For individuals who have been treated like animals, grasping the idea of freedom can be difficult. When Halle buys his mother's freedom, Baby Suggs feels that he "gave her freedom when it didn't mean a thing." Yet, upon crossing the Ohio River, she realizes, "she could not believe that Halle knew what she didn't; that Halle, who had never drawn one free breath, knew there was nothing like it in this world." While under the schoolteacher's control, Paul D. observes Mister, the rooster, and thinks, "Mister, he looked so … free. Better than me." Paul D. explains this by saying, "Mister was allowed to be and stay what he was. But I wasn't allowed to be and stay what I was." After escaping from prison and earning his first money, Paul D. decides that "to eat, walk and sleep anywhere was life as good as it got." However, Sethe perceives freedom as something more profound. While waiting for Halle, she learns to become independent. She reflects, "Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another." This can be particularly challenging when one is plagued by painful memories of slavery. In the end, Paul D. aligns with Sethe’s perspective on freedom: "A place where you could love anything you chose—not to need permission for desire—well now, that was freedom."