Freedom In The Story Of An Hour

Bob Marley once said “Better to die fighting for freedom than be a prisoner all the days of your life.” Freedom; a two syllable word that means so much.What is freedom; for many freedoms is the ability to act, speak, or think with no consequences. Around the world people are fighting for their own freedom; in the story “ The Story of an Hour,” you have a woman who finds freedom from her husband. You also have Naheed Mustafa, who talks about how she felt wearing her hijab in society. Bob Marley’s quote can be so relatable no matter what type of freedom you are fighting for. Many of us rather die fighting for our freedom, than to feel like a prisoner. For instance, in the story “The Story of an Hour” you have Mrs. Mallard, seeking for her freedom. She seems to have the stereotypical life that most expect for a woman, to get married and become a housewife. One day, Mrs. Mallard’s sister told her tragic news, Mrs. Mallard’s husband died in an accident. Naturally, Mrs. Mallard began to cry because of her husband’s passing, but when she started to think about it, she finally felt free. She started to think of all the things she can now do because her
husband was no longer around. Mrs. Mallard started to see the world differently, she felt like she had a chance in life, she wanted to be better than she was. After she realized how much freedom she finally has, she finds out that her husband was not actually in the accident. She dies of heart disease. The heart disease was believed to be caused by all the joy she had inside and then let down her husband was alive. She obviously felt like she was stuck. Her death in a way brought her to her own freedom. Sadly, yes she passed away, but now she can be free from the prison she felt she was in. Women all over the world are fighting for their freedoms. Many of them feel like they are trap in a life they never asked for or some women accept the fact that things will never change. Mrs. Mallard found her escape for freedom an unexpectedly, her death. It is sad to say, but it is easier to died than to hope that things will change. If only it would be easy to change the world overnight. But in other places, women have embraced their roles in society. Women like Naheed Mustafa, have used their religion and found their freedom. Naheed Mustafa, a Canadian Muslim, expresses how wearing a hijab for religious purposes is the doors to freedom.
She talks about how women are objectified and seem imperfect. She goes on explaining that most people do not understand why she wears one. Since she can have all the freedom of wearing whatever she would like it; the hijab is her freedom. She is able to walk around without people thinking to themselves if she is beautiful or not. People do not care how a women looks like if they can not see her. She proves her point when she stated that regardless of what the western world thinks. Her religion taught her that women and men are equal, they should not be judge because of their gender. She strongly believes that the hijab takes away the criticism that people have that women that do not wear the hijab
have. Naheed Mustafa, found her freedom with her hijab. No one judges her about her appearance and she feels free. No one is looking at her stretch marks, no one is looking at her hair, and she is not worrying about people judging her. Imagine the ability to walk through the street and not be judge. That is how Naheed Mustafa feels like when she walks down the street. Naheed Mustafa and Mrs.Mallard both were liberated in their unique ways. Mrs. Mallard found her freedom in a sad way, she did have to die to find her freedom. She was stuck in a relationship with a controlling husband, she wanted out of the marriage but of course she could not because it not accepting. Naheed Mustafa found her freedom with her religion; wearing her hijab was her way to show her freedom because she felt free of judgement.