A Comparison of Freedom in Beloved and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

2433 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: My definition of freedom is

Theme of Freedom in Beloved and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Freedom as defined in Websterís dictionary is liberation from the control of another person or arbitrary power, a being able to act or move without hindrance or restraint. My definition of freedom is altered from this due to the various experiences I have had. These experiences affect my perception of life and influence how I define freedom, just as another person would view freedom differently than me.

Freedom, as I perceive it to be, is the ability to live a life without any restrictions or limitations imposed on you by others. You must have complete control over every aspect in your life. Most people think of freedom only in the realm of the physical, but I believe that freedom is emotional as well. In order to be considered free, you must be separate from your past. You need to acknowledge your past and realize what has happened, but at the same time you need to move on. You cannot allow your life to be lived according to what has happened in your past, or a cycle will ensue.

This cycle comes from making choices while ìfreeî. During a life lived in freedom, inevitably a wrong decision will be made and you will be forced to deal with the repercussions. Some people become slaves to these choices, which results in an emotional bind. Therefore, from freedom comes entrapment and enslavement to the choices made while ìfreeî. People end up being extremely attached and emotionally affected by their past, such as the characters in Beloved and One Flew Over The Cuckooís Nest, that they will never live a ìnormalî life again.

The theme of freedom is evident in both Beloved and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Every character in both of these texts is affected by freedom in some way or another. In Toni Morrisonís Beloved, Schoolteacher acts as the catalyst who takes away his slaveís freedom, where as in One Flew Over The Cuckooís Nest, Nurse Ratchet plays this role by infringing upon all of her patientís freedom.

Sethe, in Beloved, suffers from both kinds of freedom. As a slave she has physical restraints placed on her as well as emotional ones. All slaves are confined to the land of their owners, which is an obvious violation of a personís freedom. Sethe was unable to leave the plantation and go where she desired.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Movie Beloved

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sethe was born into slavery and knew the struggle of being a black woman growing up in the mid-1800s. During this time there were growing number of slave wanting to runaway to the north where they could be free from the slave master and the plantations. Like many slaves, Sethe became victim to the fugitive slave laws that allowed slave masters to come to the north and capture runaway slaves. However, like my quote a mother knows no law when it comes to her family. By slitting the throats of all of her children, Sethe made the ultimate sacrifice in order to save her children from the hard life as a

    Read More

  • What Does It Mean To Be An American Essay

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, freedom is having power to inflict a positive change on the world. The ability to be yourself and not change for anyone. The right to choose who rules and who doesn’t rule. Having a chance to get out there and show the world what your all about and who you really are. These are all definitions of freedom and what it truly means to be

    Read More

  • Rabies Immune Globulin and The First Dose of Rabies Vaccine

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rabies does not discriminate against any warm blooded mammal; all that come into contact with the virus are at risk. Those who choose to live, work, and recreation in areas with a larger wildlife population are understandably at higher risk. People should be extremely wary of unknown animals and heed behavior changes in familiar animals. The virus is usually spread from a bite wound when the saliva of an infected animal is introduced to the victim via the bite. The virus travels from the origin of the wound to nerves and onward to ultimately infect the brain.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass Meaning Of Freedom

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    When one hears the word freedom, one associates it with the words independence and liberty. It means that a person is able to exist freely without any limits, as it is their god-given right to do so. While this is true, the definition of freedom changes based on the context of the situation. During the time of slavery, freedom had a unique meaning to each person who was subjected to slavery. In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass explores what the unique and complex meaning of freedom based off his experiences and knowledge of slavery.

    Read More

  • Rabies And Anthrax Vaccines

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    A “vaccine” or otherwise known as a vaccination, is something that stimulates someone’s immune system from a disease. Vaccines can prevent infections and actually cause it to not re-occur again. The invention of the Rabies, and Anthrax vaccines not only saved life’s, but helped scientist conduct and produce more accurate and successful research. Discovered by Louis Pasteur, in 1882, the innovation of the rabies vaccine was invented. Rabies is a critical and sometimes fatal infection that one could get with coming in contact with a “rabid” or wild animal. When this virus enters the body and spreads, it travels slowly through all the nerves and all the way to the brain. Once it reaches the brain, it becomes fatal. The number of deaths due to rabies worldwide each year is approximately 55,000. However, due to the invention of the rabies vaccine, the number of fatalities and illnesses decreased by a substantial amount.

    Read More

  • Freedom and Manipulation in Utopia by Thomas Moore

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    Looking the word “freedom” up in the dictionary, I encounter with the following definition: the condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, etc. whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited.¹³ Then, we can assume when you are unable to say things you would like to say, or to think in a different way than the one that has been imposed to you, you are not wholly free.

    Read More

  • Freedom: Jackie Robinson And The Pursuit Of Freedom

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the Collins Dictionary, “freedom” is defined as “the state of being allowed to do what you want to do”(“freedom”). The definition of freedom is simple, but make yourself free is not easy. Concerning about some common cases which will take away your freedom, such as a time-cost high education attainment. In this essay, I shall persuade that everyone should try his or her best to insist on pursuing freedom. For the individual, it appears that only if you have your personal freedom, can you have a dream; for a country, it seems that only if the country is free, can the country develop; for mankind, it looks like that only if people has their own pursuit of freedom, can their thoughts evolve.

