The Wind on Your Face | The Themes of Freedom in Storytelling

Photo by Maksim Goncharenok

The story of Samuel Calo, The Hunger Games, 1984, and more are some examples of stories that deal heavily with themes of freedom–their importance and their necessity.

Freedom is something that people have been pondering about for millennia. It is an incredibly powerful concept that has changed the world many times over. No wonder there since it’s something all creatures strive for, not just humans, but even the lowliest animal yearns to be free. 

For something so encompassing, so enormous a concept, it’s also something that can be quite difficult to define. Where does freedom begin and end? Where does my freedom end, and where does yours begin? 

Some people smarter than me think freedom is the ability to do whatever and whenever we want, while some say that it is the ability to pursue what makes us happy. Between these two, there are several more schools of thought—too many that I’d care to count.

Regardless, freedom is something that is deeply ingrained in the fiber of all our beings. As such, it has always fascinated me—this concept of freedom, and to this end, I’ve read many a treatise and story with the themes of freedom woven into its texts, from the conception of it in the Declaration of Independence to Percy Shelley’s Ode to Liberty. 

But nowhere do I find a more vivid and exacting inquest into the themes of freedom than in storytelling, from the overarching shadow of it in The Hunger Games to inklings in the story of Samuel Calo. 

The Themes of Freedom in Storytelling

Because of the enormous glut of literature that has been written over the millennia, there are more or less basic conceptions of what freedom is—an archetypal shape, so to speak, that conforms to three features:

• Inaccessibility. Freedom is always portrayed as being difficult or challenging to come by like it’s a scarce resource. There are plenty of stories in our collective oeuvre that have characters fighting hard to be free, often with great cost and hardship. This reminds us that freedom is not something to be taken for granted; it should be cherished and protected.
• Inclusivity. Freedom is not something that begins at the individual level. No one is born free, not because we are condemned to live (as Sartre puts it), but because we are born in an unfree world. Why is this so? Because we have made it so, as such, in stories about freedom, true freedom is only achieved when the whole is free. This reminds us that freedom is and should always be a win-win situation. No one is free until all of us are.
• Indispensability. Freedom is always worth fighting for. The world can be terrible; it can be horrible, but nothing is worse if there is freedom. This is because it is only in freedom that change is possible. Therefore, it is always a moral good to fight for freedom no matter how the odds are. The body breaks, but the spirit endures. 

The Wind on Your Face 

All this reading about freedom in stories has made me appreciate life a little bit more. It’s helped me understand the preciousness of what we have and the importance of fighting for it. The themes of freedom in stories taught me that freedom is not just about the individual but also the community. Finally, it has reminded me that freedom is worth fighting for—no matter what.

I encourage everyone to read stories about freedom. These stories can help us to understand the concept of freedom better and to appreciate the freedom that we have. They can also inspire us to fight for freedom and to build a better world for everyone.

Freedom is vital for many reasons:

1. It is essential for flourishing. When we are free to live according to our values and choices, we are more likely to be happy and fulfilled.
2. It is necessary for progress. When people are free to think and express themselves freely, they are better able to identify and solve problems, both individually and collectively.
3. It is essential for the protection of human rights. When people are free to live their lives without fear of persecution, they are better able to enjoy their fundamental rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and security of person.