Justine Fernandez
Professor young
Eng 1101
Freedom Essay
19 February 2015
Are You Free From
yourself?
Freedom
is the ability to be an individual in the world. It is the ability to express
yourself in any manner without being penalized. In the draft of the Declaration
of Independence it is stated “ We 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”(Jefferson 160). In reality your freedom is how you view freedom and
in the book The Good Lord Bird by
James McBride reveals characters that are not free and do not obtain freedom Two
characters stand out in this aspect both Pie and Sibonia and they define their
freedom in different ways but Pie has the most freedom.
Pie
has the most freedom due to the fact of where she is living. Pie is living in a
house where she has the comfort of a roof over her head and floors beneath her
feet. With her location also comes the privilege of being the “top” whore.
Essentially meaning that she is the highest whore. You can tell she is the head
whore by the living accommodations that she is in. “She stopped at a room,
throwed open the door, and pushed chase inside” (McBride 147). She has a big
room that has a bed with sheets and door that she can close for her own
privacy. She is surrounded by hundreds of slaves like herself but she has the
standard that she can close the door behind her when she wants privacy. Privacy
is significant because it shows that she has freedom due to the fact that she
gets her own room. She has the privilege to her own privacy while other slaves
do not have privacy at all or even a room to themselves. Also outsiders look at
Pie as the better whore because of her living situation and they think highly
of her. The other slaves on the other hand resent her and envy everything that
she has from her room to the clothes on her back. Her freedom is enlarged by
the status that others give her. Her status of freedom is given to her by other
people’s opinion. Society defines what is considered free ,free to a slave is
having their own opinion and voice while free to a free white man is having the
privilege to own another person. Outsiders do not consider or associate Pie
with the slaves in the pin so she is given a higher status and Pie takes that
higher status and uses it to her advantage to the fact that she gets her own
room and door that she can close behind her. Pie is free because of the first
impressions that she gives others.
In
addition, Sibonia lives in the complete opposite. Sibonia is not free because
she doesn’t have the privilege to live in a house like Pie does. Pie lives in
the pin in the back of the whore house. She doesn’t have a bed to sleep on
besides the scraps that they assemble and the dirt floor beneath her. “They had
a couple of huts back there, a canvas cover that stretched over part of it that
was fenced all ‘round, and once in a while, between my scampering’s ‘round
working, I’d stop, scratch out a clean spot on the glass, and take a peek”(McBride
158). Sibonia lived outside where she barely had anything. Others looked at her
like the dirt that she walked on. She was not free because she was confined to
a living condition that most wouldn’t agree to.
Sibonia is not free because she has no say as to where she lives and how
she lives. Her living status is chosen for her therefore the way others look at
her is chosen for her as well. Sibonia
is a slave therefore her living conditions are something that she has no choice
over. When others look in and they see a slave in the pin and a slave in a
house they are going to think higher of the slave that has the accommodations
of a free man than one that lives in the dirt. Her freedom is confined just
like her living conditions.
In addition, Pie’s
freedom comes from her appearance that she gives to others. Appearance says a
lot about a person and how they want others to see them as in society. While
Pie is limited to her clothing and appearance she does have more of a leeway to
sharpen herself up. Since her social status is so high Abby the owner of the whore
house wants her top whore to attract men for business. Therefore Pie is dressed
in clothes that other slaves do not have the access to. She gives an
illuminating impression to her clients like she is not the normal slave that
don’t take showers daily and isn’t clean but a slave that is well groomed and
attractive. “I wouldn’t throw her outta bed for eating crackers. She was all
class”(McBride 144). Onion states this
voicing his opinion on Pie from not knowing her. This is significant because
this shows the first impression that Pie gives off to others based on her
appearance. It shows that she is freer
because her appearance does not reflect the life of a slave but just a normal
human being. In fact that others find her attractive while all of the other
slaves do not give that impression off. Her appearance gives her freedom
because she has more privileges than the other slaves. The fact that she is
more attractive than the other slaves also gives her an upper hand in the whore
house system .She is allowed to do more such as chose the clients that she
wants and what outfit she wants to wear that day. She is free because she gets
to make decisions for her own body.
On the flip side
Sibonia is the total opposite. Sibonia does not have the privilege of choosing
her clothes or getting dressed up for her clients. Instead she is covered in mud
and dirt and smells like an old piece of cheese that was left in the heat. Her
appearance denies her freedom for the fact that she doesn’t have freedom to
express herself in the way that she wants to. Instead of wearing clothes like
Pie “Most was dressed in mostly rags and some without shoes”(McBride 160). Sibonia
is an owner of raggedy clothes that barley covers her skin and gives her just
enough heat to stay warm during the night. Also Sibonia does not get the
privilege to be the most attractive slave in the pin. “But that silly fool in
the middle of the yard, a heavyset, settle-aged colored woman setting on a
wooden box, crackling and babbling, she got to crackling louder”(McBride 160).
