FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"The bitter thing was that all the spirit, all the gallantry, was wasted. For even more than their inferiors, they accepted and looked forward to being Capped. It was a part of becoming a knight, or of turning from girl to lady. Thinking of this, I saw how good things could be meaningless in isolation. What value did courage have, without a free and challenging mind to direct it?" (page 111)

This quote is saying that life is meaningless without freedom. Freedom is a word that means being able to make your own choice. The nobles are not like robots or zombies that can't think at all. They can think and make choices. They can decide to hunt, or go to different places or make friends with strangers. So they still have some freedom. But their freedom is not real freedom. They have very happy and comfortable lives but they are not allowed to think about who are their masters. They cannot challenge the Tripods. They cannot choose whether or not they want to be Capped. This is because their minds are controlled. Will thinks that their freedom is meaningless because they can only make their own decisions about things that are not so important but they can't make their own decisions about important things like whether or not to be Capped. Will thinks that it is very important to have a free and challenging mind. He thinks it is important to be able to make your own choice about anything. So I think that Will discovers that there are different kinds of freedom like total freedom and controlled freedom.

Chapter 6 shows that it's not easy to decide which kind of freedom is better. The nobles don't have free and challenging minds but they are happy and satisfied with their lives and they can do pretty much anything they like. It's just that they don't think about challenging the Tripods. Compared to the free men living at the White Mountains, this is a good life. Or is it better "to live wretchedly, like a hunted animal, suffering hardship and despair-or this life, with its fullness and security and happiness"? (page 125). It is very hard for people to choose which kind of freedom is better. Even Will, who was so determined to escape being Capped, is tempted to stay and accept being Capped because life would be so great at the castle. I think he definitely would have stayed if Eloise didn't have to go away to serve the Tripods. I think that for some people, sometimes other things can be more important than freedom, like love or happiness. So it can be tough to decide. I'm not sure which kind of freedom I would choose if I were Will.