Paige Zohner 10/5/16 L/A 5B Literary Analysis Essay The Invention of Wings Freedom is something that Americans today are blessed with. America it is one of few places that is considered “truly free”. Unfortunately, this was not the case for the people in the 1800’s. In fact slaves and women were considered the lowest forms of human beings. In Sue Monk Kidds novel The Invention of Wings, this problem was discussed thoroughly in the storyline. Both the main characters Sarah and Handful were both enslaved in their own cruel ways. Despite their lives being remarkably different, they are both physically, mentally, and sociably slaves. The quote from Kidd’s novel “My body might be a slave, but not my mind. For you, it’s the other way round,” speaks to many issues in the two girls lives. While both the girls lives are drastically different, they still struggle to find their individual freedom. For example, Handful is a black slave whose whole life is determined by her owners, who in this case is the Grimke family, and has no say in what happens in her life. Handful is forced to do everything that is required of her, and if she refuses then she is punished. On the other hand Sarah, who is of a privileged white family, feels as if she is limited physically to what she is able to achieve. Sarah is a smart and independent women, but she is living in a man’s world, so she must basically be a man’s property. Eventually both Sarah and Handful break out of their mold, but it is dangerous for both of them to go against what is expected of them. Handful could be killed when she runs away to find her freedom in the north and Sarah is a deemed a social outcast because she wants freedom for herself and other women. Because women and slaves had limited amount of freedom and power, Sarah and Handful lead similar lives in the sense that neither of them can live the life they want and deserve. Although Sarah and Handful are both in the same boat when it come to physical slavery, they are in unlike situations when it comes to being mentally enslaved. For instance, Sarah’s mind is trapped in society’s slavery. She is almost forced to submit her mind to her mother’s, and the country’s belief that she should act a certain way and that she is not capable enough to become successful. The problem is that Sarah is independent and has her own ideas and beliefs and wants to share them with the world. Her silver button reminds her that she is destined to change the world, expand her mind through education, and overstep the boundaries that society has made for women. Luckily, Handful does not struggle with being mentally enslave, which makes a big difference in her way of living. Although Handful’s physically freedom is unjustly taken away, she will never let her mind be taken. Handful uses her mind to “fly” because she can not have her own freedom to “fly.” That’s why it is so important that Handful never gives her mind to Missus, or little Missus, because without her mental will power, she would have never made it out of slavery. Eventually Sarah and Handful both make it to mental freedom, and get to truly become themselves. Having physical and mental freedom can be easier to obtain if the people around you accept you for who you are, but in this case neither Sarah nor Handful are accepted by society. In Society’s eye’s Sarah is suppose to be a submissive women who cares for her husband and children and does not have a voice or opinions. Although Sarah tries to fit into society’s mold, she goes into depression because she knows she can not live her life in the shadow of men for her whole life. Also Sarah is terrified of what other will think of her if she does step out of the line. On page 200 Handful expresses this about Sarah when she says “She was trapped same as me, but she was trapped by her mind, by the minds of the people round her, not by the law." Eventually Sarah gives up her reputation in order to become a protester for slaves and women’s rights, which is highly frowned upon by everyone she knows. In Handful’s case she is expected to act like the “perfect slave.” This means that she must act subservient in society and obey everyone’s orders. Even though she did everyone’s work, she was not thought of as a whole person, and to some people she wasn’t even considered a human. Unfortunately, in Handful’s lifetime she could never surpass society hatred of black people, but in 1865 slavery was abolished and black people finally had the lawful opportunity to become equal with everyone else. This book teaches everyone that society’s judgment of certain genders and races does not have to stop them from being their own people. In Sue Monk Kidd’s novel it shows that despite Sarah and Handful being oppressed as people, and especially as women, still fought for the right to be independent people and voice their beliefs and opinions. This novel shows that freedom is worth fighting for - - and that is exactly what the two girls did. The quote “to leave or die trying” in the idea in both girls’ mind when they decide to leave their old lives of physical, mental, and social slavery behind and start living the way they were destined to live.