Freedom and responsibility: philosophical perspectives

Freedom to Be Yourself

Harry Brown, the author of How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World, once wrote "...the only way to achieve total freedom is to jettison all attachments and responsibilities -- to family, to country, to people, to government and to morality. In other words, only when you become a lone wolf outlaw do you achieve maximum freedom." And true to form, Browne hit a nerve: being true to self is veritable freedom of humanity.

In the three literary pieces presented, Tite Poulette, The Little Convent Girl and Free Joe and the Rest of the World, there is a common theme of what Browne made so clear: being true to self. It is evident, though, that each main character of these short stories was ultimately sacrificing many things in order to achieve that freedom and the happiness that exudes from having that autonomy.

It is clear that Kristian Koppig, the observer and one of the main characters in Tite Poulette, is a sort-of sacrificial lamb to Tite Poulette and her mother Madame John. His actions are directly linked to their freedom.

Koppig not only accepts that Madame John is mulatto, but also he protects her (and Tite Poulette) from the viciousness of the men that exploit her at the Salle de Conde. Koppig is the quintessential hero that sees beauty for beauty despite color of skin. He also, in his naivete, does not have concern if Tite Poulette is Madame John's flesh and blood. He is more concerned with them as frail humans living in an unjust world than himself and his well-being. He becomes so concerned that in fact he ultimately relinquishes his life in essence for them. He proves to be true to self and therefore free.

This idea of selflessness is apparent as well in the short story by Joel Chandler Harris, Free Joe and the Rest of the World.

Free Joe is a freed slave in one aspect, but yet is also a prisoner to that freedom. Because he has no owner, he must drift from one place to another without a home or a way to provide for himself, his wife Lucinda and their dog Dan.

Lucinda unfortunately but yet fortunately is still owned by a tyrant named adequately "Spite" Calderwood. He villainously is destructive to Joe and Lucinda's situation but yet in the end does not spoil the applicable freedom that ultimately is bestowed upon Joe.

In the last paragraph of the short story, Harris writes:

Receiving no response, Mr. Staley went to free

Joe and shook him by the shoulder; but the negro made no response. He was dead.... A passer-by glancing at him, could have no idea that such a humble creature had been summoned as a witness before the Lord God of Hosts."

It is apparent that Free Joe did not die in vain, but "passed on" into his new life which was his definitive liberty and peace. Free Joe's death was a small sacrifice for true freedom and happiness.

In the beautifully written short story, The Little Convent Girl, by Grace King, the nameless main character is destined to a life of unfortunate circumstances due directly and indirectly to the color of her skin.

The convent girl, on an arduous journey to meet her Mother for the first time, is physically described below:

Her hair was as black as her dress; her eyes, when one saw them, seemed blacker than either Her eyelashes were almost as thick as the black veil which the sisters had fastened around her hat with an extra pin, the very last thing before leaving."

This description of her lays the premise of a racially-themed construct of a dilemma in the making.

When the girl finally meets her Mother it is apparent that her mother is "colored." This in itself confirms the disdain between the convent girl's parents and there ultimate separation.