Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. -Frederick Douglass In our discussions of power, a few points came up consistently: -Power, or control, comes in forms ranging from physical force to money to personality to political control -It seems to be an unavoidable aspect of human relationships: there is always a power relation -Human beings may have a natural instinct for power, or "will to power," that pushes us to compete -We can divide power into positive/creative/selfless and negative/oppressive/selfish types -The Puritans turned into exactly the kind of oppressive power they initially resisted and finally fled Now I'd like you guys to extend this discussion into the subject of resistance to power. Each of the summer reading novels features a character who embodies this resistance, be it Montag, Clarisse, V, McMurphy or Linda, and you'll be seeing many more excellent examples in The Crucible; American literature is full of them. I'd like you to think a bit about these characters, our discussions, and the quote above, then answer any of the questions below that intrigue you in an opening post. What is it about these kinds of characters that attracts our interest and admiration? Is resistance something to celebrate or criticize? What is the morality of resistance - in other words, what justifies it? Does it need to be justified? Is resistance just one's own will to power clashing with another's? What are some examples of resistance, in your life and in the world, and how can we evaluate them? Finally, is there a connection between love and resistance? creativity and resistance? writing and resistance? (Required post = 1 paragraph, 1 quote, 20 pts. Required response 5 pts. Additional responses +5 max).
62 Comments
Samantha Reynolds
9/17/2013 07:59:07 am
When reading books and stories about power and control we always look for that one who's going to rebel. That one character that always gets you wanting to read more. Whether it be guys like Montag, V, and McMurphy; girls like Claisse or Linda or just an average person. I believe the characters that resist to do what everyone else is doing or stands up for what they feel is right are the ones we attract to because it shows individuality. It shows us as the reader that the person has their own mind; that they don't want to do something just because the government whats them to or because they say its right. For example, the Puritans were told that God will choose who he wants in heaven and it will show; that women should have no power, they should stay home, love their husbands and make a lot of babies. They always used fear so they wouldn't question it. For instance, the reason women go through pain while giving birth is all because Eve made a mistake. So the women should always do as told and let the men do the work and they won't end up like Eve. However, this doesn't mean no one will question or begin to wonder. Eventually, someone's going to come along and say I don't want to stay home all day or I don't want to have a lot of children. Even, why must I do this when I prefer that? Everyone is their own person; when reading a book you don't want everyone to be the same and do what there told is right. We want that person who's going to stand up and eventually give people their rights or change things for the better. "This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy."- Susan Polis Schutz. This quote ties in with this because no one should control your life by telling you who you should love and what makes you happy. Or even what your going to do in life. It's your life you only have one, live it the way you want. That's why I believe we gravitate toward these people because they are taking control of their life and not letting others do it for them.
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Mr. Biggs
9/17/2013 09:34:22 pm
Well-said! "Why must I do this when I prefer that?" is the question that opens us up to a whole world of new possibilities that we couldn't see before. It's the question all these characters ask.
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Brian Chamberlain
9/17/2013 08:07:04 am
"We fought injustice wherever we found it, no matter how large, or how small, and we fought injustice to preserve our own humanity."
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Shannon Burke
9/18/2013 10:44:14 am
Brian, I completely agree with your post. Without people like Parks, Kings, and Mandela, aggressors would be able to manipulate the world because of the fear instilled by the leaders. These people have carved the path out for people of our time to do the same as they did many years ago. Rather than these people being “power-hungry”, they are “hungry for liberty and justice for all”. Mandela is saying that whether the issue presented is big or small, you should stand up for what is right and inspire others to do the same. It is important to note that this process, 9 times out of 10, is not going to be a walk in the park; you are going to have to try and put your heart and soul into your fight for what is right.
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Justin
9/18/2013 09:37:07 pm
Great quote and great response! Very, very relevant to The Crucible.
