Power and your identity Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” All men are the same but once you give them power you find out who they really are. Men can either do good with their power or they can do evil with their power. In Animal Farm, Hunger Games, and Harrison Bergeron, it truly shows how power can either be for evil or for the good. Power greatly affects individual identity. When you have power everyone is not equal, you become a leader, and you start thinking of yourself. When you start having power either physically, emotionally, individual, etc..., you start having different equality then others. In Harrison Bergeron it said “It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and the Emperor and Empress were dead…” (Vonnegut 5). They say that everyone is supposed to be equal but none of the Handicapper Generals had to wear any handicaps. The Handicapper …show more content…
They might say in The Hunger Games Katniss never changed her identity when she gotten power from the people. But actually Katniss did changed, before she even had power she was just a very innocent and quiet person. Then after she started speaking out to people to get her to like her. In Animal Farm “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which” (Orwell 141). Pigs and humans are two different things and look like two different things to. After all this war and power they couldn’t tell which one was which. The power that the pigs had changed their identity so much that other animals couldn’t tell the difference between human and the pigs. When you have power something about you changes, since you never really had that before, you start abusing it for the good or
Since the age of Thomas Moore, intellectuals have been fascinated by the idea of an ideal society where all is well and total happiness is readily available to all of its members. Such ideals of a ‘utopia’ continued throughout the centuries until it reached a major pivoting point in the nineteenth century. Historical events such as the Second World War, the Cold War, the emergence of McCarthyism, and the creation of a nuclear bomb left people with a heavily misanthropic view of the world. People started to question the practicality or realistic possibility of a utopian society, thus creating the genre of dystopian literature. (Gerhard, 2012)
With all of these conflicts Katniss is able to win the games. This relates to my quote because Katniss had to adapt to having to go to the hunger games. She accepted what had happened and made the best of
The Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers, shoots down Harrison and warns the others “they [have] ten seconds to get their handicaps back on” (Vonnegut 230). Though the plot of the story is thin, it satirically debates what types of equality are best for the
The stories “Harrison Bergeron”, Animal Farm, and The Hunger Games are huge examples of these situations. “Harrison Bergeron” is a prime example of a dystopian society. In This story the government uses different tactics and tools to handicap the characters in the book. The Handicapper General is one of the main characters to enforce these tactics or handicaps. In the story the main goal is to make everybody equal but
In the story “Harrison Bergeron” the handicaps make people identical, but, their real plans are to bring fear and weaken them so they don 't rebel against the government. Equality could be dangerous to society because the handicaps are a way that the government controls people without them knowing also scare them with some serious consequences if they don 't follow their orders. Without diversity, the government could destroy the world, and weaken the people. Being all the same Diversity can destroy the world, and weaken
But first what is Power? When researching Power words such as authority, control, direct, command and influence all appear. These words all support the following statement “Power is the ability to influence and control the behaviour of others.” The problem with power is that it often leads to those in power abusing it. As Lord Acton famously quoted “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Some people believe that real power is based on popularity, athletics, and intelligence, while others believe that real power vary based on strengths/weakness and labels should not be looked at as everything.
Lord of the Flies: Abuse of Power Power is something that everyone gets to experience at some point in their lives. It can force people to do things out of spite or fear. One character in particular, Jack, is very conscious of these issues. He uses them to torture the other boys and divide the group to obtain as much power as possible. Jack is not afraid to do what he needs to even if it costs him his childhood.
Power can quickly change a person. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “Cask of the Amontillado” the narrator has power over an intoxicated Fortunato as he leads him down it to the depths of his family vaults. The narrator has power over Fortunato and it ends up changing the narrator to be a different man from whom Fortunato knows. Power has also has changed characters for the worse in the Percy Jackson books written by Rick Riordan included but not limited to Kronos, Luke, and Ethan. They prove that people can be obsessed with the control, respect, and chance for revenge that power gives them.
Also the actual Handicapper General, Diana Moon Glampers, took civilians to jail that were above-average to society. The hierarchy known as the Handicapper General government were all hypocrites because they didn’t enforce the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendment on themselves which clearly stated that “No one could be quicker or stronger than anyone else” and “No one could be better looking than anybody else” and finally, “No one could be smarter than anyone else” as stated in the text. It clearly
“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The quote from Shakespeare’s “Tragedy of Julius Caesar,” although short, it says a lot about the manipulation of power and how it can change the morals and the sense of humanity in a single person. The person 's morality lessens as long as their power increases. All power should not be given to one single man, if it is than that man will feel as though he is god and can manipulate everyone to do their bidding.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Power changes the way people act. Power has a negative effect on others because King Creon became a bad king and Hitler used it to lie and kill people. Power had a negative effect because Creon became a bad king. Creon won’t let Antigone bury her own brother.
It’s 2081, new laws, new society. Everyone was equal. Imagine living in the world where “Harrison Bergeron” takes place. Nobody could be greater than anybody in anything, making what people believed to be equality. In “Harrison Bergeron”the society was truly equal to each other.
Katniss’s identity prior to the Games was almost solely based on hunting and gathering as a means of survival. If she was to in fact win then it would also result in a change of identity because her entire life was focused on that one goal “how would I spend the hours I now commit to combing the woods for sustenance if it were so easy to come by” (65). Katniss’s situation is comparable to if someone won a lottery half way through University, the reason most people go to school is to get a job and make money to support their desired lifestyle. Especially today where people prioritize education so much, for that to no longer be necessary would be extremely alarming and would also result in a change in identity. This is yet another example of how Katniss’s identity is changing due to the games.
When a person’s independency is suppressed, it can lower their self-esteem. Some speak up for themselves while others submit to their suppressors. Those in power will do almost anything to maintain it even if it meant stepping on other individuals. All three key points are spread throughout the novel. Sure, having a ton of power can be incredible, but the misuse of that power can lead to consequences that may be more than bargained