Throughout the short stories, "Apollo" by Chimamanda Adichie and "The Two Brothers" by Leo Tolstoy, the authors reveal that unbalanced power corrupts the happiness of friendship and family. First, In "Apollo" by Chimamanda Adichie the two very close friends Raphael and Okenwa's friendship has been corrupted due to the theme of unbalanced power. "Raphael said something that I could not hear, but it had the sound of betrayal." (Adichie, p.9). In this quote the friendship between the two comparable friends Raphael and Okenwa has been partially dismantled by the unbalanced power, jealousy, and Raphael's omitting. Throughout "Apollo" by Chimamanda Adichie the power shift between Raphael and Okenwa impacted the story by Okenwa becoming unhappy at
In describing the most important qualities of an ideal marriage, one would likely place an abundance of love, mutual support, trust, and honesty somewhere near the top of the list. Even in the best of unions, successfully cultivating these qualities requires mindfulness, yet malicious meddling by outside parties can erode these foundations. In “Othello,” William Shakespeare conjures up the destruction of a blissful marriage at the whims of the diabolical Iago. Similarly, in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House,” a picture-perfect couple is torn apart by the ill-intentioned revelations of a desperate man, Nils Krogstad. Though both detail lives and love unravelling at the hands of disgruntled employees, the similarities end there. The relationships between the husbands and wives are vastly different, as are the motivations and actions of the two saboteurs.
In conclusion, these two pieces of literary work are great examples of how power can be used for good or evil. The consequences can be brutal as shown in the text. People can use power to their advantage and even that can be considered good or evil. The use and abuse of power is not only a great theme for these texts, but we, as readers, can also connect with the messages in our own everyday lives.
Conflict theory in sociology suggests that the relationship between females and males has traditionally been one of unequal power, with men in a dominant position over women (Schaefer 278). By page one of the short story there are examples of this inequality and subordination. Speaking of her illness, the narrator states, “You see he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do? If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is ...
Power can allow one to make decisions for others than will benefit them, but too much power can cause one to become corrupt. In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, the author, Charles Dickens, views power as a way in which corruption arises. Throughout the novel, Dickens speaks about three characters who starts to abuse their power as time passes in the novel. Dickens portrays the characters of the Monseigneur, the Marquis of Evermonde, and the revolutionaries as characters who goes through a change as a result of power.
Structural violence is the term used to refer to a form of violence where some social structure or social institution may harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs. In the book “Pathologies of Power” we read about how the prison system is corrupt. The prison system is intended to maintain some stability and help to rehabilitate the incarcerated so when they released they can live successful lives and hopefully not return to a life a crime that would lead them to returning back to prison. However, the prisons are working to keep people of low income and economic class stay in prison. This keeps them from leading successful lives and working their way up to be part of the upper class. This also keeps them from interacting
Power Struggles are very common is many marriages. In Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, by Edward Albee, the relationship or marriage between George and Martha is based in power. The power struggle between George and Martha has become the basis of their relationship. Their love has turned into hate. The only connection they have is through their insults and the series of games they play. The power struggle between George and Martha develops is reveled and is resolved through out the play.
Another key significance about this story is that it exhibited the human tendency to seek power. Even today, there are instances where employees, students, and influential figures take great steps to elevate themselves to a higher position in society. Some people may even resort to illegal actions to increase their own personal gain. Human nature is always developing, but this specific myth highlighted a human desire to have control and
“Boys” by Rick Moody summarizes the life journey of two stereotypical boys and how they gain power from the experiences they face. The boys face both positive experiences and tragedies that impacts their amount of power. In the short story, the author is conveying the idea that as the boys mature they obtain more power. He shows this through the literary devices conflict, tone, and repetition.
Throughout the book we are introduced to many characters with traits and qualities that make them each memorable and unique. These characters have interactions among each other that shows the way that power affects them. While there are a few characters that do not abuse their power, most of the characters respond to power or a lack of power with acts to make themselves make themselves feel more powerful. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the strengths and weaknesses of various characters to show how characters can prey on weaker characters in order to make themselves seem superior.
Aristotle argues that friendship is a vital part of life. It serves not only as a means to bond individuals together, but also a necessity in achieving overall happiness. Aristotle comments on the various types of friendships that exist, and the role they each play in society. He explains three overarching types; utility, pleasure, and complete friendship. Yet, with family, friendship is different than it is with companionship. As Aristotle states in his piece, Nicomachean Ethics on friendship in families, “they all seem to depend on paternal friendship” (Aristotle, 1161b18). In The Aeneid, Aeneas and Anchises’ relationship, perfectly embodies this. The father son bond does not distinctly resemble one of the three types, rather it is a friendship in of itself; a paternal friendship.
Aristotle presents his view of the mutual desire for good in others, or Friendship in his work, The Nicomachean Ethics. He asserts that friendship comes in three types, Virtue Friendship, Use Friendship, and Pleasure Friendship. He distinguishes Virtue Friendship as the perfect friendship, leaving Use Friendship and Pleasure friendship as deficient friendships. C.S. Lewis presents his view of friendship, which is motivated by appreciation love, in his book The Four Loves in a manner seeming to correspond to Aristotle’s concept of Virtue Friendship. Lewis also presents his perception of Companionship, which seems to correspond to Aristotle’s notion of Use and Pleasure Friendships. Lewis presents a more modern and seemingly accurate rehabilitation
Abusive power can cause destruction and destroy the lives of others, even yours. Outright power can corrupt completely, especially if it is use to one’s own end. Both Selectionsshow that exploiting your power leads not thinking about what damage you could do in the future and will leave a hateful regret in your heart. Being in quest of revenge among one's enemy is not always the best decision especially if your own life is on the line of being
in any group of people, and there will be struggle to achieve it--be it a
Tolstoy skillfully conveyed the message that greed has no boundaries and will lead to misery. Through the use of the two sisters in a scenario where an elder sister visited her younger sister and they both got into an argument about who has a better
In my opinion, power can be both positive and negative. There are many individuals that use power to help individuals who truly need helping. However, there are some people to take the word "POWER" to the extreme. For example, if you have an individual who just got promoted to manager, and they try to enforce ridiculous rules on you just to look like a hot shot. This would be using power in a negative way. Also, as a president there are many ways you can use power in a positive setting: making more jobs, providing healthcare, and much more. However, there is some negativity: vetoing an action that is very beneficial to everyone in the community, turning countries against us, and providing fake information to the media to look good. So, therefore,