Power Achievement from Violence

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Recommended: Speech sounds by octavia butler analysis

The world is full of violence. No matter how much one tries the world would never be rid of war, abuse, killing and poverty. Mahatma Ghandi simply states “[i]t is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence” (brainyquotes). In science fiction, violence is not only associated with the masculine traits that are presented in the genre but it also is one of the only means of asserting dominance over another. In Joe Haldeman’s Forever Peace and short stories such as Ursula Le Guin’s “The New Atlantis” and Octavia Butler’s “Speech Sounds”, these works illustrate that in order to achieve power and progression within this world is to assert it through acts of violence. Haldeman, Le Guin and Butler depict that through the use of violence it exemplifies man’s innate and primal instinct for it. They depict works in which described that through violence the powerful can assert superiority over the oppressed. Is also through violence that also allows humanity to progress, adapt and allows them to rise up against their oppressors as well. It is the power to fully understand and learn from these mistakes. It seems that perhaps humanity is addicted to violence in one way or another to gain something but the most obvious distinction is that primal feeling to act on it, humanity questions the consequences of these actions as well.
It is clear that humanity is drawn to fighting even if it was without a reasonable cause. It seems to define what human nature is. To throw the first punch allows for our primary instinct to defend ourselves. For example, in the beginning of Butler’s short story, “Speech Sounds”, the narrator named Valerie Rye describes the scene that begins the ...

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...d yet it proves that mankind still hopes for change. Even if it means through violence, destruction can possibly bring about stability and hope for the future. Perhaps Ghandi is right. Humanity must understand the violence that is in our hearts rather than be ignorant of the truth.

Works Cited

Butler, Octavia. “Speech Sounds.” The Norton Book of Science Fiction. Ed. Ursula Le Guin & Brian Attebery. New York: Norton & Company inc, 1993. 513-524. Print.
Brainy Quotes. 24 Nov, 2013. 2013. Web.
Haldeman, Joe. Forever Peace. New York : Ace book , 1997. Print.
Le Guin, Ursula. “The New Atlantis.” The Norton Book of Science Fiction. Ed. Ursula Le Guin & Brian Attebery. New York: Norton & Company inc, 1993. 317-336. Print.
Suranyi, Clarissa. ENGLISH 2071F: Speculative Fiction: Science Fiction Notes. London, ON: University of Western. Nov. 2013. Lecture Notes.

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