Capstone Essay: Power
According to the oxford dictionary, “Power” is the ability to do something or act in a particular way especially as a faculty or even individually. It is also the political, social authority, or control that is exercised by a government. The theme of power, is portrayed throughout several texts and novels in both Mosaic I and II. In the book, Cat’s cradle by Kurt Vonnegut expresses the idea of power through religion, science and politics. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marks and Frederick Engles, demonstrates how power, through class and economy leads to political empowerment. Homer’s Iliad and the Epic of Gilgamesh both demonstrate conflicting views of what is means to be powerful. Throughout these two text, both the Gods and mortals, struggle to discover their own power, whether it is through their strengths or an obsession with glory. The theme of power also manifests itself in the book of Antigone, where Creon abuses his privilege of absolute power and this allows him to suffer to a great extent. The Complete Persepolis and Walden and Civil Disobedience also demonstrates how governing powers can oppress people and this can be very restrictive in societies.
Vonnegut displays power in a reoccurring fashion and this is first seen when he creates the religion of Bokononism, the main purpose of him creating this religion is to give the people something to believe in. He makes this clear when he states, “All of the true things I am about to tell you are shameless lies” (p.5). From this, it is evident that this religion has the power to allow people to believe in misconceptions about the truths and the real meaning of life. Vonnegut’s assertions are that religion is tiring, o...
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...have the capacity to be self-regulating and independent. This is seen in the first chapter, when he states, “Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinions” (p.10). From this, one is able to see Thoreau’s desire to limit the power of states and he guarantees freedom and equality for all the citizens living in a state.
The theme of power manifest itself in several texts in both Mosaic I and II, whether it is through an institution such as religion, science and politics or even on an individual level. In regards to these institutions, power has the ability to establish or demolish a society and this is portrayed throughout these texts. One is also able to see that it is not power itself, but a legitimation of the lust or love of power, that corrupts an individual and an example of this is seen the text Antigone.
Thoreau talks about the politics, power and civil disobedience in his works. He believed that when many thought alike, the power was stronger within that minority. I think that Thoreau's intention was to point out that those people who dare to go against what seems to be unjust and go against the majority, and stand erect, are the people who transform society as a whole.
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.
Thoreau is targeting all of the American citizens with this essay. He is making a statement to them and trying to convince them that as a whole we need to make a stand against the American government. Thoreau is attempting to demonstrate his self-reliance against the government. He upholds his specific principles and encouraged nonaggressive acts of political resistance to protest government policy. An example of his resistance is when he states “that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it. I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave's government also”. The two major issues occurring during the writing of this essay were the Mexican-American war and slavery. During this time period many northerners began to push against slavery causing a divide in the American society. The Mexican-American War ...
By seeing the characters in the book and laughing at them, he is forcing us also to laugh at ourselves. By openly criticizing one religion or another, Vonnegut feared he would have alienated a potential audience or created some discomfort. Rather than offend anyone, then - or perhaps rather to offend everyone equally - he instead created Bokononism, using aspects of all religions, and exaggerating them to the point of absurdity. Though we may laugh at the Bokononists, at the same time we realize that there are certain truths in the creed.
Society has constructed many pillars (religion, science) to protect us from the unknown. Kurt Vonnegut uses satire to tear them down. He attacks religion through his false religion of Bokononism. It is a religion of "shameless lies"(5). Newt summarizes religion up best when he compares it to the cat's cradle. "Religion! . . . See the cat? . . . See the cradle?" Yet, perhaps the greatest attack on religion comes in the last paragraph of the novel. Bokonon himself says, "If I were a younger man, I would write a history of human stupidity. . . and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horrible, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who"(287).
Rather, he should always protest for his autonomy. Thoreau expands on this subject in Civil Disobedience. After expressing his desires for a small government, he questions the idea of government itself: “Must the citizen ever for a moment...resign his conscience to the legislator?...[W]e should be men first, and subjects afterwards” (Civil Disobedience 171). Placing the individual over the government, Thoreau shows his passion for the self. That person’s actions may go awry, but, at least, the person still has the right to learn from his or her wrongs. Thoreau likens a meaningful existence with unyielding trust in a person’s inner voice. Without nurturing this voice, an individual loses his or her personhood. Such unwavering loyalty to the self best characterizes the transcendental ideal life, where one only needs to follow intuition to be
Power is authority and strength, which is any form of motive force or energy, ability to act, or control. When too much power is given, a dictatorship government can form, in which all decisions are made by one authority. In the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell the author portrays how “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Lord Acton).
Vonnegut deals a lot with fantasy in his book, Cat's Cradle. From the beginning, he talks about the religion that he follows: Bokonism. This is not a real religion, however he has rules, songs, scriptures, and opinions of a person that practices this fantasy religion. Within his description of this religion however is black humor as well. I think that by him making up this whole religion and an entire island of people who follow it, is in a way mocking today's religion and the way that people are dedicated to their beliefs.
Both power and authority essentially play throughout the literature in various ways. For instance, in the story called The Crucible, shows the power and authority being used by those who benefited themselves and others. As well as
Thoreau 's essay is both an abstract work of political theory and a practical and topical work addressing the issues of the day. On the one hand, Thoreau is making several theoretical claims about the nature of democracy and the relationship between citizen and government. For example, Thoreau argues that government should be based on conscience and that citizens should cease associating with an unjust government. Thus, Thoreau 's work must be considered as a work of political philosophy, invoking ideals and making claims about the way government and society should be
To conclude, Thoreau believed that people should be ruled by conscience and that people should fight against injustice through non-violence according to “Civil Disobedience.” Besides, he believed that we should simplify our lives and take some time to learn our essence in the nature. Moreover, he deemed that tradition and money were unimportant as he demonstrated in his book, Walden. I suggested that people should learn from Thoreau to live deliberately and spend more time to go to the nature instead of watching television, playing computer games, and among other things, such that we could discover who we were and be endeavored to build foundations on our dreams.
In “Resistance to Civil Government,” Thoreau articulates the importance he places on resistance against a powerful, controlling government. He opens his essay with a reference to the...
If there was ever an element in our society that has been so intensely studied, so manipulated, so extremely perverse and awe inspiring it would have to be the ideological phenomena of power. Power has the ability to take on infinite manifestations across both the conception of time and space; it’s built vast sprawling empires and has destroyed them, it has turned great men terrible and the most heinous men true, it can be as ginormous as an exploding star and has miniscule as the collision of two atoms. There is no definitive definition of the word “Power” because it is so contextual and subjective in our minds and life. Power permeates every letter of any story, poem, play, musical, etc; just think about it, even the letters you are reading right now have the power to form a word, which can invoke any number of feelings within yourself! Therefore, it can be said that writers and authors have much more power than we can even fathom! One author that challenged me to think critically about the use of power within our lives is Pervical Everett and his narrative, “The Appropriation of Cultures”.
One of the most prevalent themes in Vonnegut’s works is religion. In the early pages of Cat’s Cradle, Vonnegut submits his contention that "a useful religion can be founded on lies (Vonnegut, Cats Cradle 16)," meaning that, fundamentally, religion is about people, not about faith or God. Reminiscent of Karl Marx’s description of religion as the "opiate of the masses," he describes all religions as mere collections of "harmless untruths" that help people cope with their lives. The Book of Bokonon in Cat's Cradle represents this portrait of religion at both its dreariest and its most uplifting, Bokononism is contradictory, paradoxical, and founded on lies; its followers are aware of this...
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.