We all have a need to feel that we are in control of our own life in some ways or else we may feel powerless. “Some people, and a disproportionately higher percentage of men, are inclined to expand this concept to include exerting power and control over others (Corey 212). According to literary theories and theories of Fredrich Nietzsche, he states that “human beings have an unquenchable urge for power and will use their so called “Ethics”, in order to increase their authority (Nietzsche 1).” Author Vladimir Nabokov who wrote the book, Lolita, we see how Humbert controls Lolita in the first stages of their relationship but eventually Humbert finds himself in a frantic state because of Lolita’s deceitful ways and how she has managed to gain her control over Humbert’s sexual and erotic desires for her.
In the novel, Nabokov introduces Humbert, a man with appeal and dignity. Yet shortly after reading the novel I began to learn to find he is a sexually disturbed man, lusting for young “Nymphets”. Humbert’s mind is always on his first true love, young Annabel. Humbert describes Annabel with having “honey-colored skin, thin arms, brown bobbed hair, long lashes, and big bright mouth (Lolita 11).” This is how the word “Nymphet” was put to work, Humbert words for his Annabel becomes his outline for the rest of the Nymphets. Humbert considers all his nymphets as a sexual objects for his enjoyment because he is a man who wishes to dominate these girls at such a young and delicate age. “And she was mine, she was mine, the key was in my fist, my fist was in my pocket, she was mine (Lolita 125)” Although this quote is a little later in the book you can almost hear the excitement from Humbert’s voice that he has successfully gained the control ...
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...in their marriage. Although Charlotte feels that way Humbert just merely sees her as a pawn in his quest to take what matters the most to him. With that being said Humbert will never be in the state of the equilibrium with Charlotte under the theory. As long as Humbert is succeeding his constant little battles with Charlotte then he will eventually obtain more power. What he’s doing is pushing her out which is giving him the ability to put more focus towards his ultimate prize, Lolita.
After Charlotte conveniently dies from a far out death, Humbert is finally free to pursue Lolita and make plans for their first night together alone. Although she is gone Humbert finds that he is unable to sleep well and is having strange dreams. Humbert says “I was aroused by gratuitous and horribly exhausting congress with a small hairy hermaphrodite, total stranger (Nabokov 109)”
What is power to a human? As time has gone by, there have been many forms of control and influence in the world. Many strive to achieve total rule over a society or group of individuals. Yet the question still presents itself to the average man. Why does man desire power so greatly even though there is visible trouble that follows? Shelley’s Frankenstein, Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”, and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, whether through the situation or the character themselves, depict the evils and hardships due to an imbalance and poor management of power.
The desire for power is prevalent in our day to day life from wanting control over little insignificant aspects to control over others. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is
John gradually discovers that Lenina is not the innocent, undiluted woman he once loved. Lenina’s sexual promiscuity is horrifying to him; the thought that other men have had sexual experiences with Lenina causes him to go insane. When Lenina makes a sexual advance, John shouts: “Whore! Impudent strumpet” (132). John’s dream is shattered – the perfect Other has its own imperfections, and this reality corrupts John’s self-awareness. Lenina’s image was a reflection of the person John viewed himself to be: an innocent character that is untainted by the “Brave New World” (94) and its vices. In order to expunge his sins, John flees civilization and moves to the countryside to spend his time gardening, praying, and whipping himself. His redemption is uprooted as he succumbs to the ways of the citizens of the World State by engaging in a masochistic “orgy-porgy” of self-inflicted pain and whips a woman who appears to be Lenina until she becomes a shell of a human being. Huxley provides closure to the fantasy John created by plunging John into an abyss of anguish, reflecting the idea that intense fantasy nurtures insanity. Voltaire, by contrast, ends on a relatively positive note. After a long voyage, Candide is reunited with his dear Cunnegonde only to realize that she is “a scullion … and is very ugly” (84-85). Candide stays true to his word and marries her, but he regains a sense of purpose by opting to tend to his own garden. Instead of relying on the fantasy of a perfect Other, Candide assumes responsibility for his own life by focusing on labor and cultivating his own work ethic. In Candide, characters escape the temptation of fantasy through hard work; by applying themselves to do “some service or other” (87), life is
“I slept… but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth…. as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death…and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms…and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel” (43).
...Piercy badgers the reader with Comstock's view of women (mostly in the descriptions of his dutiful wife and obedient daughter) to illustrate his sexism, however, the belabored point begins to fall flat and instead leaves the character feeling one-dimensional. Likewise, even men initially introduced to the reader as pro-feminist, like Theodore Tilton, meet with a predictable sexist ending. These men were no doubt chosen to embody the patriarchal society of then and today, but the unyielding portrayal began to feel overwhelmingly oppressive (perhaps her intent) and a novel so based in realism, on that point, began to feel contrived, therefore unrealistic. Nevertheless, Piercy compares and contrasts the experiences of the characters', offering them up to the reader, perhaps in hope that similarities can be identified and a feminist dialogue can be started or continued.