Since she was not the most attractive woman in the whole house her freedom
level lowered. She doesn’t have the privileges and material things such as
clothes and makeup like Pie does. Her freedom is defined by her appearance.
Overall Pie is
freer because she does not know the extent of everything happening around her.
Ignorance is bliss when it comes to this situation. Pie is lucky enough that she owns great things
such as a room and clothes that aren’t torn that she does not have to worry
about the outside world that surrounds her. She is also not aware of how it is
to live in the pin like the other slaves due to the fact that she lives in a
room in a house. Pie only sees one side of the situation so she doesn’t have to
deal with the dirt floor and the lack of clothes but she gets the luxury of
having items that others do not. Pie is not aware of the extend society is in
because she is surrounded by such great things. She has a roof above her head
and clothes on her back and quite frankly that is her extent of freedom. She is
happy with what she has and is not looking to get any more involved or risk
anything that she has just so that she can lose her standard. Pie is freer
because since she works for Mrs. Abby she has less to worry about and her back
is almost covered. She has an automatic
back up system and a job that she can rely on. “Miss Abbey wouldn’t like
that”(McBride 146). Pie takes orders from Mrs. Abbey so she has a sense of
security. Pie is freer because she is smart enough to have a back up system and
something to fall back on at the end of the day. She also doesn’t have to worry
about taking responsibility for anything she has no care in the world but
herself. Pie sees her world through her own eyes she does not have any remorse
or discomfort looking outside her window and look at her peers in horrid living
conditions. Pie is more free because she is does not have to endure all the
situations that most slaves have to deal with. Pie does not have to deal with
lack of housing or a lack of clothes because she has all of that in her room,
the only thing that she has to deal with is her appearance to her clients. .Pie
is free because she is in her own world.
Therefore, Sibonia
is not free because she is aware of everything that is happening around her.
Since she doesn’t live the glamorous life like Pie does she has to defend for
herself and watch her own back. Sibonia is more realistic about the world
around her and she knows what she needs to do to stay alive. Sibonia is smart
in the way that she knows how to play dumb to get what she wants. “I aint
talking ‘bout that. Im talking ‘bout the other thing. That more
dangerous”(McBride 164). Sibonia is aware of everything that is happening
around her. She also knows when to play dumb when she needs to get her way in
society and does the best that she can for her situation. Sibonia is not free
because she is exposed to the world and she is trapped in it. On the other
hand, Pie believes that she is free and is okay with the situation while
Sibonia is not and she is doing everything to rebel against the situation. She
is street smart in the sense that she knows how to get away with playing dumb
in society but that does not mean that she is free. It simply means that she is
playing her own little game in a bigger game of society. Sibonia believes that
she is free but in reality she is still trapped within society she is just
playing another role. Sibonia is not free because she still follows rules of
others.
In conclusion the
character that is the freest is Pie. She has the physical characteristics to
help her get through the troubles of society as well as the materialistic items
that boost her status to help her service. Overall she is freer than Sibonia
because Sibonia believes that she is free when she is still trapped in society
while Pie plays the cards better and takes advantage of her position and makes
the best of it. Pie is living the way
that society wants her to live, she lives in a house and does the occupation
that most slaves endure. Pie does not go against the system therefore she is
satisfied with the way that she is living this makes her free because she is
already in a good situation and she takes full advantage of her situation and
she does not want to end up in the pin with her peers. On the other hand
Sibonia is going against the system and
playing dumb so she does not have to endure all the hard work that the other
have to do. Sibonia is fully aware of the situation around her therefore she is
not free. She has to deal with the everyday living conditions no matter what
condition she fakes. She knows exactly what she has to do in order to be free
and she knows what is happening outside the walls of the pin. The fact that she
knows more about the situation makes her trapped in society because she is not
free, not only in society but in her mind. Pie has a sense of relief that she
doesn’t have the whole situation hung above her head while Sibonia has the
whole situation above her head as a constant reminder everyday. Freedom is
peace at mind and the only character that has that is Pie. “And as we walk, we
must make the pledge that we shall march ahead”(King 168). Both SIbonia and Pie
keep marching ahead on their long journey to complete freedom but in the mean
time Pie takes the win for the freer character.
Works Cited
King, Martin Luther. I Have a
Dream. Americanrhetoric.org. American Rhetoric. Web .Feb 16 2015
Jefferson, Thomas. The Decleration of Independence. Archieves.com.
Archieves.Web. Feb. 16. 2015
McBride,
James. The Good Lord Bird. New York: RiverHead Books, 2013.Print.
