Gautam Agarwal Literacy Analysis Freedom lives on with everyone. It is entwined with everyone. Freedom cannot be stopped. It is what makes everybody who they are. In the two stories, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Blessings by Mary Hall Surface explores the idea of freedom.

First, in The Count of Monte Cristo, a young man named Edmond Dantes is a prisoner for life. He is on the verge of death and his soul has almost extinguished. He hasn’t eaten for days. One day he hears a sound from his wall. “ Although weakened, the young man’s brain instantly responded to the idea that haunt’s all prisoner’s-liberty! It seemed that heaven has taken pity on him, and has sent him to warn him on the very brink of the abyss.” This gives Edmond hope. Something that most prisoners thinks doesn’t exist. The hope is like a life force that is pulling him away from the abyss. “ At the first blow the sound ceased, as if by magic. Edmond listened intently; an hour passed, two hours passed, and no sound was heard from the wall - all was silent there.”To make sure it isn’t Edmond experimented to see if it was a prisoner. It was a prisoner. The hope is still with Edmond but, that flame of hope is glowing brighter. This hope can turn into freedom. That is how this story touches the idea of freedom.

Second, in the story Blessings, one boy, Jesse and one girl, Rene communicate with each other when they go to an outcrop where you can see everything. “ RENE:  Man, I got to bring my paint’s up here.” They also, communicate through artistic ways which let them which leads to talking about how they want to escape reality. ”JESSE: Rene, I’ve spent a lot of days, nights, too, wishin’ that things weren’t the way they were. But yeah. I’d wish I never had to sell the cabin and all you people stayed in San Francisco-.” When they want escape reality they escape to freedom. This is why this story entwined with the idea of freedom.

In these two stories, freedom is shown and expressed. The freedom is disguised, but, freedom can come in many different  forms.