In "Feathers" by Jacqueline Woodson, Frannie lives in an almost all african-american neighborhood. Across the highway there is the all white neighborhood. No one really knows much about the other side, but they imagine it. Frannie's brother Sean says, "Imagine if somebody built a bridge right outside our window and we could just walk across the highway and be on the other side." Frannie gets upset because she thinks that life is just as good over here as it is over there, and she doesn't understand what he would want to see there that he couldn't see here, on their side.
One line that really stood out to me was "Seems kids on this side of the highway were always trying to figure out ways to fly and run and cross over things... to get free or something." She says this both after her brother talks about building a bridge to the other side, and after a boy in her school gets hurt trying to jump over the fence from a swing. The way she said "to get free or something" is what really stood out to me. Free from what? Maybe freedom always has boundaries, you always imagine it much better than it is.
Growing up, I've always wanted to have freedom. Freedom with my parents, my teachers. But then there's always the down side that the more freedom you have the more responsibility you have. If you think about it you're never actually free from your parents, because in the back of your mind every decision you make you are thinking about what they would want you to do and what they would do. So without even being there they are still sort of controlling you. So freedom has these boundaries that you maybe can never break out of. Then what would be free about going to the other side? It wouldn't be as good or as free as you thought it would be
I really agree with everything that you talk about. Everything about freedom really.. excites middle school kids. EVERYONE wants their parents to let them do things both farther from home and less controlled by parents. All kids say they get it, and are ready for responsibility. But freedom is a part of growing up, and so are HUGE responsibilites that kids wont know their ready for until all that responsibility is being thrown at them. I think that it all has to come slowly, and you cant rush into wanting it all because most of the time you'll realize getting the extra freedom isn't just the fun you thought it would be and means more than you thought.
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