Society controls its members with body expectations. Lorber implies that society controls its members through religion and culture when she says, “ The moral imperatives of religion and culture
control by taking away their sense of power and ultimately their own manhood. A direct
The sexual dominance of male characters over their female counterparts in the plays establishes their superiority and control. Both playwrights suggest that a degree of personal status is acquired by sexually dominate women. The rape scene shows Stanley’s use of power sexually through rage and strength, used to illustrate his final defeat of Blanche and establish himself as ‘King’ of his territory, ‘limited to expressing basic desire’ . ‘Since earliest manhood… his life has been pleasure with women... giving and taking of it... with power and pride’. It is a power he can achieve over women that they cannot over him. ‘Let’s have some rough house! [He springs towards her, overturning the table. She cries out... he picks up her inert figure… carries her to the bed]’. The use of stage directions portrays Blanche’s passivity, and gives the audience a better understanding of how the event empowers Stanley; also the enjambment, ‘Don’t you come towards me another step or I’ll-‘, intensifies Blanche’s lack of power comparatively with Stanley’s. Similarly Albee shows men’s power through the ability to overpower; George asserts ‘I’d take you by force, right here on the living room rug.’ It is telling that at the end of the play he takes her to bed, after destroying her illusion. Albee also uses sexuality as a tool for battle, Martha says ‘I was necking with one of the guests’ in an attempt to antagonise her husband; his nonchalant response undermines her quest for power, ‘... Good... Good you go right on’.
The Big Sleep has a plot saturated with blackmail, threats, and murder that stem from the sexual actions of Carmen. This sex is the main contributing factor to the darkness that Marlowe finds. However, it is not just sex alone that is the nightmare; but sex used as an instrumental good of exchange. Through comparing the characterizations of Vivian, Carmen, and Mona and the resolution of the plot for characters that engage in this darkness, we can see how using sex as a mode of exchange is different than sex as an act of love for Marlowe. By creating this nightmare about sex as a means to gain wealth, Chandler is playing into his society’s fears of oversexualization of women.
Our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, once stated; “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power”. This declaration argues that the true test of a person’s morals derives from when said person is given a position of relative power, whether it be power presiding over a nation, or simply power within a relationship. I agree with this statement wholeheartedly, when a person is in a state of submission their actions are regulated and the person may not reflect the values that they actually hold. However, when a person is given power that allows them have control over others, their true ideologies arise. Furthermore, this is supported in literary works throughout history. Specifically,
Humbert reminds the reader of his effectiveness at both seduction and therefore dominance early in the novel: “I was, and still am, despite [my misfortunate], an exceptionally handsome man.” (25) Even after all that he has went through, as this is written in his prison cell, he still claims to be as powerful as he ever was. And with such a disposition, he boasts of his ability to dominate the opposition by seducing any female, (even though he does so sometimes with exceptional motives.) He exemplifies it by wedding ...
With his 1955 novel Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov invents a narrator by the name of Humbert Humbert who is both an exquisite wordsmith and an obsessive pedophile. The novel serves as the canvas upon which Humbert Humbert will paint a story of love, lust, and death for the reader. His confession is beautiful and worthy of artistic appreciation, so the fact that it centers on the subject of pedophilia leaves the reader conflicted by the close of the novel. Humbert Humbert frequently identifies himself as an artist and with his confession he hopes “to fix once for all the perilous magic of nymphets” (Nabokov, Lolita 134). Immortalizing the fleeting beauty and enchanting qualities of these preteen girls is Humbert Humbert’s artistic mission
To compensate for their non-existent sex lives, both Leopold and Lester turn first to solo sex in the bath (or in Lester's case, the shower) and both enjoy adulterous, guilty dreams of unorthodox sexual practices, often accompanied by flower imagery.
Often, too much power can go to that particular person’s head, and he/she can become corrupt. As readers have seen in literature, abuses of power are often harmful to the abuser and their subjects. Corrupted authority and abuses of power eventually lead to the collapse of society. This concept is shown many times throughout the novel Lord Of the Flies and the short story “I Only Came to Use the Phone”. Displayed through characters and actions, abusive power has dominated what should be morally correct in literature.
When reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being, I was often confused about the meaning behind Tereza’s dreams. During my class discussion, I learned about the Freudian dream analysis and heard several perspectives behind Tereza’s dreams. This new information clarified why she acts the way she does.