    Read More

  • Freedom And Freedom Essay

    1161 Words  | 3 Pages

    Freedom is having the right to own, act, think, and speak without any restrictions from the outside. Ever since the New World was discovered, people have been fighting for their independence till this day. People of other colors and race have been forced to do labor without their consent. Today, those same people have been blamed or accused of crimes that were not committed by them despite of being free. Freedom has different meanings and those meanings change overtime; however sometimes the significance of freedom does not change.

    Read More

  • Motherhood Under Slavery in Tony Morrison’s Beloved

    3170 Words  | 7 Pages

    Sethe has a strong maternal instinct and sees her children as a part of herself. They rightfully belong to her. However her maternal ownership of her children is not recognized by the culture of slavery. As a slave she cannot own anything (Mock 118). Therefore while they are enslaved neither Baby Suggs nor Sethe really own their children. In the slavery culture both the mothers and the children are considered as property of their white owners. As property, their rights as mothers are made void and they have no say about the lives of their children. To the owners a slave woman’s primary value is in her reproductive ability. The female slave is seen as giving birth to property, and therefore capital in the form of new slaves. (Liscio 34). The owner has the ability to use and dispose of this new property as they wish. Therefore children could be sold without any regards for their feelings of the feelings of their mother. In the novel Baby Suggs states she has given birth to eight children, however she only gets to keep one that she sees grow into adulthood. By the end of her life slavery has stolen all of her children from her:

    Read More

  • Justifying the Murder in Beloved by Toni Morrison

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are two ways of interpreting the killing of Beloved, Sethe could. be seen as saving her, motivated by true love or selfish pride? By Looking at the varying nature of Sethe, it can be said that, she is a. women who choose to love their children but not herself. She kills the baby, because in her mind, her children are the only part of her that has not been soiled by slavery, she refuses to contemplate that by. showing this mercy, she is committing a murder.

    Read More

  • Rabies

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    The virus is spread by animals. Warm blooded animals are required to transmit the virus and the disease is almost always fatal (CDC). It is passed through saliva from the host to the victim also through mucous membranes like the eyes or nose. Yet the most common ways of transition is through a bite with the virus containing saliva. The main animals that hold the virus are: skunk, fox, bat, raccoon, and the coyote (CDC). These wild animals account for 93% of the cases in the United States. The raccoon still leads as the major carrier and the animal is domestic in the Eastern United States. The skunk is native to the inland states, parts of Texas to Montana and all the way to Wyoming. The fox and the coyote are both native to the Mid Southern US, and the fox is also spotted in Alaska along the coast. Although not heard of lately, bats are a big carrier of the virus. They are common in most of the states except Hawaii (WebMD.com). The bats have also spread though out the world, and most recently in Australia. Australia was once free of rabies until rabid bats were found there recently (Mayo Clinic Proceedings). The virus can also be spread to domesticated animals, and most cases are reported in the summer and fall months. The three major domesticated animals are: cats, dogs, and cattle.

    Read More

  • The History of Freedom

    1666 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout history freedom has had many different meanings and definitions; based on race, gender, and ethnicity. According to the dictionary freedom means the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint (“freedom” def. 1). Freedom may seem like something given to everyone however it was something workers had to fight for. Not everyone believed that workers’ rights needed to be changed, which led to a long battle between workers, employers and the government. To the working class people freedom meant making higher wages, having regulated hours, workable conditions and the right to free speech.

    Read More

  • Rabies Control

    1607 Words  | 4 Pages

    “All warm blooded animals are susceptible to rabies; but, according to the World Health Organization’s Expert Committee on the disease, not all animals are equally susceptible…dogs are listed as only moderately susceptible; but dogs are without any doubt the animals most likely to spread the infection to human beings.” (Kaplan et al. 1).

    Read More

  • Characteristics Of Being An American

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. In America there is numerous of choices that someone may make on a daily basis. If someone were allowed to make their own choices and were being told what to do; then they would not be free. When someone is allowed to speak when they want to, and say what they want; such as their opinion or view of something. Being allowed to have a right to speak is one of the most important characteristics of being an American. Thinking and stating your opinion in any predicament it a strong part in being a citizen because people in the United States are known for being able to think in their own ways. Freedom can stretch too many things such as being able to do as they please, they are not forced into doing anything that someone may want. The citizens of the United States are not made to do anything that one may not want to do; like

    Read More

  • Morrison's Bluest Eye Essay: Self-Definition

    2534 Words  | 6 Pages

    In Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, published in 1970, the struggle begins in childhood. Two young black girls -- Claudia and Pecola -- illuminate the combined power of externally imposed gender and racial definitions where the black female must not only deal with the black male's female but must contend with the white male's and the white female's black female, a double gender and racial bind. All the male definitions that applied to the white male's female apply, in intensified form, to the black male's, white male's and white female's black female. In addition, where the white male and female are represented as beautiful, the black female is the inverse -- ugly.

    Read More

More about A Comparison of Freedom in Beloved and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Open Document