What is the importance of the last name, Freeman, in the book, We Love You, Charlie Freeman: A Novel?

The last name, Freeman, is an ironic symbol. "Freeman" is a compound form of “free man”. Though the Freeman family is not rich or wildly successful in Boston, they do have their freedom. They are now prepared to give up much of their freedom by participating in the Toneybee Institute experiment with Charlie. They will have regulations and parameters to follow with the experiment, and they will be required to teach Charlie sign language.