Power Of Power

How is power defined? Power is defined by the capability of doing or accomplishing something. It is often times found throughout literature as a dominant theme. Furthermore, power can be used as good or evil. An example of evil is found in the memoir, Night when the Nazi’s take complete advantage of the Jews. In the novel, Speak, Melinda’s past takes control of her actions later on and she struggles to find herself after a horrifying event. She is hiding a deep dark secret that only she knows. Overpowering can lead to identity loss, staying silent and psychological harm. But power is not only limited to literature. It is also found throughout artwork in the real world. An example of this is found in the painting, The Sorrowing Old Man by Vincent Van Gogh. It perfectly expresses the idea of overpowering. Vincent Van Gogh’s artwork symbolically reveals Melinda and Elie’s suffering and despair through the use of visual symbols.

Van Gogh's depiction of the old man connects with Melinda and Elie's own loss of identity as shown by the symbols. This is related to Night because Elie was stripped of this identity when he had to give up his freedoms. Like Elie, Melinda also experienced a loss of identity when she lost most of her friends. When the Martha girls and Heather try to bring Melinda down, she heads to the bathroom and explains, “I wash my face in the sink until there is nothing left of it, no eyes, no face, no mouth. A slick nothing" (Anderson 45). When she says "a slick nothing" it shows the fact that she wants to wash her face until there is completely nothing left of it. She is attempting to remove all the evil things that have happened to her and to wash away all the pain and sorrow she is going through. When Melinda says "un...

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...ed to remain in silence. Similarly, The Sorrowing Old Man is related to this through the elderly man in the artwork’s inability to speak. Just like Melinda, the man in the artwork is endured in silence. To continue, they both also remained in silence, unable to talk or act. Melinda and Elie’s inability to speak is shown through the use of visual symbols from Van Gogh’s artwork.

Evidently, Melinda and Elie’s suffering and despair is demonstrated through Vincent Van Gogh’s artwork. This is displayed through the use of the visual image that the painting shows. Overpowering can lead to identity loss, staying silent and psychological harm. The Sorrowing Old Man perfectly expresses the idea of overpowering and how barred power can do to someone. In order to make a difference we as a society, must speak up for ourselves so that there are no consequences of staying silent.