Pub Three

Third Published Writing

As Martin Luther King once stated, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” The underlying interpretation within this quote is that freedom is something earned or fought for. Freedom is demanded by the oppressed because of the realization that the oppressors abuse their power of freedom and authority upon them. In this case, the oppressors are white people and the oppressed are African Americans. During this time period, African Americans weren’t entitled to have as many rights as white people and were treated with unimaginable disrespect. Throughout his life, King encouraged African Americans to fight for their freedom because it wasn’t going to be handed over to them. The belief of freedom King holds is a piece of a higher concept known as egalitarianism. This concept is defined as a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs; a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people. This concept is a strive to find equality of race, gender and social status in the four major institutions; government, family, religion, and education. King’s quote and egalitarianism are discovered in many pieces of literature as a form of fighting for freedom and diminish injustices. One of these literary pieces is a short story written by Kate Chopin. In her short story, “The Story of An Hour” Chopin depicts a more subtle form of oppression that usually goes unrecognized.

In “The Story of An Hour” the main character, Mrs. Mallard is told her husband has died in a railroad accident. Once she processed the news she rushed to her room alone, forcing the reality to settle in. She gazes out the window, “It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.” (Chopin 27-28). This quote is when Mrs. Mallard has an awakening of joy. She realizes that since her husband passed, she is now entitled to everything he owned. Most importantly, she then becomes free from living in a her world of entrapment oppression. “Free! Body and soul free!” she would repeatedly whisper this to herself as a form of realization that she is free from oppression (Chopin 53). Mrs. Mallard always had to answer to her husband or others who had authority. She wasn’t able to think for herself or express ideas or act as she desired. Everything had to be approved by her husband and society. Her own thoughts and desires were meant to stayed trapped within her soul, that is until her husband dies. Once she is told the news that her husband has passed away she realizes she could pursue any happiness or dream that was crushed by oppression. “She knew that she would weep again,” she weeps out of grief for her husband and joy that she is free (Chopin 40-41). She knew she doesn’t have to answer to anyone but herself. Society has pressured her to be a picture perfect wife who cooks, cleans and treat their husbands well; but now as a widow she can disregard the ideal role of a wife dictated by society. She can grieve and do whatever she wants to do with her life. Unfortunately, her story doesn’t end as planned. As she comes out of her room, her husband is standing at the front door and claims he never even heard of the accident. Mrs. Mallard in petrifying joy dies of heart disease.

The extraordinary movie, “The Help” displays many different forms of oppression but what caught my eye are the examples of entrapment oppression expressed through the character Skeeter Phelan. The movie takes place during the civil rights movement in Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter has plans to become a professional writer but society constantly crushes her dreams. In the beginning of the film Skeeter goes for an interview with the Jackson Journal. Skeeter had originally applied for a professional job in New York but was rejected because of her lack of experience. At the Jackson Journal office, the boss barely looks at her resume and then gives her the job to write for a cleaning advice column in the newspaper (The Help). Her mom and her friends also pressure Skeeter to find a husband instead of building her career. Skeeter feels like she is trapped in a world where she has to be a proper woman who cooks, cleans and keeps her own ideas to herself. It isn’t until she gets her job for the Jackson Journal where she realizes she can express her ideas in a different way. She goes to an African American maid named Aibileen to help her with the advice column. Skeeter notices the injustices the maids deal with and realizes she can try to make a difference through writing. Skeeter teams up with Aibileen and writes secret short stories about the brutality and hardships Aibileen faces everyday. Skeeter realizes that she has the freedom to write the short stories because she can send them to the office in New York and prove that she has writing experience and profound ideas (The Help). In the end, Skeeter's book gets published, she gets the job in New York, and civil rights movement heads towards Jackson, Mississippi.

Skeeter and Mrs. Mallard were living in a world of entrapment oppression. Skeeter wanted to become a writer but was trapped in a world where women were taught skills to be the perfect wife. Mrs. Mallard was trapped to only answer to her husband and be the ideal wife. Once Skeeter got a job she realized she had freedom and once Mrs. Mallard was told her husband had passed away she realized she had freedom. Once there was a glimpse of freedom, both characters dreamed of a better life and held onto it.

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. Perfection Learning, 2001.

Stockett, Kathryn, and Tate Taylor. The Help. The Help, 10 Aug. 2011