freedom of the neighborhood

[sb70012]

It was lonely for a day or so until one morning some man, more recently arrived than I, stopped me on the road.

"How do you get to West Egg village?" he asked helplessly.
I told him. And as I walked on I was lonely no longer. I was a guide, a pathfinder, an original settler. He had casually conferred on me the freedom of the neighborhood.

Source: http://www.publicbookshelf.com/fiction/great-gatsby/younger-vulnerable-4

Hello friends,
I know the meaning of the blue part but it's something irrelevant. Would you please be kind enough to clarify the blue part to me? How can a person be "freedom of the neighborhood"? What does the author mean by saying that?

Thank you

 

[MikeNewYork]

Source: http://www.publicbookshelf.com/fiction/great-gatsby/younger-vulnerable-4

Hello friends,
I know the meaning of the blue part but it's something irrelevant. Would you please be kind enough to clarify the blue part to me? How can a person be "freedom of the neighborhood"? What does the author mean by saying that?

Thank you

I think that phrase means that man had increased the writer's confidence in being able to find his way around the neighborhood.

 

[Rover_KE]

It's a reference to 'The Freedom of the City, an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary.' (Wikipedia)