Power is above all the most forceful element in one’s life. Whether in relationships, business, freedom, or war; power is what shapes our world. Because it is so dominant, many novels have plots which entail this motif. In Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and The Awakening by Kate Chopin all share the motif of power throughout their plots.
In Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut’s perception of power is shown through the war, time travel, and life as he knows it. It is obvious that the power of war changed the life of the main character, Billy Pilgrim and minor character, Kurt Vonnegut. Billy, a veteran of World War II is unstuck in time. This is significant because he has no control of his life, he finds himself helpless to the Tralfamadorians who keep Billy captive from time to time. When Billy meets the Tralfamadorians, his life takes a turn. While his daughter finds him crazy and readers find themselves confused, Billy thinks being unstuck in time is normal and true. The affect that these creatures have on Billy is important to notice because it takes reality away from him. Billy is left powerless when he is taken away by the Tralfamadorians since he seems to drop everything to enter their world. At the same time, he gains the power to relive moments in which he has already experienced. It is important to realize that at war the characters have no power over what will happen to them from day to day. One of the most memorable scenes of Slaughterhouse Five is when Kurt is stuck in the overcrowded box car at war. He was a prisoner of war after the Dresden bombing and is left in a box car trying to get home. Finding himself starved, dirty, alone, and confused, Kurt is defenseless to the changes his life has taken. It is crucial that the two characters who have gone through similar experiences find themselves powerless to their own life. Another piece of the story in which power is significant is in the beginning when Billy is speaking with Mary O’Hare. She talks to him about how war stories never seem to convey the way that war truly is. Billy talks about how he will dedicate a his war story to her, in hopes that it will be powerful and realistic to readers. Slaughterhouse Five holds the motif power through and through.
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is similar to Slaughterhouse Five because of the way that the characters have little control over their own lives. The main character in Invisible Man is nameless. He begins his life as a respectable black man who wants to live the dream of a white man. After being lead into traps by the power of Norton and Bledsoe, Invisible Man is left to fend for himself. Norton is a rich, white male who Invisible Man shows around the campus of his school. A raging fight breaks out leading to Norton complain to Beldsoe, the principal of the college, about the horrid experience he had. While taking charge, he tries to find a place in society and self actualize. Because he has lost his own power to those who are more authoritative than he, Invisible Man loses the control over his own life. In the prologue and epilogue of Invisible Man, he is surrounded by 1,369 light bulbs, which represent the power in his life. Because he has lost all charge over himself, he is taking the electricity, or power, from others. Underground, he is stealing electricity from others to comfort his own loss. In chapter nine, Invisible Man finds out that the letters from Bledsoe that were supposed to be helping him find a job and continue the journey of his dreams, they were really written to criticize him. The letters said he was not worthy of any type of job or opportunity. More than any other book, the power of others is what ruins the life of the Invisible Man. When he gets a job at the paint factory, his lack of authority leaves him in the dark. The use of characters who are more prevailing than he is, is what arises the motif of power. One of the most important scenes of Invisible Man is while he is working in the factory. He is told that the only way that the white paint can be pure is to add a drop of black. In saying this, the Invisible Man should realize that without his race, the whites would not have the power that they do. The Invisible Man’s power struggle to be equal to the whites is pointless in some ways because he can only be what he is. In his attempt to change this he loses supremacy over himself.
The novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin reveals the motif of power in a way unlike that of Slaughterhouse Five and Invisible Man. The Awakening is all about how Edna is interested in the movement of women’s rights and freedom. Edna comes to realize that she obeys her husband and does whatever it is that he wants just to make him happy, even when it is not what she would have chosen to do. One evening, while Edna’s husband is on a business trip, Edna goes out with another man, Robert, and finds herself a new woman. Through the music of the pianist, a swim out in a lake, and freedom from her husband, Edna begins to feel less for her husband, more for Robert, and more respect for herself. The power of doing what she wants to please herself is what she truly obsesses over. It is clear that the use of power in this novel develops Edna’s character into a new woman and she becomes free. She stops doing her Tuesday duty for her husband, which involves answering phone calls for him, stops sleeping with him, and more importantly, begins doing things that are important to her. Because of all of this, Edna gains control over her life. As she is confused by what she wants when Robert goes away, Edna seems to be upset. When he comes back, her tone is joyful and complete because she has obtained what she wants. In The Awakening Edna goes through a transformation which gives her power to live in a way that makes her blissful.
These three novels all portray how the motif of power changes the lives of the characters surrounded by it. Whether or not a character lost or gained power, it is important to notice that the upbringing of control shapes these characters. While Billy, Kurt, and the Invisible Man, find themselves powerless and hurt by this, Edna gains happiness with the gift of power.
