The epithet “the land of the free” is a distinctive phrase commonly associated with America, a country that prides itself on allowing its people equal opportunity and the freedom to pursue their dreams . However, American literature does not seem to echo such patriotic sentiments. Indeed, there seems to be a clear conflict between authors regarding the definitions of “liberty” and “freedom.” Through countless texts born in the American literary nationalism movement - including Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, "Ligeia" and "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe and The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne - comes the suggestion that freedom is perhaps a product of personal willpower. This comparison places the responsibility for achieving freedom on people, as opposed to legislation or other similar socio-political circumstances, reducing the scope of this systemic concept to the capabilities of the individual. With this framework in mind, will therefore acts as a double-edged sword, capable at the same time of opening the doors of freedom and acting as a constraint on the individual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe schism between freedom gained through individual willpower and that sanctioned by the state is particularly evident in Incidents in the Life of a Slave, in which Jacobs discusses her experiences as a slave and a witness to slavery. In chapter 4, titled "The Slave Who Dared to Feel Like a Man," Jacobs recounts his brother Benjamin's quest for liberation from his bondage. A peculiar moment in this chapter is how Benjamin managed to escape capture by turning white: “For once his white face did him a kind service. They did not suspect that it belonged to a slave; otherwise the law would have been followed to the letter, and the thing enslaved” (Douglass and Jacobs 2004, 154-155). This passage marks a rarely noted aspect of the American slave experience, which differed from the common notion that skin tone dictated status and allowed many light-skinned fugitive slaves to rebuild their lives under false identities. Thus, a loophole is found in the legal definition of freedom, creating a dichotomy that has allowed freedom and entrapment – ​​in terms of the ability to live as one's most authentic self – to coexist. Furthermore, the same chapter of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl exposes an aspect of Benjamin's logic that differed from Jacobs' ideologies, according to which freedom is intrinsically tied to a geographical location and one would be free as long as one reached that place. To Benjamin, this was New York: “O Phil,” Benjamin exclaimed, “I am here at last.” Then he told him how close he had been to death, almost within sight of the free land, and how he prayed that he might live long enough to have a breath of free air. … “If I die now,” he exclaimed, “thank God, I will die a free man!”” (Douglass and Jacobs 2004, 156). Benjamin had evidently equated his proximity to freedom with where he found himself, which blinded him to his mother's efforts to secure that freedom through legal means and completely convinced him that this was, instead, a form of surrender . Content to live out the rest of his days immersed in risk and danger, Benjamin's stubborn rejection of social systems is a dangerous game of ignorance, prompting Jacobs to state, "He who is willing to be a slave, let him be one" (Douglass and Jacobs 2004, 157). Although Benjamin believed he was responsible for his own liberation, aDue to his inability to fulfill his mother's goals, he has actually trapped himself even more. That aside, Jacobs points out in chapters 5 and 10, respectively titled "The Trials of Girlhood." and "A Dangerous Passage in the Life of the Slave", that absolute willpower often cannot be exercised due to self-imposed restrictions. In the context of slavery in America, Jacobs addresses the silent masses of Northerners, whose refusal to criticize their fellow man and participate in the struggle for abolitionism is a demonstration of willful complicity: “Surely, … you Northerners would not help for tighten the yoke. Surely you would refuse to do for the master, on your own soil, the mean and cruel work which the trained hounds and the lower class of whites do for him in the South” (Douglass and Jacobs 2004, 159). The “mean and cruel labor,” as cited by Jacobs, is the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which called on citizens to not only assist in the recovery of fugitive slaves, but also to report those in their communities who chose to aid a slave in the their life. escape attempts (Douglass and Jacobs 2004, 391). This criticism exposes the complacency of the North, whose willful ignorance makes its liberal beliefs seem superficial. For this reason, the notion of freedom as awareness and expression of will does not hold up in light of Nordic behaviors, both in theory and in practice. Furthermore, Jacobs admits that she was guilty of limiting her own statement of will as well. Regarding her grandmother's unstable nature, Jacobs notes that “[she] feared the consequences of an epidemic of violence [if she spoke out about Dr. Flint's proposals]; and both pride and fear kept her silent” (Douglass and Jacobs 2004, 160). Similarly, when considering his voluntary involvement with Mr. Sands, Jacobs says, “It seems less degrading to give oneself away, than to