The epithet "land of the free" is a distinctive phrase commonly associated with America, a country that prides itself on granting its people equal rights. opportunities and freedom to pursue your dreams. . Yet American literature does not seem to echo such patriotic sentiments. In fact, it seems that there is a discernible conflict between the authors regarding the definitions of "liberty" and "liberty." Through countless texts born from the American literary nationalism movement, including Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, “Ligeia” and “The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe, and The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne – comes the suggestion that freedom is perhaps the product of personal will. This comparison places the responsibility for achieving freedom on individuals, as opposed to legislation or other similar sociopolitical circumstances, thereby narrowing the scope of this systemic concept to the capabilities of the individual. In this context, will therefore acts as a double-edged sword, capable also of opening the doors of freedom and of acting as a constraint on the individual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay The schism between freedom earned through individual will and that which is sanctioned by the state is particularly evident in Incidents in Life of a Slave Girl, in which Jacobs speaks about her own experiences as a slave and witness to slavery. In chapter 4, titled “The Slave Who Dared to Feel Like a Man,” Jacobs recounts his brother Benjamin's search for freedom from his slavery. A particular moment in this chapter is how Benjamin managed to evade capture by turning white: “For once, his white face did him a kind service. They did not suspect that it belonged to a slave; otherwise the law would have been followed to the letter and the thing would have been reduced to slavery” (Douglass and Jacobs 2004: 154-155). This passage marks a rarely noticed aspect of the American slave experience, which differed from the common idea that skin tone dictated status and allowed many light-skinned runaway slaves to rebuild their lives under false identities. Therefore, a flaw in the legal definition of freedom is discovered, creating a dichotomy that allows freedom and entrapment – ​​in terms of the ability to live as one's most authentic self – to coexist. Additionally, the same chapter of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl exposes a facet of Benjamin's logic that differed from Jacobs' ideologies, according to which freedom is intrinsically tied to geographic location and one would be free as long as one achieved this place. For Benjamin, it was New York: "'O Phil,' exclaimed Benjamin, 'I am here at last.' » Then he told her how close he was to dying, almost within sight of a free land, and how he prayed that he might live long enough to get a breath of free air. … “If I die now,” he exclaimed, “Thank God, I will die a free man!” » (Douglass and Jacobs 2004, 156). Benjamin had clearly equated his proximity to freedom with his location, which blinded him to his mother's efforts to secure this freedom through legal means and completely convinced him that it was more about 'a form of abandonment. Content to live out the rest of his days immersed in risk and peril, Benjamin's willful rejection of societal systems is a dangerous game of ignorance, prompting Jacobs to assert: "He who wants to be a slave, let him be a slave." (Douglasand Jacobs 2004: 157). Although Benjamin believed he was responsible for his own liberation, by not complying with his mother's wishes, he actually further trapped himself. Apart from this, Jacobs highlights it in chapters 5 and 10, respectively titled “The Trials of Childhood”. and "A Perilous Passage in the Life of a Slave Girl", that absolute will often cannot be exercised because of self-imposed restrictions. In the context of slavery in America, Jacobs addresses the silent masses of Northerners, whose refusal to criticize their own and participate in the struggle for abolitionism is a demonstration of willing complicity: "Surely...you, in the North, would not help. to tighten the yoke. You would surely refuse to do for the master, on your own soil, the petty and cruel work that the trained bloodhounds and the lower class of whites in the South do for him” (Douglass and Jacobs 2004: 159). The "petty and cruel work" Jacobs refers to is the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which required citizens not only to assist in the recovery of runaway slaves, but also to report those in their communities who chose to help a slave in their life. escape attempts (Douglass and Jacobs 2004, 391). This criticism highlights the complacency of the North, whose willful ignorance makes its liberal convictions appear superficial. For this reason, the notion of freedom as consciousness and expression of will does not take into account the behaviors of Northerners, both in theory and in practice. Furthermore, Jacobs admits that he was also guilty of limiting his own assertion of his will. Regarding her grandmother's unstable nature, Jacobs notes that “[she] feared the consequences of an outbreak of violence [if she spoke of Dr. Flint's proposals]; and pride and fear kept her silent” (Douglass and Jacobs 2004: 160). Similarly, considering his voluntary commitment to Mr. Sands, Jacobs states: "It seems less