires to be to be free from his tyrannical sister Mrs. Joe. Mrs. Joe abuses him and makes him feel guilty and worthless all the time.

My sister, Mrs.Joe Gargery, was more than twenty years older than I, and had

established a great reputation with herself and the neighbours because she

brought me up “by hand.” Having at that time to find out for myself what

the expression meant, and knowing her to have a hard and heavy hand, and to

be much in the habit of laying it upon her husband as well as upon me,

I supposed that Joe Gargery and I both were brought up by hand. (Dickens, 7).

Her abuse, both physical and psychological creates a hostile environment that Pip longs to be free of. The guilt and abuse she feeds him every day becomes unbearable for poor Pip, and he begins to dream of getting away from life on the marshes.

My sister’s bringing up had made me sensitive. In a little world in which children have their existence whosoever brings them up,

there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice. It may be only small injustice that the child is exposed to;

but the child is small, and its world is small…Within myself, I had sustained, from my babyhood, a perpetual conflict with injustice.

I had known, from the time when I could speak, that my sister in her capricious and violent coercion, was unjust to me. I had

cherished a profound conviction that her bringing me up by hand, gave her no rights to bring me up by jerks. (Dickens, 57).

Pip longs to be free from the marshes, his home and the people of the town, he longs to be free from the societal class he belongs- the commoners. “It is a most miserable thing to be ashamed of home.” (Dickens, 97). “The very stars to which I then raised my eyes, I am afraid I took to be but poor and humble stars for glittering on the rustic objects among which I had passed my life.” (Dickens, 131). After meeting Miss Haversham and Estella he longs to be a gentleman and live the high societal life, in hopes of winning Estella’s love and leaving his common life behind. That would make him free, or so he thinks. When he comes into his expectations though, Pip finds that money does not in fact bring him freedom. He has restrictions on his being a gentleman; he must follow rules set by his benefactor. He must stay ignorant of who the person is, and falsely assumes Miss Haversham has given him his new station in life. Not knowing the truth leaves him locked into false expectations that he is destined to be with Estella; he is a prisoner of his false hopes. Money does not bring happiness and freedom from the pain he feels from unrequited love as he had hoped.

“I never had one hour’s happiness in her society, yet my mind all round the four-and-twenty hours was harping on the happiness of having her with me unto death.” (Dickens, 274).

Upon learning that his money is coming from a criminal he feels the chains that his money has brought him. From the time he was a boy and lied and stole for the convict Magwich, he has carried the weight of guilt around his leg, like a ball and chain. Knowing the money came from a man who had committed crimes was too much for Pip. His whole new life that he thought he owned was nothing more than the whim of a criminal, and he wanted nothing more than to be free from the debt he felt to the convict.

“O, that he had never come! That he had left me at the forge- far from contented, yet, by comparison, happy!” (Dickens, 293)

Pip realizes he is very far from free when Magwich, a criminal, had given him his station in life, but also that Magwich now owns Pip.

“If I ain’t a gentleman, nor yet ain’t got no learning, I’m the owner of such.” (Dickens, 293).

In the end Pip realizes the only way to find freedom is to leave his expectations behind and follow his heart, and live his life for happiness and not social status. Pip finds freedom in what really matters in life, friends and family. His friend Herbert gives him a purpose in life; they live and work together and Pip realizes that he had kept himself prisoner with his false ideals of what really mattered in life. And dear Joe, who Pip had left at the beginning of the tale, dear Joe the steadfast soldier, who wanted nothing but the best for Pip, he brought Pip freedom by giving him unconditional love. In the end love is what brings Pip the freedom he had searched for his entire life. Knowing that he had friends who loved him, and a good job that he was able to work at and do well were the most satisfying things that Pip could ask for. He did not need riches, or to become a gentleman to escape the chains that bound him; all he needed to do was find out what really matters in life, that is what set him free.

End: Martha Whaley

( Rychelle Carrion)

The adventures of Huckeleberry Finn

Huck and Jim hunt for freedom. Jim is a slave and Huck is tired of living his life next to his abusive father. They both decide to escape for the goal of obtaining freedom and happiness. Significant Freedom Symbols I found in The adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, are the Mississippi River, Friendship and the freedom from society.

The Mississippi River plays an important role of freedom. The river was a place where both Jim and Huck felt safe, free and full of adventures. Besides their differences they both found a sense of freedom. Jim found freedom by escaping slavery and being free for the first time and Jim for discovering things that he didn’t know and being able to make his own choices. The river gave them the freedom to be who they wanted to be without any barriers to stop them. “We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.” ( Twain, 124) Describes how this place became their safe home and being in the water gave them space, no rules and ultimate freedom from the cruel society they lived in.

Their friendship had a major meaning on freedom. Despite their differences of coming from different lives, Jim being a black slave and Huck being a white boy, they became very close during their journey. I see freedom in that they were free from hate and racism. They saw each other as wanting and searching for one goal, which was freedom, instead of looking at their differences. Jim and Huck became very good friends and cared for each other, and most important, they both showed loyalty toward each other. "Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman" ( Twain, 102). Is a quote by Jim referring to how he believed Huck was the only white gentleman because he was the only one who made him feel like a human and not like a slave. "All right then, I'll go to hell" (Twain, 201) It’s a quote by Huck referring to Jim when he decided to go and rescue him. Nothing else mattered, and going to “hell” was not going to stop him. Huck was willing to sacrifice himself in order to help him. This shows his loyalty of wanting him to be free.

