Adam Truman Individual Freedom

African Americans discovered freedom by the efforts of others. The ideal liberalist Harriet Tubman, the Quaker Thomas Garrett, and Frederick Douglass who lives in Rochester. The biographical essay “Harriet Tubman Guide to Freedom,” shows the true sacrifice of others for those in need. These men and women truly describe devotion and self sacrifice for

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay titled “Self-Reliance” he speaks on the topic of the individual, creating the idea that an individual being independent leads to greatness. Emerson’s writing within this memoir is relatable to young individuals who are looking for themselves, an individual must avoid conformity and false consistency while following their own thoughts making themselves an individual. Within the essay, Emerson uses a range of rhetorical devices to prove that every individual can do great by being an individual and not like everyone else, something that young people everywhere should hear while growing up with the heinous act of peer pressure.

By supporting the Revolutionaries actions to break free from British Rule, Douglass alluded to the similar fight that the American population faced to attain the same liberty that white citizens had. With the same courage the Founding Fathers had to create a free country, the American generation of 1852 faced a similar test to uphold the values of the Declaration of Independence, and liberate American slaves.7 After applauding the Founding Fathers, Douglass acknowledges that the emphasis of his speech is not to give praise, but to call on America to act on it’s own failures and begin to faithfully fulfill the nations oath.8 He asks his audience, “Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us [African Americans]?”9 This rhetorical question Douglass presents, challenges America to reevaluate what they are truly celebrating on the Fourth of July, for it is surely not the freedom in which they claim to have achieved. Douglass asserts that asking black people to rejoice in the “shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery”10 and do not respect the courage, and steps the Founding Fathers took to create a free, liberated nation.11

Message: Douglass wants his audience, the American public, to know that he earned his freedom. Freedom is something that each of us must look for in order to be truly “free.” Through the personal experiences of his own life as a slave and his perseverance to become educated, Douglass shows us that it requires persistence and bravery to look for freedom. He also illustrates to the audience that there is no real end in this search for freedom until slavery is fully abolished.

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion,” is a quote written by Albert Camus, which displays the complexity of defining the term freedom. Jean-Paul Sartre’s play “The Flies,” defines the concept of freedom as the accountability of one’s own guilt, which allows individuals to recognize their own freedom. Furthermore, an individual that accepts accountability for one’s own guilt and responsibility for the city, or complete isolation, is living in freedom. Likewise, Zora Neal Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God explores the notion of being or becoming absolutely free, finding her voice,

In the first two paragraphs of “Self-Reliance,” Emerson conveys the idea that society needs to become more self-reliant. Emerson introduces the analogy, “no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given him to till” (1). The metaphor, “nourishing corn,” correlates to how most people in society rely on the helping of others to make decisions and endure tasks. Also, Emerson writes, “for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater” (2). The image of “surrender[ing] the liberty and culture of the eater” translates to how society relies on the higher power to take tasks head on for them and do not rely on themselves and their own thoughts. Throughout the first two paragraphs of Emerson’s text, he uses analogies and imagery to convey the central idea that society needs to become more self-reliant.

The play explores the ideas about individuality and conformity in a society. Individualism in a society means refusing to conform, and if one

In the autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, the author explains his hardships of life growing up as a slave. Douglass was taken from his mother to grow up on a separate plantation in Maryland where he notices that there is no individuality among the slaves. He is then sent to live with Mrs. Auld, is taught to read, and realizes that passion for learning reveals his individuality. After being sent back to his original plantation his strong passion for learning urges him to creates a plan with fellow slaves leading to his freedom. Throughout the book, Douglass’ use of metaphors, juxtaposition, and diction demonstrate how freedom is essential to develop as an individual.

Fredrick Douglass was not the American Adam of the 1830s and 40s, he was black, born a slave, and was not particularly religious till his teen years. But, his stamina, drive, and devotion to becoming a freeman was everything the American Adam encompassed. Douglass, whether he knew it or not, was shaping the way future members of society conducted themselves. Influenced by the obvious American ideology of independence white man had the honor of being so gracefully handed, Douglass became focused on having many of those same rights and strove to receive them purely by his own hand, the perfect American example of self-reliance.

Only less than century ago, it was considered treason to criticize the English empire and try to break away from them; however, hundreds of Americans laid there lives to separate from the empire. The reason so, as Douglass iterates, is because those Americans viewed what the actions of the British Empire as unjust and against freedom. As a strong abolitionist, Douglass strives to change the current American to how an American truly should be like, just in every way and brave to start revolution for what they believe is correct. At the start of the revolution, it was unheard of to criticize or disagree with England, but “to say now that America was right, and England wrong, is exceedingly easy” (Douglass). Douglass sets up this ideal of how an American should be, a revert to ideals and beliefs that the forefathers internalized, and directly juxtaposes that to the what an American is at the time. Those considered Americans did not have to earn their title as those previously had. They did not fight for their freedom nor go through revolution to feel as if they had earned the right to live in “the land of the free, and home of the brave”

It is tragically ironic that white Americans brazenly celebrate their freedom and independence while denying those rights to others. Not only do they withhold independence from slaves, but they force them to partake in independence celebrations that do not apply to them. Douglass uses symbolic imagery such as the “temple of liberty” to illustrate the desperately craved, almost holy place of autonomy that slaves cannot reach. If Americans actually practice the ethics that state mean so much to them, situations of mass enslavement of a race of people would not exist. Americans must, “stand by its esteemed principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost” (Douglass

The people of the United States of America pride themselves on being noble and free members of an exemplary society, one with values which other countries should use as guidelines for their own government. As a general principle, the republican theory that defines America’s Constitution is one that values pluralism and diversity, and protects individuals’ rights against all kinds of government abuse. The Declaration of Independence, written as a founding document for the freedom and values that the Americas established in escaping British control, states that “We [Americans] hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Regardless of its many guarantees to personal liberty, the original Constitution was deeply flawed in its express recognition and permission of slavery. Spread out amongst the seven articles are contradictory statements regarding the treatment of slaves within the U.S. government, such as prohibiting Congress from banning the slave trade until 1808, calling non-slave states to return escaped slaves into bondage, and distributing slaves to those in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. The autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, exhibits the corruption of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness outlined in the Declaration of

     Emerson’s writing focused on nonconformity and individuality. In his essay "Self-Reliance," he wrote, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind," and, "Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist."

The American dream is closely tied with individualism, where there is emphasis on personal achievements as well as individual rights. In American society, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and the freedom to express such opinions. With this right, each individual is expected to push himself towards success on the basis of his/her own personal efforts. The American dream is also based on the belief that anyone who has enough talent, will, drive, and merit can overcome insurmountable obstacles to achieve whatever they set their minds to. However, not everyone can achieve success as it is based on an individual’s abilities, initiative, and willingness to take risks. Frederick Douglass demonstrates this trait of individualism throughout his life, with his willingness to take risks, and to overcome obstacles placed in his way, so as to acquire whatever he sought. This trait is what sets him apart from other slaves, and is best illustrated through his efforts to learn how to read and write. Though his master forbade him to learn and took away his only teacher, Frederick was able to overcome this obstacle and find other teachers, by befriending young white boys who knew how to read and write. Frederick’s individualism seems to have been a result

Another brilliant work by Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is the fourth of July?” is a speech that addresses and speaks to the frustration caused by the distinction created between the idealistic and real United States. This clear contrast is represented in his organization of his speech––one that starts with