Aliyyah Godsey
9/17/2013 08:21:20 am
Resistance or rebellion is something that everyone has, but only few are able to voice it. The will to rise with power is in everything. Plants thrive to grow bigger than the one next to them, to get more sunlight, to survive longer. Even without really knowing it this will to become more powerful, it is always in our heads and our actions. That spark of resistance or rebellion, is in our subconscious telling us that whoever you see in authority or higher power, you want to become more powerful than them. The act of resistance or rebellion is yourself wanting to test that higher authority to see how powerful they are and see what it will take to become more powerful than them in the end. In the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, power is a huge theme throughout the book, with power there will always come some form of resistance or rebellion. It took McMurphy’s head-strong personality to finally break down the Big Nurse and her power. Throughout the book you constantly see how these two people thriving for more power will in the end destroy each other. Power is something we all have and something we all want more of. When people start to get too powerful there will always be someone wanting power and strong enough to rebel against the group or/ and the higher authority.
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Mya Alexice
9/18/2013 07:34:25 am
I adore what you said about how everyone has rebellion, but only a few can voice it. Lovely. And I agree, because although we all have the potential to do a whole lot of things, we only choose the ones we're comfortable with most of the time. And I also agree where you said there will *always* be someone wanting power, as if the cycle of rebellion and rebels and dictators and such will always happen, no matter what.
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Cat Ishimasa
9/18/2013 09:38:42 am
I totally agree with how you say that power is a more subconscious act sometimes, like with plants and the need to grow. I also love how you say that "Throughout the book you constantly see how these two people thriving for more power will in the end destroy each other." Because I think that no matter what, in a struggle for power, no one wins, you just try to get the upper hand by tearing down your opponent by whatever mean necessary.
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Lauren O'Brien
9/18/2013 11:14:47 am
Aliyyah, I completely agree with what you are saying about everyone's inner will to power. It is noticeable in all people- even if they are the type to sit and say nothing, they still do, deep down crave to be in charge. I also agree with your point in which it takes bravery to go against the grain of society and voice one's opinions! I also love your quote; I find it to be true in any society, no matter how corrupt it may be.
Mr. Biggs
9/18/2013 09:43:07 pm
Aliyyah, you know this was a great post because it provoked great responses! Love the Alice Walker quote and I think Mya, Cat and Lauren make good points about your ideas.
Mya Alexice
9/17/2013 12:00:04 pm
As we can tell with The Hunger Games and Divergent and Harry Potter in the later books and the other thousand sci fi dystopian books out there about someone going against the normal, against the status quo, there's something the general public finds fascinating in the story of a rebellion.
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Mr. Biggs
9/17/2013 09:32:38 pm
I think you're absolutely right, Mya, and I love that quote so much I just printed it out and hung it on my classroom wall.
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Luke Heck
9/18/2013 07:41:31 am
In Primordium, huddled around fires in the early years of Mankind, humans who were descended from a troop-based species carried on the tradition of similarity. From troops, to tribes, to villages, to towns, to cities, to nations, it's nigh genetic for us to unite into almost uniformity. Such an instinct served us quite well in history, as did rebellion. Today, we are privileged to be born into a quality of living that allows us to differ from the norm limitlessly, and I think we can sometimes get a bit carried away with that power (Hipsters ftw amirite).
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Mr. Biggs
9/18/2013 09:40:27 pm
I can see it as an American thing more than a universal thing. I'm intrigued that you connect it to teens specifically - there are definitely a lot of Young Adult novels that focus on resistance, especially in dystopian settings. Do teens feel oppressed? If so, is that legitimate or just whiny hipsterism?
Samantha Reynolds
9/18/2013 09:16:39 am
Mya I agree with you on the whole telling our children its okay to be different unless it's apart of a minority thing. It does seem as if our society is afraid to have people be "abnormal". Were just s caught up in the whole idea of fitting in that being who we really are is pushed aside. The whole time I was reading this all I could is agree with you.
