Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Is Freedom Achievable?

Thomas Lynch's "Liberty", John Ciardi's "Suburban" and Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" all share a common theme; freedom.  “Liberty” and “Suburban” use normal everyday experiences while “The Cask of Amontillado “uses a peculiar situation to portray humans need for freedom.  This week I went to zen meditation again, which advocates freedom of thoughts and mental purification.
“Liberty” unlike its title is about being confined by the society around you. The speaker immediately says, “I am from a fierce bloodline of men” which shows that he is aggressive and candid with his thoughts. The speaker talks about how he is free to do whatever he wants, but in the end he suffers from the consequences. This is shown through the speakers ex-wife’s disdain for the speakers behavior.  “Liberty” shows us that although we would like freedom throughout all our endeavors in life it’s often impossible.
John Ciardi’s “Suburban” uses the misuse of assumption to portray the importance of freedom. The speaker blames her neighbor’s dog for “deposited…
a large repulsive object in my petunias." When in reality Mrs. Friars dog is in Vermont. The poem shows that although we would like the freedom to blame others our assumptions are almost always wrong.
Lastly, Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado “ shows every human beings need for freedom.  The narrator, Montresor, traps Fortunato behind a brick wall; and physically takes away his freedom. Poe shows that it is human nature for us to be vengeful. Because of this the narrator tortures Fortunato by making the experience as slow and as tortuous as possible.  Poe writes, “It was now midnight, and my task was drawing to a close. I had completed the eighth, the ninth and the tenth tier.” The short story shows that there is no path to freedom, even after death.

My experience in zen meditation this week was definitely different from my last experience. I learned that meditation is about relieving yourself from all worries, and preoccupations. The three works embody this by showing that in any context freedom is something we should try to achieve but isn’t always possible. Although it was very difficult for me to forgot about all my worries for an hour and a half, the atmosphere definitely made it easier.

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