Freedom Quotes/Interesting Poem Word

1)                                                                Tombs

This seems to be the most interesting word in poem 341.  The poem has a rather morose feeling, and this word really serves to frame that.  Everything about this poem is tomb-like; the poem feels like a tomb (resting place) for the words, I feel as if I am experiencing the poem from a tomb, and the poem sort of serves as a tomb for Dickinson, as she is forever imbued in it.  Many of these poems are rather dark, or about death, and this word clues us in to Dickinson's mindset, as she really seems to have death on the mind.  Perhaps her fascination with death arose from living in a society quite oppressive of women, and from being sick at the end of her life.  Maybe she saw death as some sort of release....

2)                                                               Freedom Quotes

Dickinson- "Because I could not stop for Death-- He kindly stopped for me"

From these poems, I come to the conclusion that Emily Dickinson saw death as freedom.  Dickinson lived in a time when women were literally second class citizens.  Coupled with her suffering from Bright's disease (now known as nephritis), she probably felt trapped in a world where she didn't quite belong.  So by saying that death "kindly" stopped for her, while she "could not", Dickinson seems to be embracing death as freedom.

Douglass- "The paper became my meat and my drink"

Frederick Douglass has a slightly different view of freedom as these other authors, as he was born and lived for some time as a slave.  This literal lack of freedom obviously helped define freedom for Douglass, but did not shape his entire perception of it.  For Douglass, a huge aspect of freedom seems to be education/literacy.  This quote is in reference to the abolitionist paper "The Liberator", and being able to read and comprehend the issues in this paper gave Douglass a strong sense of freedom.  And after gaining his freedom, Douglass was able to act on these ideas, and speak about his experiences.  For Douglass, education coupled with the ability to act in and understand the world seem to define freedom.

Emerson- "instead of Man Thinking, we have the bookworm."

Emerson seems to employ quite a literal definition of freedom.  In this quote, from "The American Scholar", Emerson is denouncing the "bookworm": he who spends all his time shut off in a library or study, merely researching and emulating those that came before him.  Emerson held nature in high regard, and considered nature the best type of library or study, and the experiences one can have there of the utmost importance.  Essentially, freedom for Emerson is thinking and acting on your own.  I believe that is why he capitalizes "Man Thinking", to stress the importance that we are thinking creatures, and that thinking is for oneself is freedom.

Whitman- "I lean and loafe at my ease . . . . observing a spear of summer grass."

Whitman's view of freedom is more extreme than these other authors.  Whitman's sense of freedom is a complete detachment from societal life.  By telling us that he "lean[s] and loafe[s] at my ease...observing a spear of summer grass", he is letting us know that he has not a care in the world for what is going on outside of his experience.  And to Whitman, only by shutting oneself off from society, can an individual truly experience the world and freedom.