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Lauren O'Brien
9/18/2013 11:20:49 am
Mya, I love your post and the points you brought up! I agree strongly with everyone's secret wish for a change, and how as a member of society one usually fears rejection and the possibility of becoming an outcast. Because of this fear, people usually walk with their head down, afraid to speak and voice their thoughts as they dread others' responses. Everyone, if they take the risk has the power to make a change, as "Sometimes I ask why everyone sits around and does nothing. Then I remember, I am someone" (Unknown).
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Katie Carroll
9/18/2013 11:33:45 am
I really loved how you connected the idea of rebellion to today's literature. I feel like we never have really thought of the idea of rebelling against something, its just what we read about in stories about the future or the past. As you said, the stories that interest us are the ones about the change in society and a rebellion in the people. We really don't think that rebellion is a modern idea in America but in the back of our minds, the what if's are just so intriguing to us
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Mr. biggs
9/18/2013 09:53:23 pm
Very thought-provoking. Is it good that we've lost that revolutionary spirit? Or should we dive deeper into those what-ifs? Can we think revolution as something other than a violent uprising? Are there personal revolutions, creative revolutions that we can put into effect here and now?
Georgia Stierman
9/18/2013 11:57:07 am
Mya, I completely agree with the point you made about how our society is so afraid of being thought of as abnormal, so instead we choose to stay quiet and blend in with everybody else. We long to branch out from what everybody else is doing, but we're too concerned with people's opinions to actually do so.
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Sophia Mazzini
9/17/2013 09:28:12 pm
The question that intrigued me most was "What is it about these characters that attracts our interest and admiration?". I think readers are attracted to these characters because we do not completely understand their power. Many of the characters are not powerful enough to be in the position to be controlling other people, but they are powerful enough to rebel against the force controlling them. We admire these characters because we hope to have as much power over ourselves as they do. Most of the characters are controlled by another force, but have the courage to gain control over themselves by the end of the story. We subconsciously strive to be more like them. Although we mostly talk about power being negative in class, I think it is human nature to strive for power. The only way it is negative, is if you enforce it in a negative way. Although some of the characters rebel to gain power through a negative and/or violent way, they rebel for a good purpose.
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Ricky Wild
9/20/2013 04:57:32 am
Sophia I love that you wrote, "...we hope to have as much power over ourselves as they do." I definently agree this is the reason we tend to favor these kind of characters. These characters do make us want to stand out or be our own kind, just like you said.
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Anya Carney
9/18/2013 06:53:46 am
When comes power, there must come a leader, and followers. When the leader takes advantage of their power, we get dictators, and followers who rebel against the leader. Like Sam said, Montag rebelled against the government in "Fahrenheit 451". The Puritans rebelled against the English Church, and sailed to a different continent! It seems like everyone in society are afraid and just trying to fit in, but the ones who choose to step out and show how they feel are the ones everyone remembers and the ones that change the world. The Puritans, for example, resisted the Church of England because they thought it was corrupt, and then resisted being persecuted so they fled England. You could say resistance is one's will of power crashing with another's. I think from the Puritan perspective, the power of the Puritan's will to do what they believed clashed with the Church of England's will to do what it thought was correct. I really like the quote Sam used because I really thought it related to what I am saying. It goes: "This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy."- Susan Polis Schutz. I think that the Puritans lived by this because they knew what they wanted and what they believed in, and they made it happen.
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Samantha Quinn
9/18/2013 01:20:03 pm
I completely agree Anya. If there were no people in charge, no power or progress would be achieved. Everyone would be confused as to what to do and what to believe in. There is at least one person, probably many more, behind what the Puritans thought should be followed in their community. They would take what others leaders had done, the Church of England in this case, and pick out the weaknesses to make themselves more powerful than the other group.
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Luke Heck
9/18/2013 07:19:00 am
Power is as simple of a human instinct as any. The will to overcome, the will to control, the will to superiority. However, though I agree with most comments made here, I'd like to point out the irony of how most of us are saying things along the line of 'be your own person' despite the fact that that may not be what all people want; we are, in our own way, deciding how people should act (or lack thereof). It is much better to free yourself from conformity, granted, but I feel freedom (personal power) is whatever the individual decides. there will always be "norm" in society, so (if I'm not being to radical) the person is free to either conform, defy, or be a bit of both.
