“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
This is a motivational sentence by Martin Luther King to encourage black people fight for their rights during the Civil Rights era. Freedom of individuals will never be given by those in power until the oppressed voice for it. Their need for freedom must be proven in order to free themselves from the oppressor. 

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story about how the writer is trapped within her family border and is unable to break her restrictions. She remains mostly silent to her husband about her feeling victimize because John’s treatment is not helping. She says “but what is one to do?” this shows her dependency on her husband and helplessness. The way in which the author makes the readers to visualize the house shows that the author feels lonely and locked up in the house. The author has recently moved to the house and feels that the house is depressing. She feels that it would be better if there were people in the path way and arbors of the house. She says that the house is quite, back from the road, far from village and used words like walls, gates that lock, all of which explains trapped nature of the author. The house they were living in before must have been surrounded by people and noise. Everything around her makes her depressed which ultimately leads her to fantasize about things that she liked to see. Even that was forbidden by her husband. She is moved by the wallpaper in her room. At first, she sees a boy in the paper. Each day the wallpaper gets clearer to her and later she starts seeing a woman. Soon she sees that the women is moving and is trying to get out. The woman tries to break through the front patterns in the wallpaper. This front pattern can be compared to the walls and gates that the author mentions in her house, and the woman trying to come out of the pattern can reflect the author. The woman in the wallpaper is trapped inside a cage which represents family, marriage and responsibilities inside which women are trapped. It is clear from the climax that the story is about women’s dependency on their husband and how their life continues inside their houses in name of responsibility. In the story the author did not give “voice” to her need to be free. But what would have changed if she did?

                An example of freedom fighter who demanded for freedom from the oppressor is Nelson Mandela. He was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist. He experienced brutal reality of the racially divided South Africa. He began attending meeting with national congress organization in creating a democratic nation. It was in this period that Nelson and other young members at the ANC formed a youth league with the organization to force more different approach up on the government. Mandela’s voice became a problem to the government side because he motivated people to strive for their equality. So he was silenced by restricting his freedom of speech in the public. But this did not silence Mandela from striving for freedom. He became a public figure of freedom to young black South Africans. Later, he was sentenced to life in prison for his actions. In the long run, things started to change, the whole world took notice. The voice against the government inside and outside the country grew. By the middle of 1980, Nelson Mandela became a symbol for change in the country. The call for his release became a rally around the world. On February 11, 1989 after 27 years in prison he was a free man. He was fighting racism for nearly his whole life and succeeded in gaining freedom for South Africa.
               

               In the yellow wallpaper the author fails to demand her freedom from her husband like how Martin Luther says. She was forced to be silent and was locked up in her house in name of medicine and family. Her burden was too heavy to carry inside her that she had to write it down into a closed book. Similarly Mandela was forced to remain silent by banding orders and imprisonment. But that did not control his voice. Unlike Perkin-Gillman’s closed book, Mandela performed public speeches for the need of freedom. His approach towards the government forced the government to give the black people freedom and equality that they deserved.