Definition of Power in Literary Masterpieces - Term Paper Example

of the of the Concerned 7 October Definition of Power Power is not a concept that is necessarily or solely confined to the discipline of politics only. It would certainly not be wrong to say that a sense of power is the necessary and intrinsic need of the human existence. In an individual context, the feeling of not having any power over the social ambience in which one lives, over the people and groups that one comes across in one’s day to day life, over the events that collectively constitute an individual’s life, or over the varied aspects of one’s personal life could indeed turn out to be very disturbing and enervating. When people feel helpless owing to a lack of power, they indeed feel miserable. In that context everyone intends to accrue sufficient power and nobody likes to be deficient in power. The agony experienced by the characters found in multiple works of literature is many a times a direct outcome of an excess or lack of power. In that context, it will be really thought provoking to arrive at a definition of power using examples from some important literary masterpieces as Medea by Euripides, Othello by Shakespeare, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven by Sherman Alexei and The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. The character of Medea in Medea by Euripides is shown to be devastated by a lack of power over the betrayal of and abandonment by her husband Jason. Ironically, Jason is also shown by Euripides to be craving for an enhancement in his political and social stature. To quench this craving for power, Jason decides to abandon his wife Medea and his children, in favor of marrying Glauce, the daughter of Creon, the king of the Greek city Corinth. The very act of abandonment of Medea by Jason makes Medea feel helpless, humiliated and wrecked. Considering the fact that the relationship between a husband and a wife is considered to be sanctimonious and that the spouses do prefer to feel that they exercise ample influence over each others’ lives, the betrayal by Jason devastates the domestic bliss of Medea and she ends up considering Jason, Glauce and Creon to be the people responsible for her helpless plight. So in order to regain a sense of control over her destiny and to solicit justice, Medea plots the death of Glauce. Creon in his grief chooses to die with his daughter, while Medea demolishes Jason by killing her two children. In conclusion, Medea restores her sense of empowerment and justice by making her detractors pay for their injustice. The fight of Medea was a fight to gain power and justice in her domestic and personal life. In Othello, Othello a moor of Venice, comes across an intense feeling of powerlessness and betrayal in the personal and domestic sphere of his life owing to the treachery of his subordinate Iago and more predominantly owing to his jealousy over the fidelity of his wife Desdemona, his tendency to give ear to the rumors spread by others, and an appalling lack of self control over his emotions and anger. In a rational context, power in domestic life ought to ensue from a tendency to be straightforward and from an ability to trust one’s spouse. In contrast, Othello seeks s sense of power and the commensurate reassurance, by allowing Iago to play with his weaknesses and doubts, which eventually results in the murder of innocent Desdemona. If one analyzes the tragedy of Othello, power may be defined as an ability to have a control over one’s emotions and judgment, and the tendency to not to allow oneself be manipulated by misinformation and gossip. Power is as much about having a control over one’s innate faculties, as about having a say in the conjugal and domestic aspects of one’s life. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven by Sherman Alexei is a collection of short stories with a novel like continuity in the sense that the collection revolves around the experiences of two Native American men named Thomas Builds-the-Fire and Victor Joseph, residing in the Spokane Indian Reservation. The memory, constituting a relationship with the past plays a pivotal role in this book. The two central characters in the collection and the short stories woven around them tend to describe their relationships and the aspirations related to their family members and the other people who live on the reservation. These characters tend to explore the notions of poverty as it is and as it is imagined to be thrust upon their race, by their family members and acquaintances at the Spokane Indian Reservation suffering from alcohol abuse. While doing so the two characters discover that their past and the present are intricately related to each other. To wrest a sense of power over their destiny, it is not only important tom move forward with an open mind, but it is equally important to let go the ghosts of the past. So in the context of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, the real power comprises of letting go the fears and persecution perceptions accumulated over generations, to make a new beginning that incorporates the best of both the past and the present. Certainly it involves much forgiveness and reconciliation. The novel, The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga is the story of a young man Balram from an Indian village named Laxmangarh, steeped in darkness and poverty, in the heartland of rural India. Simply speaking, The White Tiger is the fight of an individual to emerge from darkness into light. Balram is shown as struggling for existence in a society extremely constrained by the gap between the rich and the poor, the rampant corruption and exploitation, and the stifling and crushing caste system prevalent in the Indian society. His interactions with his rich masters expose him to the abundance that is accessible to the rich and the power that comes with money. Resultantly, Balram’s sense of powerlessness has a social and economic context and his inability to enjoy the fruits of his labor and talent. However, Balram decides to get over these hurdles by taking a decisive step that though technically criminal, seems just an appropriate in the context of the repression and exploitation restraining him and other people like him. So in the light of this story, power is essentially about the freedom to be what one aspires to be by the dint of one’s talent and the freedom to enjoy the fruits of one labor without fear or repression. The analysis of the four works of literature, discussed above accrues ample material to arrive at a valid definition of power. So ‘power is a human concept that has both intrinsic and extrinsic aspects. In an intrinsic aspect it is a sense of well being that comes from the freedom to have a say in one’s destiny, the ability to have a control over one’s senses and emotions, and the capacity to be logical and rational in one’s judgments and decisions. In an extrinsic context, power essentially means a feeling of assurance and self worth that ensues from one’s capacity to have a say and influence in the domestic, social and political aspects of one’s life. Power is a state of mind that is sans fear and indignity.’ It is only when both the intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of power are accessible to an individual that one is able to live a happy and fruitful life. Read More