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Mr. Biggs
9/18/2013 09:51:35 pm
Awesome quote, and you're right, we should discuss the power of purpose. We saw that a bit in V, with the "last inch" letter, and we'll see incredible examples of it in the Crucible.
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Mike Hanlon
9/18/2013 07:32:14 am
Every one and every generation had resistances to something. The 90's wanted to take out "the man" and our generation is just all about what WE want, and I think this is what attracts our attention so much to a character sticking it to the man or just going against the norm to do something for the good of society. Let's face it, we all have our little rebellions and we like to see when someone else has one. Because of this idealism more people are attracted to read something or admire someone who actually succeeded at rebelling, or at least tried. These characters or people inspire us to fight our own battles in life and give us a greater thirst for outbreak. In V for Vendetta, the people of England saw V as the greatest man ever because he would go through with what each and everyone of them wanted to do, and eventually he/she influenced them so much that they made their own rebellion.
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Cat Ishimasa
9/18/2013 09:26:53 am
Power is something that all humans are born craving. It's not necessarily a bad thing to want power or control, but it's more dependent upon what you do with this craving for it that every human has. Power can be as simple as wanted to do what makes you happy, but the need for control can also have a very negative effect on some people. Some will only ever want to gave what control they do have by putting fear into others and taking everything for themselves. You only have power over people so long as you don't take everything away from them. But when you've robbed a man of everything, he's no longer in your power - he's free again," is what Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said. Edward Abbey says that, "power is always dangerous. Power attracts the worst and corrupts the best." People will often let their desire for control and ultimate power overpower their happiness.
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Jose Montealegre
9/18/2013 11:32:24 am
I totally agree with your statement Cat. Sometimes we will do things we don’t even want to do to gain power, but we still do them because of the equal treat that taking power gives us. It’s really normal, like you said, to want power. Power is what starts everything; you’ll always need power to do something. Power is dangerous, though, because it can get in our heads and we will lose ourselves. We will think we are doing the right thing, but really it’s terrible. I loved the quote about the man being robbed.
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Jazmin Graham
9/18/2013 11:51:29 am
I agree that all people eventually crave power, but I'm not so sure that everyone is "born hungry". The theory that people are born craving power, reminds me of Thomas Hobbes theory that all people are evil by nature. Saying that the human race came out of the womb power hungry seems a little extreme. When I was first born, I was only "hungry" for food.
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Gabby Recalde
9/18/2013 05:41:02 pm
Cat, I love this point that you are bringing up! I agree that no matter what, we will strive towards power. Also, I agree that power can blind you. Much like drinking, when you have too much power over people, your judgement becomes impaired and you start to think less of the good of the people around you. Hence the saying, "Drunk with power." Great job of bringing this up, Cat!
Mr. Biggs
9/18/2013 10:08:24 pm
BAM! Philosophy smackdown! Seriously, great post and question. We're going to talk about Hobbes, who believed people are naturally selfish and violent, versus John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, later philosophers who disagreed and saw people as neutral or even good at heart. Personally, I tend to agree more with Jazmin on this, but I think Cat and Jose have a strong argument as well. If you look at evolution, we evolved both to fight off "enemies" and to bond together into communities through love of our "allies." There is a Native American saying that captures this well: there are "two wolves in the heart: one of love, one of hate. It all depends on which one you feed." :)
Shannon Burke
9/18/2013 10:34:52 am
We are attracted to these characters because they have qualities that we admire and wish to have in ourselves. Being bold and different is something that takes guts; not everyone is cut out to stand out from the crowd. Characters like McMurphy and V defy the odds and rebel against their powerful aggressors. Resistance is something to be celebrated, not to be criticized.
