Essay Example on Free to Explore: Different Perspectives on Freedom

Freedom may be perceptualized in various ways. It may be freedom of self, freedom of speech, and freedom from society. Karl Marx definition of freedom as per the Communist Manifesto", is when an individual is living for themselves and not be oppressed by others. Franz Kafka would explain freedom from the Metamorphosis, as when individuals are not being chained to an idea; instead, individuals are allowed to explore their options to live to their identity. Marx displayed the hardship of freedom through the classes of society where the bourgeoise who are the middle class, exploiting the proletarians who are the lower class by shackling them to their job having to deal with the horrendous wages to keep a roof over their heads. Kafka explained the hardship of freedom through a bug's life name Gregor, where he is a slave in his own home even after providing stability for his family. To be free is when one has the right to make decisions on their own and doing whatever they want to do. The right to live the life that one would want to live. Both of these stories are the representations of what freedom is not because the proletarians and Gregor are held back from their actions by the chains of society, restricting them from independence. The chain of responsibilities has robbed both the Proletarians and Gregor freedom by stripping their right to express their identity because ultimately, they are not living for themselves, instead, for the stability of others. The paper will use both books to reflect on what it means to be free.

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True freedom lies in mind rather than the body. A person can only consider him or herself to be free if they have freedom of thought. In a section of the book, Metamorphosis contains the phrase, "He must go! cried Gregor's sister, that's the only solution, Father. You must try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we've believed it for so long is the root of all our trouble," (Kafka 69). Those words by Gregor's sister depict a family that is struggling with mental freedom. The rest of the family are trying to move on, but Gregor's father seemed stuck in the past. His inability to free his mind of his son denies the rest of the family the freedom that they want. Gregor's new physical state was terrible for the family and their business. They had to find a way to rid themselves of Gregor for them to resume their lives and return to enjoy the freedom that they once had. But for them to do that, they had to free their mind of the idea that the creature living with them was Gregor. That shows that to be free, one needs to free their mind of constraints and restrictions.

Also, to be free means to be free of exploitation. Throughout history, freedom has collapsed under the weight of exploitation. In the opening stages of the Communist Manifesto, the author says, "It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom - Free Trade," (Marx, 2). In that phrase, Karl Marx is talking about the ruling class who have used free trade to deny the rest of the society access to freedom. According to the author, they have replaced 'numberless indefeasible freedoms' with unconscionable free trade. The author proceeds to say, "In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation,"( Marx 2). The author is essentially saying that exploitation has always been existent, but hidden in religious and political illusions.

The introduction of free trade has enabled exploitation to be done in broad daylight without any form of concealment. That goes to show that even the guise of freedom can be used to curtail other people's freedom and for one to be free, they have to abandon the concepts that support exploitation such as free trade.

To be free means to have freedom of movement. It is impossible for a person to consider him or herself to be free when they are confined to a single location. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka says, "These explanations by his father were, in part, the first enjoyable thing that Gregor had the chance to listen to since his imprisonment," (34-35). That quote refers to Gregor's confinement. Gregor's inability to go outside due to his physical state keeps him locked in the house. His new appearance meant that he was alienated from the rest of the world both physically and mentally.

In the lack of freedom, there is always an oppressor. The oppressor doesn't have to be a person. A situation that denies freedom to the subject can be considered as an oppressor. In Gregor's case, his physical state is the oppressor that prevents him from accessing freedom. His situation is also unique because he is the only person in such a condition. In fact, unlike the proletarians who make the majority of the population, Gregor is a minority. His situation is quite different from that of proletarians as described by Karl Marx. Everyone else in the book seems to have freedom of movement except for Gregor. Karl Marx talks about free trade as an enemy of freedom. According to Karl Marx, the concept of being free is only useful if it serves the needs of the many. Free trade is flawed because it serves the needs of the few at the expense of the needs of the many. In his manifesto, Karl Marx singles out free trade as the main factor that denies freedom to the low class.

