Brianna Leuzzi
February 12th, 2015
Professor Young
Essay 1: Freedom
Slavery
Doesn’t Necessarily Mean No Freedom
If a
person is owned by another person and has to follow his or her orders, is he or
she free? Freedom is the ability to be who one wants to be, think what one
wants, and does what one wishes to do. A slave can still have freedom if they
are free-spirited; someone who is not weighed down by life’s troubles, is
themselves regardless of the situation, and is not restricted by other people’s
opinions. However, in order to obtain freedom, one must let themselves be free
which is another term for being free-spirited. In the novel The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, two
slaves Sibonia and Pie are slaves but in completely different ways. Pie has
more freedom with her master but is not more free. On the other hand, Sibonia
has less opportunities than Pie but has more freedom because she is
free-spirited. For instance, Sibonia is crazy but she embraces this feature to
her advantage and is not ashamed of who she is. This enables her to say what
she wants and do what she wants without caring what anyone thinks of her.
Meanwhile, Pie cannot say what she wants without getting in trouble, she is
forced into doing things she doesn’t want to do, and has to pretend to be
someone she does not desire to be. Therefore, Sibonia is the slave that has the
most freedom.
Among the
slaves Sibonia is considered crazy, but she uses this for advantages in many
ways. Instead of hiding who she is, she uses it in a brilliant way. She is able
to say what is on her mind regardless of the situation because she has
something to blame her words on; her craziness. Every time she says something
she shouldn’t, her sister will cover her by saying, “Don’t mind her. She’s
feebleminded” (McBride 161). Therefore, Sibonia can say whatever she wants and
get away with it because people think she is crazy and does not know any
better. Thus, part of having freedom is being able to speak his or her mind,
and Sibonia has the capability to obtain this part of freedom. Hence, Sibonia
is freer because she is able to speak her mind without any punishments.
In
contrast, Pie cannot speak her mind because she has much more consequences. If
Pie were to say what she wanted she could be kicked out of the whore house or
beaten. For example, her master would say something like, “I’ll have Darg come
up here” (McBride 149). Darg is this big muscular man that takes care of
punishing the slaves when they do something wrong. She is afraid to say much
because she doesn’t want to lose her position with Miss Abby and does not want
to be beaten by Darg. Ultimately, Pie cannot say what is on her mind without
getting in trouble, which mean she does not have freedom.
Furthermore,
Sibonia acts how she likes and does not care about other people’s opinion on
her actions. In the novel, the main character Onion goes outside to try to find
his friend and is confronted by Sibonia. Sibonia knows he is “higher up” than
her and throws mud balls at him. Onion explains, “That crazy fool woman scooped
up another handful of mud by the time I looked, and throwed that in my face”
(McBride 161). Sibonia knows Onion can tell the master and get her in trouble,
“Miss Abby would flog her righteous if I was to tell it” (McBride 161). She
knows her consequences but pays no attention to them and throws her mud balls
anyway. Sibonia will take actions for herself, giving herself the right to
freedom. Additionally, another part of having freedom is the ability to take
the actions one wants. As a result, sibonia is more free because she has this
capability.
Meanwhile,
Pie has to follow everything Miss Abby tells her to do because she is too
afraid to lose her position. Pie has to cover up other people’s action, not
even her own, in order to not get in trouble. For example, Onion accidently
rips Miss Abby’s scarf and Pie has to pay for that action. Pie worriedly said,
“Ill fix it. I’ll pay for the scarf” (McBride 149). Pie does not even get the
chance to do what she wants because she has to pay for other people’s mistakes,
like paying for the ripped scarf. Hence, Pie suffers for others mistakes, not
even getting a chance to make her own, which makes her unattainable to freedom.
Lastly,
Sibonia is not ashamed of who she is; she understands she is a slave and wants
better for herself. For example, she tries to escape slavery instead of
accepting it and staying where she is at in life. Sibonia uses her cunning
skills to talk Onion into writing her something. She states, “If I was to tell
you about your Bob, would you write me something? Like a pass? Or Bill of
State? (McBride 165). Stating this shows how cunning and smart Sibonia really
is. Sibonia knows this will get her out of where she is and to something better
because she knows she deserves better. This is what makes her free, she does
not accept the fate she is handed, she tries for better. Also, she has an
opportunity to escape and create this better life for herself that she so
rightfully deserves. As a result, Sibonia has more freedom because she will not
settle for being a slave.
However, Pie does the exact opposite; she
pretends to be a whore in order to keep her higher slave ranking. Her higher
ranking includes living in a house, getting her own room, good meals, and
authority in Miss Abby’s house. Even if she wanted to escape she could not
because too many people have slept with her and would recognize her on the
streets. Readers can see this when Pie states, “Even with a pass, too many
people ‘round here know me. Still, it’d be nice to pass the time reading dime
books like the other girls” (McBride 155). Pie shows signs of resentment to
other girls because they are who she wishes to be and does not have enough
courage to become. Pie wants to be able to read, go outside and walk around,
and not have sex with every guy that walks in; just like every other normal
girl. Unfortunately, Pie accepts these circumstances and has no chance of
escaping without getting caught. Therefore, she is less free because she will
always be stuck in the whore house with no hopes of a better future.
Overall,
Sibonia may have less opportunities and much more hardships but she definitely
has more freedom over Pie. Sibonia has to live outside whether its raining or
freezing, has to do hard labor work, and sleeps on the ground. However, Sibonia
is free-spirited by her attitude towards life which leads her to have the
freedom of speaking her mind and taking the actions she decides. Unfortunately,
Pie has more privileges but cannot say something without punishment, pays for
other people’s consequences, and can never escape. Thus, even though both are
slaves, Sibonia has more freedom. This goes to show that even slaves can have
freedom if they believe they are worth more than everyone exclaims.
McBride, James. The Good Lord Bird. New York: Riverhead,
2013. Print.