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Ava Merz
9/18/2013 10:48:02 am
Shannon, I love the quote that you posted. "Power is like being a lady.. if you have to tell people who you are, you aren't." When a powerful figure repeats himself/herself to others; it's almost as if he/she is repeated it to themselves. They are reassuring themselves that they are THE "lady." If you read F451, think about Beatty. He would often at times talk about literature and quote lines from books. Once he realized that, he immediately explained to Montag why books are wrong and how absurd the quote he just said was. Beatty knows, the quote/book is of great power and resemblence; but he trys to prove to himself (although he is talking to Montag) that the quote he read is ridiculous, which brings him back into his reality. He falls back to his reality for comfort, as he avoids the voices in his brain reading him quotes.
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Brian Chamberlain
9/18/2013 12:13:18 pm
Shannon, I really liked your first two sentences. I agree that we find these characters attractive because they have qualities we wish we had or they have done things we would like to do. Of the books we read this summer, the character I admired the most was McMurphy.He stood up to the Big Nurse and is an example of someone who showed resistance to injustice. McMurphy realized that if he behaved and "just went along", he could serve his time and be released. His personality would not let him do this though. In standing up to the system in the mental ward, he sacrificed himself for the greated good of the other patients.How many of us would do the same? We would like to think we would, but in reality most of us wouldn't. That ties back to why we admire them. Most of the time, they are doing something we wish we had the courage to do.
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Mr. Biggs
9/18/2013 09:58:37 pm
Good points about McMurphy ... the chief has some great lines toward the end about how McMurphy is really doing it for the patients, sacrificing himself. Interestingly, Ken Kesey put in a lot of allusions or references to Jesus, who also sacrifices himself for others: for example, McMurphy takes his people fishing, and Jesus has a famous story where he feeds everyone with fish. For this reason, some literary scholars call McMurphy a "Christ Figure," a symbolic Jesus.
Mr. Biggs
9/18/2013 10:18:40 pm
"Let’s be honest, you probably would rather give the directions then have someone bark them at you." I think that's true, but is it possible to have a society where there is no direction-giving, but instead true democracy? This is V's vision, I think, but a lot of people say it is impossible because of the negative will to power for control.
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Ava Merz
9/18/2013 10:37:31 am
A human's desire of restistance is ones's will to power that is naturally present in the soul of a rebel. Karl Marx once said, "The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways: the point however is to change it." The ones who contain control of power toward others, builds or "interprets" the present state of living. Their power allows them to obtain of the desires of their way of life. The one true rebel whose will of power is present, resists the "philosophers" interpretation. Ms. Ratched, Captain Beatty and Prothero built their society from the interpretations of their beliefs. McMurphy, Montag and "V" are the rebels who resist the philosophers.The will of power of rebels is lure for resistance by changing the natural ways of life that are automatically interpreted from those with mind sets of an easier, more powerful way of life. You may think of resistance, in some cases, a wrong thing; but in the views of Montagm McMurphy and V, they are simply just trying to change the world to make it a better place.
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Anya Carney
9/18/2013 12:10:05 pm
Ava, I loved the quote that you chose. I think it is a really good explanation on the term "power of the individual".
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Anya Carney
9/18/2013 12:10:22 pm
Ava, I loved the quote that you chose. I think it is a really good explanation on the term "power of the individual", like we always discuss in class.
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Pat Monaghan
9/18/2013 10:53:51 am
I would relate the idea of Power to the graphic novel V For Vendetta by Alan Moore. One question I frequently asked myself was who really has the upper hand? Alan Moore sort of tricks us at many points in the book into thinking that one individual character has the high ground over another. At most points I thought V had some sort of higher power because he was outsmarting and physically killing everyone with a position in government. But in reality he only killed three people: The bishop, Dr. Surridge, and Mr. Almond. The first two were for revenge from Larkhill and Mr. Almonds murder was in some form of self-defense. I also thought he had all the power when he reveals that he has had access to fate all along in chapter two of book three. However, having access to fate does nothing except push leader to the breaking point. This also brings in the resistance to power that V is trying to teach Evey about. He is telling Evey that just because a big man on a big screen says something is right that doesn’t mean he’s correct. However, that’s exactly what V did to start the whole motion. Put on a mask got on a big screen and told people what to do. Its contradictory of what he’s teaching everyone. I feel as if V, despite his hate for the way the government gets things done, knows that the way they do it is the only effective way. This angers and upsets him because he hates to stoop down to their level, but he knows it’s the only way he can start something that will ultimately overthrow the government. “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will”. This quote proves V’s actions contradict each other. He demands the people of Great Britain to join him in his quest for power so that a bossy tyrant that tells them what to do all the time even though he just told them what to do will no longer control them. The struggle for power in V For Vendetta is fascinating and complex.