Huck is looking to be free from the abuse of his father and free from the constraints society puts on him. Huck felt imprisoned by his father because he had to deal with his abuse and seem as a failure in the society. After being away from his father he experienced life without abuse. "Pap he hadnt been seen for more than a year, and that was comfortable for me; I didnt want to see him no more" (Twain, 40). The society had its own ideas and principles of how people had to behave. The society saw Huck as a bad influence and not civilized. Society was pointless for Huck because they failed to help him when he needed help. Huck couldn’t escape from his father abuse. “ The judge and the widow went to law to get the court to take me away from him and let on of them be my guardian” The new judge said that “.. Courts mustn’t interfere and seperate families if they could help it. he’d druther not take a child away from its father. So Judge Thatcher and the widow had to quit the business” (Twain, 48) Besides his awful life, Huck found freedom in nature. "I set down, one time, back in the woods, and had a long think about it" (Twain, 40), shows how this helped him escape or feel free from the abuse of his father and his own life.

Jim is looking for freedom for himself, his family, freedom from slavery and freedom from discrimination. Jim wanted to be a free man and give his family freedom. He dreamed of being a free man and saving up money in order giving his family a better home. “when he got enough he would buy his wife, which was owned on a farm close to where Miss Watson lived; and then they would both work to buy the two children”

( Twain, 101). At the end, both Huck and Jim discover what freedom was.

Mrs. Dalloway

In Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Freedom is an important theme in this book. Clarissa and Septimus are scarred with past, which didn't allowed them to have peace in their present life.

Clarissa through glamorous parties in order to free her sadness and fear away. She transformed to a different person and was seen as the “Perfect hostess” ( Woolf, 8) that was happy and full of life and that didn’t show any sort of sadness in front of other people, she liked appearing as the perfect house wife. This was the best way to hide from the dark and cruel present world she lived in.

“She had the perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very, dangerous to live even one day.” (Woolf, 9) there fore she preferred to escape herself through her mind.

Clarissa lived in an illusion, where she imagined how her life was and how it could have been instead of living the present. This was a time where she thought about her past lovers and when she was young, beautiful and wanted. Her illusion made her happy because its a way of escaping her dark reality and true identity. She navigated through her past and illusions to feel better, and it was an excuse to hide her reality and free her mind.

“Fear no more the heat o’ the sun / Nor the furious winter’s rages.” ( Woolf, 9) Is a quote shared by Clarissa and Septimus, which meant that death should not be feared, and accept everything as it is. both thought about it through the day, which was a way to free their mind from fear.The effects of the war are seen in the novel. Septimus struggled to live life after he came back. Because of his physical damage to the brain, he saw death everywhere he went and was traumatized by it. The only freedom he saw was death, and this is why he committed suicide. It was his way to Freedom.

( Rychelle Carrion)

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Task 2: Shawna Garanzuay

Symbol of freedom in the novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/15/dracula-returns

http://secret-fantasy.deviantart.com/art/Freedom-252882261

One would think that the most obvious symbol of freedom in the novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker would be the physical imprisonment inside the stone walls of the old castle, or the fear of the unknown fate that would be met if there was an attempt of escape. However, the theme of freedom begins even before the monstrous grey fortress appears.

http://www.southernfriedcatholicism.com/2010/09/lift-high-crossand-kill-vampires.html

Several symbols of freedom appear throughout the novel; Freedom of fear, freedom from persecution as well as freedom from evil through Religious belief. These are just a few of the most significant forms of freedom seen in this novel. The towns people live in constant fear of the wall scaling beast, they try feverishly to warn unfortunate outsider souls of the devilish power that floats through the nights misty marshes.

Religious ornaments and rituals are used as tools to ward off this evil power in heavenly hope of warning off, saving or “freeing” the victim’s souls. The power of one religious amulet’s such as communion wafers, holy water or the crucifix are prevalent throughout the novel. As Jonathan Harker began to embark on his journey he was given a crucifix by the hotel keeper (Stoker, pg4). Such a small object believed to hold enormous power over the fight between good and evil. The crucifix was a symbol of freedom from eternal damnation.

(Shawna Garanzuay)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Jessica Barnes)

There are a number of themes that can be picked out in a novel but freedom will always be a very important one. The characters in a novel will want to be free from something, even if they do not come right out and say it. That being said, with whatever they want to be free from it helps us realize the time period. If a character wants to be free for example, they are a slave or living in a country that is being dictated by another, the reader understands that the novel is most likely dated to the earlier days. People and characters will always want to be free from something, whether it is physically or emotionally.

In comparison to novels, freedom is used much loosely in society. Society wants to be free from their daily struggles or anything that gets in their way. Society today is very lazy so this could consist of the fact that they want to be free from doing laundry. Similarly to novels, society also wants freedom from their long term more difficult struggles. These struggles will always come up in novels, it is the biggest part of the book because most of the time it creates the conflict. In novels, freedom can be a hidden theme, one where you may have to think in depth to find what the character really wants. Unlike novels, society comes right out and says what they want to be free from. On the other hand, many people can relate to the novels and what these characters want to be free from. There is handful of people who would want to be free from the evil in their life like many characters in Dracula or simply free from the people in their town like Pip.

A big question still remains though: Are people ever truly free? Most people would say yes, due to the fact that their country is free but is that the only aspect that makes them free? Technically yes, but there are other struggles, big or small, that people want to be free from. The American flag, bald eagle, butterflies and people standing in beautiful places with their arms spread wide are automatically associated with freedom. As great as these symbols may be, every one of them have something they want to be free from. The eagle wants to be free from people hunting and killing them, the flag wants to be free from the threat of being burnt and the people, well they are just like every other person, there will always be something in our way. Everyone has at least one worry that they want to be free from and always will have one. If they didn't, then they would be perfect and in today’s world, there is no such thing as perfect. People will never be free from everything but trying only makes them stronger. Freedom is an important and very popular theme and due to the fact that we will truly never be free, it will live on in novels forever. There is something that all people will never be free from: this particular theme.