In order for people to experience true contentment in life, they must have a sense of personal freedom. They must feel that they can do what they want, when they want. In the novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," the story "A Piece of Toast," and the poem "The Prisoner" we see how the each person is affected by personal freedom throughout the articles. It is evident throughout these selections that personal freedom is essential to the human spirit with most people. In each piece of writing, the characters are either content in life because they have a sense of personal freedom, or they are not content because they have not achieved personal freedom.
The novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," written by Mark Twain demonstrates the contentment in life due to personal freedom. Huck Finn, a clever young man, values his personal freedom more then anything else in the world. Throughout the novel, Huck has many opportunities to stay with wealthy families, however, he felt that if he stayed with these people, his personal freedom would be taken away from him. When Huck is lying on the ground besides Jim he states, "We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened." In this situation, we can clearly see that Huck feels quite free because he can lie down wherever he wants and do whatever he wants to do without having someone down his back. Huck values his freedom greatly and will do almost anything to protect it, including running away.
Throughout the story "A Piece of Toast" written by Kathleen Winter, the main character Joyce is faced with a tough decision on weather to put her mother in a home or not. Her mother refuses to be put in a home, after seeing what has happened to her friend Gertrude. Joyce's mother says, "Look, you can't get a piece of toast when you want one in one of those places.
