How Does Edgar Allan Poe Use Power In Literature

Power is the demise of the world. For example, after Hitler rose to power, he was only seen abusing it. He annexed countries, killed innocent civilians, and started a world war. His misuse of power overall cost over fifty million lives. This may be in the past, but the abuse of power is still prevalent to today.Similar to how power is seen in literature as constantly being exploited by numerous people. Thus, leading to the verdict that the literature analyzed this course consists of power being abused.
Power can be displayed in literature to harm or even in some occasions, to kill. Edgar Allan's Poe's short story“The Cask of Amontillado”, showcases Montresor using power to get revenge in the form of death. Montresor confesses “the thousand

injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” (Poe, 1). Montresor uses his revenge as his motivation and his power as the detonator. He does this by abusing the trust of the drunken Fortunato by discussing the topic of wine, specifically Amontillado. Later on in the story, Montresor leads Fortunato into his vaults to arrive at a deep crypt, where he then begins to wall up Fortunato (Poe, 5). Montresor does this to fulfill his vengeance and leaves Fortunato to die. In the end, the story surrounds Montresor in the power position that results in the death of Fortunato.
Mark Twain explains power being used to kill and also to discriminate. In his essay, “United States of Lyncherdom”, Twain voices his opinion about lynching. He describes those who participate in a lynching as people who take “the law into their own hands, when by the terms of their statutes their victim would certainly hang if the law had been allowed to take its course, for there are but few Negroes in that region and they are without authority” (1). This shows how power is abused because of the power difference between one's race. Furthermore, Twain emphasizes the fact that white people have power against black people and will abuse that power to make sure justice is seen their way. Twain believes that everybody does not agree with lynching. He explains how more people despise lynching; they only participate in a lynching because of the fact that “any strange and much-talked-of event is always followed by imitations” (2). In other words, fear motivates people to participate in lynching, because they see what happens to those who are seen as guilty. As a result, people unite and therefore creates a power that not only goes against the law but makes lynching acceptable. In the end, those with power are seen with people to back them up.
Langston Hughes is known to be one of the greatest authors of the Harlem Renaissance era who exposes the unjust uses of power, especially towards discrimination. Hughes effectively does this in his poem “I, Too”. In the poem, the narrator says “I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes.” (2266). Hughes uses a slavery reference to highlight how white people had power over black people and still do. By using a slavery reference, Hughes depicts how the power difference hasn't changed even though slavery is abolished.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass shows how power is used to benefit oneself.

This can be seen in Douglass’ childhood when he was taken away from his mother, like many other black children who were raised into slavery. Power is abused to separate African American kids from their mother “to hinder the development of the child's affection toward its mother and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child” (931). In other words, slave owners abuse their power by taking part in inhumane techniques to make the perfect slave. This type of power can also be seen during Douglass’ adulthood when he starts working for Mr. Covey. Mr. Covey is known for deceiving and using power to only benefit himself. To the point that he commits the crime of “compelling his woman slave to commit the sin of adultery” (958). Douglass goes on to describe how Covey’s woman slave is the only female slave, due to the fact that Covey bought her to only be a breeder (958). Not only does Mr. Covey gain money by only having one female slave, but he also gains money from selling the babies she gives birth to. Covey is a prime example of how slave owners will do just about anything with the power they possess to benefit

themselves.
Harriet Jacobs also describes how power is used to corrupt a young slave girl in her narrative Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. As a young girl, Jacobs is subjected to her slave owner Dr.Flint. Jacob expresses how he “began to whisper foul words in my ear,” and “peopled my young mind with unclean images, such as only a vile monster could think of” (11). Jacobs expresses how she could do nothing because “there is no shadow of law to protect her from insult, from violence, or even from death; all these are inflicted by fiends who bear the shape of men” (11). Overall showing how Dr. Flint purposely does everything with the power he possesses, as a white male, to corrupt the mind of a young and helpless girl.
The novel The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, expresses power being misused to harm and to gain economic value. Power in the novel is first seen by Celie’s stepfather who seems to only abuse and rape Celie. Celie describes scarring moments, including one moment when “he beat me today cause he say I winked at a boy in church. I may have got something in my eye but I didn't wink. I don't even look at mens” (5). Celie’s stepfather negatively uses power by taking advantage of his father role and also his role as a male to construct Celie into whoever he wants her to be. In this case, a girl who is emotionless that will do whatever she is told. Having said that, the novel also shows how power is abused to gain economic value through the Olinka tribe. The Olinka tribe serves no importance to the government, except the location the Olinka tribe is at. Without the Olinka tribe’s consent, the government decides to build a road; this road “on its present course right through the village of Olinka.” (169). The government abuses their power by building a road through the Olinka tribe without consent, destroying not only the structures in the village but the Olinkas spirit.
In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck's father showcases how power is abused in an effort to gain money. Huck's father comes into his life after hearing that Huck suddenly has received a huge sum of money. Huck's father even says “I heard about it away down the river, too. That’s why I come. You git me that money to-morrow-- I want it” (1289). Huck's father will do anything for that money: Huck states “he got me by the jacket between my shoulders, and I thought I was gone, but I skid out of the jacket quick as lightning and saved myself. Pretty soon he was all tired out… and said he would rest a minute and then kill me” (1295). Huck's father abuses his power as a father, validating himself to believe that he is able to physically and verbally abuse Huck, which he does to the point that Huck fakes his own death to escape.
Power to save oneself and to harm is prominent in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, especially through the character of Abigail. Abigail is accused of witchcraft, which she later confesses to in order for her to gain the power needed to support herself (39). With this newfound power, Abigail throws everybody under the bus in her way. Therefore, taking the target off of her back and onto the people she despises. The power she uses to save herself turns into power to harm because those she confessed to committing witchcraft were either sentenced to jail or sentenced to death. Her reluctant abuse of power cost the lives of many, but in the end, she is seen in the play with no remorse or punishment.
In “The Federalist No. 10”, The Federalist defines and explains the fear that one should have because of factions. Factions in his words are “a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion or of interest, adverse to the right of other citizens” (350). The Federalist goes into depth of how factions should be feared and dealt with, due to the fact that factions have “an attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for pre-eminence and power”(350). In other words, factions want to gain more power to not only beat out other factions, but to enforce the beliefs and wants upon a society that will most likely not agree. Thus showing how easily factions can and will abuse power.
Steinbeck’s essay “The Trial of Arthur Miller”, shows how a congress exploits its own power by twisting their own rights. Steinbeck describes how the Congress “has the right, under the law, to ask me any question it wishes and to punish my refusal to answer with a contempt charge.” (1). However, Steinbeck also says “the Congress has the right to do nearly anything conceivable. It has only to define a situation or an action as a “clear and present danger” (1). The Congress abuses this power because the Congress has incarcerated multiple people under suspicion that they think they know people with communist beliefs. They incarcerated these people only under suspicion and not off of solid evidence, and by doing so those incarcerated could lose their jobs or reputation. The abusive power used by Congress can overall lead to the demise of someone because they were unjustly incarcerated off of pure speculation.

As one can infer, one who possesses power abuses it. One could abuse power to gain money, to harm, to gain political power, and so on. This not only being supported by the works of literatures listed before, but also by events that took place in the past, like World War II and events that occur today as well. Either way, power throughout the pieces of literature in this course is seen in a negative light, due to the way it’s abused.