Linda Hogan Power Analysis

The book Power, by Linda Hogan is full of the circular connection between God, Animals, and Power, and the character that actively demonstrates all these ideas is Ama Eaton. Ama shows her powerful side to only Omishto and the reader, she shows her animal side to the judgemental people on the outside as well as to the people she is closest to, and she shows her godly side through her spiritual connection with the panther.
Ama is not always portrayed as being powerful in the eyes of society, but in the eyes of Omishto and the reader, Ama is likely the most powerful character. Ama is also associated with being powerful, which is an obvious theme in the book. Ama is feared by the local westernized boys, because while they may not respect her culture, she demands a kind of attention. People listen when she speaks, she is impactful. “Everything about her says she doesn’t want to do this thing, but

that there is no choice, as if it’s destiny, as if it’s fate, as if all the stories are true.” (Hogan 61). This scene in the book is another example of the Power Ama wields. “The hated creature now being covered by, overshadowed by, the human.” (Hogan 57). She is the only person strong enough to commit the crime of killing a panther. Killing her own sister, in a sense. And this scene is when I really realized that it doesn’t matter how serene someone may seem. A human is still a human, and in the end we are all selfish. Ama killed the panther because she believed it to be destiny, but in doing so she was acting in the same way that the western people are acting toward the Taiga. A single act, showing the hierarchy and power that people possess over nature. “It is both grace and doom, right and wrong. But whatever it is, it is killing.” (Hogan 62). It is one large metaphor, and it’s all woven together and layered into this powerful scene.
Ama’s connection to the world around her and her understanding of the panther leads to her being seen almost as an animal.

She is known to be great at tracking, and she knows the ways of all the animals. “She knows where an animal has walked. I used to call her bloodhound.” (Hogan 53). Her deep connection with the animals has led people to believe that she is a panther reincarnated to spy on the Taiga people and make sure they are still following the laws of her people. The boys from western culture are afraid of her, the panther woman. The crazy woman who lives like an animal in the middle of the woods. “Some people said that [...] she’d met and married a panther, and now she was an animal” (Hogan 22). The Taiga elders view her as what all young women should be, until the day she kills the panther. Her animal like qualities lead her to the panther that she kills out of what she believes to be destiny, which ends up sealing her fate. Which again brings in this theme of foundations being broken, destroyed even. The Taiga world is in shambles, and Omishto’s world is

crushed.
The similarities between Ama and the Panther Woman shows that Hogan intentionally wanted Ama to be perceived as a godly figure. Throughout Power, there are many references to the christian God and the Taiga religion. In the Taiga religion, they worship the Florida panther, it is seen as a god, a brother, an ancestor, and a friend. Amongst all the knowledge we are given about Taiga religion, the connection is being made between Ama and the panther. Ama says to Omishto that she was born beside one, they were raised together. Ama also states that the panther is her grandmother. Then, the story of the Panther woman is introduced. The story is that a woman was raised in the swamp by the animals, and one day found a bridge between worlds. Inside another world she saw all the corruption and death, and a panther told her that she needed to kill one of them in order to save herself and the species. This panther woman represents a spiritual, godly being in Taiga culture. The panther woman is clearly paralleled to Ama, who believes that to save the panthers and the Taiga culture that has fallen she must kill a panther. Ama is also often compared to spiritual things in the writing. On the journey to kill the panther Ama moves slow and sleek, like an animal hungry to fulfill her destiny, “She walks like a strong woman chasing her god, and I’m surprised how fast she moves.” (Hogan 54). Ama is moving so fast because she is chasing after a version of herself, one that she fears is about to be lost.
Ama represents all these themes in the book. And due to them all being so masterfully woven together, it’s easy to understand that God, Animal, and Power can all mean the same thing. Animals are seen as Godly figures, and God is Powerful. “Sisa, that’s what we call the cat in Taiga . It is our name for them. It means godlike, all powerful.” (Hogan 73). Ama is a metaphor for the falling panther throughout Power. It’s all connected, and it all revolves around Ama.