submit to compulsion. There is something like freedom in having a lover who has no control over you except what he gets through kindness and attachment” (Douglass and Jacobs 2004, 192). What revoked and awarded her freedom in the circumstances mentioned above were her decisions, not those of others around her, which certainly complicates the ideas of freedom and self-freedom. Jacobs rejected an opportunity for catharsis with her grandmother due to personal anxieties, but she gave herself a taste of control by choosing to be with Mr. Sands, thus reflecting the same dichotomy as before - the coexistence of freedom and entrapment - at individualized. for Poe's “Ligeia,” the entire tale is probably indicative of what willpower is capable of achieving, perhaps emphasized by the story's supernatural qualities and seamless blending of realism and surrealism. The tale begins with an epigraph attributed to Joseph Glanvill, arguing that willpower is immortal and that man's spirit can only be extinguished if he himself has a weak will: “And in it lies the will, which it doesn't die. … Man does not wholly surrender to the angels, nor to death, except through the weakness of his feeble will” (Poe 2006, 62). This quote returns three more times in the story, becoming a parallel motif to Ligeia's supposed resurrection and Lady Rowena's possession. As the narrator describes, in life, Ligeia demonstrated “An intensity in thought, action or word, [which] was perhaps, in her, a result, or at least an index, of that gigantic volition which, … could not to give others and more immediate proof of its existence” (Poe 2006, 66). What better representation, then, of Ligeia's extraordinarily unshakable spirit than to seemingly outdo the weak Rowena?However, as the narrator admits, this impossible willpower may have only been a vision “spawned by opium” (Poe 2006, 74), thus making it unattainable. and personal willpower, “The Pit and the Pendulum” heartbreakingly portrays the narrator's imprisonment and torment at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition. Although the story initially coincides with “Ligeia”, that “even in the grave all is not lost. Otherwise there is no immortality for man” (Poe 2006, 213), the narrator soon realizes that he has almost celebrated his small victories in vain. After freeing himself from his bonds by exploiting the parasites around him, the speaker comes to the startling conclusion that he has simply overcome one obstacle among a dozen others: “At least for the moment I was free. Free! – and into the hands of the Inquisition! … Free! – I had just escaped death in one form of agony, to be consigned to a worse death in some other” (Poe 2006, 224-225). This continues until the end of the story, when his efforts bring him to the brink of death and his moment of surrender is intercepted: “An outstretched arm caught mine as I fell, fainting, into the abyss” (Poe 2006, 227 ). Whether he fought for his survival or succumbed to his death, his decision was thwarted and the end result was determined by forces beyond his control, once again showing the limits of pure will. Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables illustrates the life of the Pyncheons and the tangled events of iniquity, fate, and justice that arise from the titular house, as well as the failure of human will to defeat what was ordained by nature. This is characterized by the tragic death of Alice Pyncheon, in the chapter of the same name, at the hands of Matthew Maule. After being challenged by Maule, Alice's pride gave her the fortitude to accept. But, despite her strong-willed efforts, it seemed that Alice was no match for Maule and from then on she was controlled by a force she could not overthrow: “A will, very different from her own, forced her to do her grotesque deeds. and fantastic offerings [including “laughing,” “being sad,” and “dancing” as Maule decreed]. …And, therefore, while Alice Pyncheon lived, she was Maule's slave, in a bondage more humiliating, a thousand times, than that which binds her chain about the body” (Hawthorne 2009, 208-209). This degradation of Alice Pyncheon points to the horrors of submission and submission, when one is transformed into an empty shell meant to be exploited. Alice's crushing loss of independence completely alters her as a person, revealing how the inability to exercise one's willpower can, often, shatter one's psyche beyond any hope of repair. Regardless, it should not be left without saying that Maule's persuasive methods were credited to some supernatural thing. , sinister ability, rather than being a product of his innate charisma or strong personality. This can be interpreted as a warning about using one's willpower against someone else's, as this reductive act violates the freedom of others and dehumanizes them. When Maule manages to put Alice under his spell, he proclaims “She is mine! … Mine, by right of the strongest spirit!” (Hawthorne 2009, 206) in a grotesque celebration of his possession. Maule continues to play with Alice throughout the rest of the chapter, pushing her limits over and over again, not understanding the gravity of his actions until after her death: “He wanted to humiliate Alice, not kill her; a woman's delicate soul in his rough grasp, to be played with; and she was dead! (Hawthorne 2009, 210). While personal willpower, in relation to the realization of one's desires, can be perceived as.