Free Spirits: A legacy of Wilderness
Bell Hooks, the author of the essay Free Spirits: A legacy of Wilderness, begins her essay with a description of her childhood home’s background setting. In the wild, it is here with the trees and hills at the backwoods of Kentucky that the author felt the utmost freedom. A look through the window down to the lawn where farm animals roam freely and the plants and flowers exist in their own that reminisces the kind of freedom Hooks talks about in her essay. However, there are still communities in America that practice Appalachian values; they never consider themselves coming from Appalachian. Today, country folks in America practice the same values exhibited through their love for hunting, fishing, raising chicken, and gardening. This essay responds to Bell Hook’s essay Free Spirits: A legacy of Wilderness concerning the existence of Appalachian values in the modern world today and examining the country folks’ culture as a proof of this existence.
Hook’s essay is a self-analysis of the impact that wilderness had on her life and the values she chooses to live by even as she later relocated to the West Coast for studies. For Hooks, growing up in times of slavery thought her much about freedom and self-respect. Further, through the wilderness, she discovered that her skin color was not going to determine the fate of her future.
The woman Hooks is today is a reflection of the background setting she describes in her essay. The wilderness and the freedom associated with it explains her interests in feminism and activism. Although she grew up without much material gain, she enjoyed the freedom that comes from the absence of modern civilization.
Hook’s ancestors, elders, and community lived off the land tilling and growing their food. The enjoyed the spoils of wilderness, which saw them raise their poultry and animals. Through the living of the wild, Hooks developed a sense of respect for herself and formed the basis of her integrity, a value innate of those who make a living off the land. Besides, Hooks mentions the privacy of their religion and the culture of worshipping God daily and involving Him in everything.
Although Hooks’ life at the backwoods was not all rosy, she credits her ancestors’ and elders’ dissident living and thinking for her academic achievements. The wilderness and the associated culture cultivated her sense of independence as a woman. As a result, these things collectively shaped her thoughts and mental psyche that made her hold on to her values.
In her essay, Hooks mentions several key values, whether when she talks about herself or the people around her childhood. Some of these values include pride and love for oneself, self-determination, and integrity. Her ability to be independent and not see the need to over-rely on others stems from her self-determination. She mentions that her prioritizing of self-determination values comes from her observation and lessons from the elders during her childhood. Above all values, one must have self –determination, she mentions.
Further, the independence of thought and will to act without the need to conform exhibited by her elders ensured no space for lies and cheating. Their integrity and its necessity for growth shaped her to see the world with open eyes. In one of her works, “All about Love: New Visions,” Hooks states that her values stem from a generoAboutart, ready to receive and let go. In such a perspective, one needs not to fear abandonment or rejection. According to her, it is the greatest gift of true lovers; it offers the experience of knowing that one always belongs. The perspective indicates how her values derived from the wilderness were fundamental to her and shaped her to become a woman with integrity. Her ancestors and elders’ influences ensured that she grew up with values that would make her a respectful adult, to herself and others.
Although Hooks grew up in a “white man’s land,” the backwoods Kentucky where she spent her childhood was free from racial distinctions. In her essay, she explains the absence of such racial distinctions was different from the rest of America during this era. According to her essay, backwoods Kentucky did not discriminate between black and white folk. Further, there were no distinctions between the Eastern and the Western parts of Kentucky. In her account, both the black and the white folks were equally part of the wild. The absence of racial discrimination during her childhood, both place, and race made Hooks believe that she was not different from others. Most importantly, it made not any less of a person.
For years now, theatres continue to purport the mythology of the Old West. The shows depict more than anything else, the freedom of the country folks living in these areas. The indelible link to this freedom is the one that drives many to this primal attraction. Wild West, in the modern imagination, is a place of freedom and terror. However, the current Wild West is not as unruly as the original Wild West period. In the modern world today, the facets of wild cowboy culture associated with country folks still exist in Albuquerque. The drowning of cowboy hats and boots is not just a fashion statement but also a representation of their hunting, fishing, and rearing culture. It some of the few places remaining in modern-day America that still has a close representation of Appalachian livelihood as described by Hooks.
A visit to the wilderness reminds us of the existential freedom of plants and trees. The simple fact that humans have no power for their making reminds us of creation beyond us. In the wild, trees have their reason for being, which may be far different from humans. The same is not as true for the flowers and gardens we tend to; consequently, it might be easier to forget trees’ freedom and independence. Although Hooks’s childhood may be different from other black women’s experiences, it left her invaluable lessons and values. These values and lessons have made her a decent adult in a civilized culture, which is way different from her rural wilderness of both place and soul. The freedom of her wild childhood enabled her to cultivate self-determination and adhere to moral values. This essay’s insightful details reveal how Hooks managed to create a mental psyche and values that enabled her to grow up and thrive as a free woman in a society full of discrimination, especially for a black woman.