Freedom can also be perceived from a financial perspective. In The Communist Manifesto, the author says," You are horrified at our intending to do away with private property. But in your existing society, private property is already done away with for nine-tenths of the population;" (Marx 8). In that phrase, Marx is referring to how the middle class is afraid of the communists' intentions to do away with private property, while they have been doing the same for a majority of the population. That is what Karl Marx refers to as bourgeoisie freedom. Where those on the bottom have no freedom to work for themselves, but upper classes have it. The connection between finances and freedom is also present in The Metamorphosis. "in spite of the fact that Gregor earned so much money that he was in a position to carry the expenses of the entire family, expenses which he, in fact, did bear, " (Kafka 35). In the quote, the author is talking about Gregor's previous life, when he worked as a traveling salesperson. During that time Gregor had achieved financial freedom because of the amount of money that the protagonist was making. According to Kafka, he was making enough money to support the family comfortably. However, now they are just memories, and Gregor can do nothing remember them. His new appearance has curtailed that freedom. He cannot go to work, and his family has to work extra hard to support themselves and him. They don't enjoy the financial freedom they once had. In The Communist Manifesto, the main enemy to financial independence for the proletarians is the bourgeois. The proletarians are exploited for their labor by the middle class. They do not get to reap the benefits of their work because of the greed of the bourgeois. From the analysis of both books, it is evident that freedom is not always universal. It is possible for one's freedom to curtail the freedom of the other. A person acting on their free will can infringe on the freedom of the others either intentionally or unintentionally.

Freedom can also be perceived from the emotional point of view. From The Metamorphosis, Gregor was making a lot of money that enabled him to support his family. However, the presence of financial freedom did not necessarily translate into emotional freedom. The protagonist may have had the money to support his family, but that does not mean he had an easy time doing it. Before the metamorphosis, Gregor had been under immense pressure to provide for his family. Kafka says, "At the time Gregor's only concern had been to devote everything he had to allow his family to forget as quickly as possible the business misfortune which had brought them all into a state of complete hopelessness," (35). That quote shows how important it was for Gregor to succeed at his job because his family was dependent on him. He had to work hard to rise through the ranks to get to his position. Although Gregor was making enough money to support his family, he still had some emotional constraints, and that was his family. The protagonist did not have the freedom to act as he pleases because he owed loyalty to his family. However, the metamorphosis has brought Gregor a measure of freedom because he is no longer the family's breadwinner. His misfortune has relieved him of the family burden and made him the care receiver rather than the caregiver. As for his family, the reverse is true. Rather than receiving the care from Gregor, they are the one providing it. They are now the ones burdened by the lack of emotional freedom. Even Franz says," Gregor was a member of the family, something one should not treat as an enemy, and that it was, on the contrary, a requirement of family duty to suppress one's aversion and to endure, "(Kafka 53). It is almost as if Gregor's family did not have a choice but to take care of him. They owe an emotional allegiance to him as a member of the family. It is the same principle that caused Gregor to continue providing for his family even while he was stressed.

The perception of freedom from an emotional angle is also present in The Communist Manifesto. According to Karl Marx, "Similarly, at another stage of development a century earlier, Cromwell and the English people had borrowed from the Old Testament the speech, emotions, and illusions for their bourgeois revolution," (37). The author is talking about the way the upper classes use speech, emotions, and illusions to support a revolution that brought them into power. According to Karl Marx, the use of emotions was curtailing the freedom of the oppressed. The proletarians were unaware of the fact that their feelings were being used as a weapon against their liberty.

CONCLUSION

The concept of freedom is one that can be perceptualized from different angles. Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis and Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto offer different perceptualizaton of being free. However, even in their variation, there are still some common grounds. Both works of literature have some form of financial freedom. Kafka makes an indirect reference to it while Marx makes it the backbone of his manifesto. A close analysis of both books will also uncover the concept of mental freedom, which refers to an individual's ability to think independently. Then there is emotional freedom as evidenced by Gregor's obligation to his family before his transformation and his family's loyalty to him. Nevertheless, even as the two authors talk about freedom from a different point of view, they both show how someone's freedom can be an obstacle to other people's ability to achieve the same. Both authors also remind their audience that they determine their ability to achieve freedom. For Gregor it was self-sacrifice, and for the proletarians, it is through a revolt against the bourgeois.

Works Cited

Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Kurt Wolff, 1915.

Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto. 1st ed., Melbourne School of Continental Philosophy, 2009.