I Just Want to Be Free: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Freedom -- it's one of the most important items on the [[Motivation Index|list of things characters want]]. After all, you have to be free to pursue [[I Just Want to Be Loved|love]] or [[I Just Want to Be Special|adventure]] or anything else you want in the first place. But as every patriotic song out there tells you, freedom doesn't come free. Thus, you have to work and/or suffer long and hard to get it, which gives you the plot of your story. It's not uncommon for the characters that obtain their freedom to have to work to remain free as well.

* Imprisoned inmates, especially ones who are innocent and thus more worthy of audience sympathy.

* Slaves, of the traditional and [[Magically-Binding Contract|magical kind]].

* Refugees, which provides the perfect set-up for [[Batman in My Basement]].

 

So, how is freedom usually won? Indentured slaves or [[Magically-Binding Contract|contractually-bound]] victims might make a deal with their master and perform some task for which they will be set free as a reward. Or "deal with" them. Another tactic is simply running away, changing your name, and starting a new life, hoping your past doesn't catch up with you... at least until you've recovered your strength and gathered forces to return and rescue everyone else. Marriage has an interesting role in the process, as it can be portrayed as a form of imprisonment (especially if it's an [[Arranged Marriage]]) or as an escape, such as a [[Citizenship Marriage]].

** This is so often the case that when one character chose to be free to ''stay where she was and continue to be a responsible leader'', it seemed out of place. In fact, the main character's primary motivation is to become the 'Pirate King' because it's the person, "with the most freedom in the world".

* In ''[[Shaman King]]'', many characters seek the power of the greatest spirit in order to fulfill their dreams, though Yoh, the protagonist, seeks it in order to not be bothered by having to work for anything anymore. To him, it's logical to work himself to death (literally) if it means freedom later in life. Some characters are so caught up in the concept of needing the Great Spirit to accomplish their goal that they forget they could do it anyway.

* In ''[[Elfen Lied]]'', everyone in the [[Dysfunction Junction]] [[I Just Want to Be Normal|just wants to live a normal, peaceful life]], but since [[Humans Are Bastards]] and [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|Lucy/Nyu and Nana aren't human]], that proves quite difficult.

* ''[[Inuyasha]]'': Kikyou wanted to be a normal woman, freed from the destiny of having to protect the Shikon no Tama. It was a dream she could only fulfill in death.

 

== Films -- Animated ==

 

 

== Literature ==

* Dobby the House Elf in ''[[Harry Potter]]''. Hermione is shocked that not all house elves feel this way.

* Runaways Shasta, Bree, Aravis, and Hwin in ''[[The Horse and His Boy]]'' -- Shasta and the horses are running away from slavery, Aravis from an [[Arranged Marriage]].

{{quote| "Freedom from restraint, freedom from holding back. Freedom from guilt and orders."}}

* And of course, [[Roots|Kunta Kinte]].

* One goal of the Deryni characters in [[Katherine Kurtz]]'s books is this, at least it's certainly on the list (once the rebellions and invasions and assassins are defeated). Kelson is exhorted to be a king to humans and Deryni by a figure of Camber visible only to Deryni, and he founds a new ''scola'' to preserve and teach Deryni magic and ethics. Essentially, Kelson, his courtiers and others aspire to [[The Unmasqued World]], which would imply this trope.

* In ''[[Thursday Next|Something Rotten]]'', this motivates Bartholomew Stiggins' assistance at the old cloning facility. Thursday went there to find a Shakespeare clone to sort out ''The Merry Wives of Elsinore'' in the BookWorld; Stig went along to get information to allow him and the other Neanderthals (who were engineered sterile) to reproduce.

* Likewise, Meria from ''[[Knights in The Nightmare]]'' wants to be recognized as her own person separate from Marietta, {{spoiler|the other half of her soul}}.

* Mages of [[Dragon Age]] are legally required by the local religion to be confined to one of 14 separate facilities known as Circles where they are constantly monitored for life the moment their powers manifest, [[Puberty Superpower|usually at a young age]]. Those who attempt to escape the Circle or simply know any forbidden arts, like [[Blood Magic]], are hunted down and harshly punished by groups a warriors specifically trained to neutralize their powers. To the surprise of no one, a very large portion of mages have this trope as their goal and are willing to go to some very [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|extreme lengths]] to reach this goal.

** Even the ''villains'' ultimately desire freedom above all else (though they also want other things like power). {{spoiler|Specifically freedom for mortals from the yoke of the Occuria.}}

 

 

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Samurai Jack]]'' faced a viking warrior cursed by Aku. The man was mystically bound by his stone surroundings, and could not die unless he was killed in battle. Being an excellent warrior as well as a stone giant, actually finding a warrior skilled enough to defeat him in honorable combat and break the curse was near-impossible until Jack came along.

 

{{reflist}}