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Power is the important thing that everybody wants. Power is the ability to control one’s own life or the life of other. The book “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is the story about power. In the story Mayella Ewell accuses Tom Robinson of raping her. Mayella wins the case against Tom showing how much power she has. But is my Mayella truly powerful? When it comes to class and gender she is powerless but when it comes to race she is powerful. Her race makes her truly powerful.
Class is a group sharing the same economic or social status. Milo was a low class person so I made her powerless in the area. Because she was a low class person she got offended when they called her “ma’am” (Doc C) not knowing that that respect. The lights didn’t
Is Mayella Ewell powerful?That is the question that is asked and must be answered.Throughout the story” To kill a mockingbird” Mayella shows some glimpses of power, but not enough to say she is powerful.For example, in the beginning she shows that she cannot even control her home life so how can she be powerful.Also she shows that she is just too poor for her to have power.Now in the next three paragraphs I will explain my thinking on why I believe Mayella is not powerful.
In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Mayella Ewell is the conflict of the story. To challenge herself to see if she is powerful based on class, gender, and race. Mayella is powerful due to her race; however, she would not be powerful due to her class and gender. One might think she is powerful over all; however, she does not have power in the eyes of some readers. Proceeding on to see if Mayella has power in race.
Power helped some people in this novel by helping them do what was right. Like George, he was the new guy, the guys still accepted him because he seemed like a kind and trustworthy person. So he never really had problems with people except Curley but Curley was just that kind of person because he thought he was better than everyone else and bigger. He also had power though since his dad owned the farm he practically could do whatever he wanted so no one really wanted to mess with them because if he wanted to he could get people canned. His dad had power over everything since he owned the farm he controlled who worked there and who did not and what kind of jobs people would do. Slim had power too because he was kind of like a leader and he was a nice guy. He was also very respectful and knew where his place was and did not run into trouble since no one had a reason to mess with him. Carlson had some power to in this book when he took control and killed Candy’s dog, “I’ll put the old devil out of his misery right now and get it over with.” (47)
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time of birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem appropriate. In school, teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter the work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move up the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its people that was inexplicable.
Power allows people to do anything they want. They can use it in different ways, they can tell people to obey them, they can use it to hurt someone they hate, and even rob. They can also use it in a positive way, they can help people and do a lot of good things with it.
Power is defined as a person’s ability to alter another human being’s life, as seen in different narratives throughout literature; whether it be something as large as the giving and taking life, or as small as placing an idea in someone’s head, and furthermore, taking responsibility for those actions. However, the common theme is that the most powerful people in the world are those who give life, and do what they can to ensure their offspring stay healthy, happy, and alive. People who make a long-lasting impact on other’s lives.
Power is the ability to control a person’s life in a way in which the person being controlled has no say. Power is earned rightfully, sometimes. Most of the times, people use wrong ways to earn power which is never theirs to begin with. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." (Acton). This quote is a representation of the story Macbeth, and how the character Macbeth is corrupted by power. In William Shakespeare’s novel, Macbeth, a tragic story of a hero, displays this dominant theme of power. Macbeth, a loyal, respected, and strong leader becomes the prey of his wife, who forces him to obtain power. However, Macbeth’s sense of losing his power that he has just attained causes him to utilize his own mind to ensure that he does not lose that power, leading him to make the wrong decisions. This story demonstrates that excessive desire for power can corrupt a person’s life.
Power is a quality, a tool, and a weapon utilized for a variety of reasons. It is in the form of a quality in which it gives the possessor, a sense of control. In the form of a weapon, power is possessed in order to produce a negative environment of hurt and punishment. But, in the form of a tool, power may be used in order to gain something more, something positive. Thus, power creates a sense of superiority which may result in consequences on both side of the spectrum, the good or the bad.
What is the deciding factor for one’s outcome as a result of power? Some think it is like a drug that seems to addict people, they constantly crave more. This would explain why people act so selfishly in order to acquire it. But is power a purely greedy emotion?
When people have a gain in power, their morals develop an they start learning different things and become more aware of society. Throughout the book, we see Jem and Scout develop morally, and gain and lose power. My first example of this happening is in Chapter 9. In this scene of the book, Scout was mad at Cecil Jacobs for calling her father a “n----- lover” Cecil is calling Scout that because her father Atticus is defending a black man in court. Scout says on page 85.1“Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting anymore..”This quote ties into my claim of power and moral development because Scout uses the word “anymore”. Which is implying that she doesn’t fight anymore. In my opinion Scout gained power because
The word ‘power’ can be linked with many different ideas. As a general statement power has a significant effect on different aspects of people’s lives, sometimes for better and others for worse. I have chosen to convey power both ways through the poems ‘Homecoming’ and ‘Enter without so much as knocking’ by Bruce Dawe and Meryl Streep’s speech on ‘Women’s Rights’.
Public discourses about race and gender did create new ways of thinking and knowing. Talking about class and the various ways class differences separate groups has been much harder. Class standing and status tend frequently to link us more intimately to the dominant economic and its concomitant hierarchies. For example: it is much more likely that a white person will bond with a black person when the row shares a common class lifestyle. It is less likely that a materially prosperous person will establish a mutual bond with someone who is poor and indigent. (2)
This power is the equivalent to a beautiful woman in present-day American society. It is evident
Power is the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. But where does real power actually thrive from? According to many websites, articles, and books, power is fueled from your position is society. How high up you are, what job you have, what is your income. Things that make you successful are large contributing factors to your amount of power. Based on the books, A Doll’s House, Things Fall Apart, and Game of Thrones, the higher social status/class you are, the more power you can obtain.
Power is an illusion that is sought by many, obtained by few and destructive for all. Since the dawn of man, power has been an established mentality carried within his psyche. It has been used as a way for man to define himself, his place within this world and the place of everything else that surrounds him. Man has ignorantly assumed himself and his race to be the possessors and wielders of power while disregarding the truths and true definition of it. The consequences of his disregard have been detrimental to man, yet, he has failed to correct his faulty rationalizations and understandings of it. Power has built up and destroyed many men and will continue to do so until man begins to understand that power is an illusion in life and a thing that cannot be possessed.