Saturday Climbing W. D. Valgardson Analysis

at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" Martin Luther King, Jr. also

An American essayist, H.L. Mencken stated, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants be safe”. I disagree with this statement because an “average man” wants to live. In order to live you must have two necessities; freedom and safety. I believe neither is more important than one another because being free gives you the opportunity to a safe nation, and a safe nation allows you to be free. You cannot live a life without exploring and growing because that would not be considered living. On the other hand, you cannot expect to be free without safety around you.

"Imagine if the world you lived in, the space you breathed in, and the freedom you played in were suddenly taken away from you." (Free Willy)

In "Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem," Erich Fromm (1963) argues that society will self-destruct without achieving freedom through disobedience. Fromm begins with analogies of Hebrew and Greek mythology showing how disobedience to a god freed humans. Using this correlation, Fromm shows freedom as a condition for disobedience, and vice- versa. Therefore, Fromm proclaims that without disobedience the human race could destroy itself within a generation.

Teen ager would argue that to be independant is to be free. Although parents would say their child’s desire for independence is strenuous like an uphill climb. This is confirmed in W.D. Valgardson’s short story “Saturday Climbing” where Barry struggles to climb a deceiving rock face which is analogous to his relationship with his daughter. Not only if Moira will go to college in the upcoming year but also which campus she will attend.Through this narrative, Valgardson suggests that when parents provide copious amounts of security, conflict will arise and children will rebel; only when a balance is found between security and allowing independence will the relationship be harmonious.

Quote: “Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it's like to live as a slave."

"Never make an attempt to gain our freedom or natural right, from under our cruel oppressor, and murderers, until you see your way clear [6]--when that hour arrives and you move, be not afraid or

In order to be truly free, you must be free from any influences or people to make your choices. Also to be truly free, you might have to step outside your comfort zone and maybe even change your scenery. ”We went on, cutting through the branches, and it was if we were swimming through a sea of leaves, with the bushes as waves rising and falling and rising around us, and flinging their green sprays high to the treetops”. (Chapter 8, paragraph 3), and ”The forest

of their life. “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers,” exemplifies the theme of

“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

“These are revolutionary times. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of exploitation and oppression, and out of a frail world new systems of justice and equality are being born. The shirtless and barefoot people of the earth are rising up

This text teaches that the idea of unlimited freedom is simply an illusion. I understand this passage as explaining that maximum freedom is experienced when one is in the middle between imprisonment and anarchy. By doing so you are then finding freedom through moderation.

I think there's something to what your saying, but you have to remember that to be free there also has to be a slave as well. The story goes that man starts out as an animal, as another object in nature that obliterates other objects. But man wants to be assured that the he is not just another object, but something more. He needs recognition from an outside source for this, because he could be mistaken. Everything he encounters he consumes, in other words he transforms to suit his ends. He eats food to fill his hunger, he burns wood to satisfy his desire for warmth, but there is nothing that remains that can fill that recognition for what he is, or rather what he wants to be.

When independence is not given to Moira, she rebel in with her actions to pursue it. When Barry states, “Over the previous month, she had come home late a number of times. Each time, the sweet sour smell of marijuana clung to her, and her pupils seemed unnaturally large,” Moira shows Barry that he will not be able to control her life. Even though Moira's independence is in Barry's hand, but he can't control what she is doing. Moira wants more freedoms, and she does not wants Barry to be over protected. By the time that Barry and Moira had the first climbing class Barry states, "he took the car to the first class while

"…what would it be like if I could, if I were free – not enslaved by my conditioning."