degrading to give oneself up than to submit to compulsion." There is something akin to the freedom of having a lover who has no control over you except that which he gains through kindness and attachment” (Douglass and Jacobs 2004: 192). What revoked and awarded her freedom in the aforementioned circumstances were her own decisions, not those of others around her, which certainly complicates the ideas of freedom and self-freedom. Jacobs turned down a chance for catharsis with his grandmother due to his personal anxieties, but allowed himself a taste of control by choosing to be with Mr. Sands, thus reflecting the same dichotomy as before – the coexistence of freedom and entrapment – ​​on an individualized level. for Poe's "Ligeia", the entire narrative is arguably indicative of what the will is capable of accomplishing, perhaps underlined by the story's supernatural qualities and the harmonious blend of realism and surrealism throughout. long. The story begins with an epigraph attributed to Joseph Glanvill, which maintains that the will is eternal and that the spirit of man can only be extinguished if he himself is weak of will: "And the will resides there , who does not die. … Man does not completely abandon himself to the angels, nor to death, except only through the weakness of his feeble will” (Poe 2006, 62). This quote recurs three more times in the tale, becoming a parallel motif to the supposed resurrection of Ligeia and the possession of Lady Rowena. As the narrator describes it, in her life Ligeia demonstrated "an intensity in thought, action or speech, [which] was perhaps, in her, the result, or at least an indication, of this gigantic will which,… has not succeeded in giving other and more immediate proof of its existence” (Poe2006, 66). What better representation, then, of Ligeia's extremely unwavering spirit than to see her overpowering the weak Rowena? Yet, as the narrator admits, this impossible force of will may have been only a vision “engendered by opium” (Poe 2006: 74), thus rendering it ultimately inaccessible. and his personal will, "The Pit and the Pendulum" poignantly depicts the narrator's imprisonment and torment following the Spanish Inquisition. Although the story initially coincides with "Ligeia", "even in the grave all is not lost". Otherwise there is no immortality for man” (Poe 2006: 213), the narrator quickly realizes that he had practically celebrated his little victories in vain. After freeing himself from his bonds thanks to the vermin around him, the speaker comes to the surprising conclusion that he has only overcome one obstacle among a dozen others: "For the moment, at least , I was free. Free! – and under the influence of the Inquisition! … Free! – I had simply escaped death in one form of agony, only to be delivered up to worse than death in another” (Poe 2006, 224-225). This continues until the very end of the story, when his efforts bring him to the precipice of death and his moment of abandonment is intercepted: "An outstretched arm caught mine as I fell, fainting, into the abyss” (Poe 2006, 227). Whether to fight for survival or succumb to his demise, his decision was thwarted and the end result was determined by forces beyond his control, once again demonstrating the limits of pure will . Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables illustrates the lives of The Pyncheons and the complex events of iniquity, fate, and justice that flow from the titular house, as well as the failure of human will to overcome that which was ordained by nature. This is characterized by the tragic disappearance of Alice Pyncheon - in the chapter of the same name - at the hands of Matthew Maule. After being challenged by Maule, Alice's pride gave her the courage to accept. But, despite her willing efforts, it seemed that Alice was ultimately no match for Maule and was, from that moment on, controlled by a force she could not overturn: "A will, very different from hers, forced her to do his grotesque will. and fantastic auctions [including being forced to “laugh,” “be sad,” and “dance” as decreed by Maule]. …And, therefore, as long as Alice Pyncheon lived, she was the slave of Maule, in a slavery more humiliating, a thousand times more than that which fastens his chain round the body” (Hawthorne 2009, 208-209). This degradation of Alice Pyncheon indicates the horrors of subjugation and submission, when one is left with a hollow shell made to be exploited. Alice's overwhelming loss of independence profoundly changes her as a person, revealing how the inability to exercise her will can, often, shatter her psyche beyond any hope of repair. Regardless, it should be remembered that Maule's methods of persuasion were attributed to some sort of supernatural. , sinister ability, rather than being a product of his innate charisma or powerful personality. This can be interpreted as a warning against using one's will against that of others, because this reductive act violates the freedom of others and dehumanizes them. When Maule succeeds in placing Alice under his spell, he proclaims: “She is mine!” … Mine, by the right of the strongest mind! (Hawthorne 2009, 206) in a grotesque celebration of its possession. Maule continues to play with Alice in the rest of the chapter, pushing her limits time and time again, only understanding the gravity of his actions after her death: “He wanted to humiliate Alice,.