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...
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…