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Mikey Brewer
9/18/2013 01:31:19 pm
I totally agree with your thoughts. The people believed whatever was told to them, on the big screen, was fact. V did the exact same thing with his mask representing the everyman, to get his message across. V was justified in doing this for the good, whereas the government was doing this just to control everyone and everything.
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Mr. Biggs
9/18/2013 10:16:14 pm
Great analysis, Pat. You seem to have a mind for recognizing contradictions and paradoxes. I think you guys are right that V sort of manipulates the people to "free" them, a good motive, wanting them to escape from their mental imprisonment. But does he take it too far? Or does his goal justify the way he achieves it? I've had a lot of students say he isn't justifies in locking up Evey.
Mr. Biggs
9/18/2013 10:16:51 pm
Great analysis, Pat. You seem to have a mind for recognizing contradictions and paradoxes. I think you guys are right that V sort of manipulates the people to "free" them, a good motive, wanting them to escape from their mental imprisonment. But does he take it too far? Or does his goal justify the way he achieves it? I've had a lot of students say he isn't justified in locking up Evey.
Lauren O'Brien
9/18/2013 11:08:26 am
Those who are different often attract the attention of others. In the novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, McMurphy stands out among the crowd of the mental hospital due to his bold personality. The other characters, like Chief, admire McMurphy and wish they could be more like him; thus, they begin to follow his lead on the road to rebellion. Through this, McMurphy is granted an immense amount of power, more than Nurse Ratched could ever have. In the right hands, power can help society to accomplish great things. However, once it is abused or begins to go corrupt, the entire system it has set up falls apart. Not everyone can be a leader, though most people wish they could be due to the will to power and human nature- since the beginning of time the human race has battled over power and control. Therefore, the characters we admire in novels about dystopian societies with amoral leaders often posses the traits and bravery most people wish they could have, but do not have the confidence to act as such.
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Brian Chamberlain
9/18/2013 12:46:24 pm
Your statement that 'not everyone can be a leader" struck me. I agree with it. It made me think of the sports teams I have played for. Usually on a team, one natural leader emerges. The rest of the players become followers. That is what makes a great team, everyone accepting their role. Good leaders will attract followers, like McMurphy attracted the men in the mental hospital. The moment that he walked into the room, the men were drawn to him. He had the natural qualities of a leader. He walked in shaking everyone's hand and introducing himself. The Chief compared him to someone running for office. It was like he was becoming their president. He managed to do in a short period of time, what the medical staff in the hospital could not. He helped to cure his followers.
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Jose Montealegre
9/18/2013 11:19:00 am
I don’t think it’s possible to imagine about a Utopian society in our world; and yet society still tries to make everyone equal. Nobody is equal; everyone will have their advantages and disadvantages, which means that there will always be someone who is more powerful than the other. If we were made to be equal, there will be at least one person wanting to achieve a higher position than the others; it’s in our human nature. Everyone has that instinct to be better than another. A Utopian society, when you think about it, isn't really equal. There is the person or group of people keeping control to stay equal. So really, they are already more powerful than the others. Someone will soon notice the power difference and will want to become more powerful (the resistant).
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Jose Ramirez
9/18/2013 01:32:23 pm
Equal power seems so unachievable also due to the fact that if all humans were born equal, that'd take the human out of us because in nature no animal is equal to another. Only the stronger animals with more power will survive. That unbalance in life is also the "balance" that keeps life separated from everything else in the universe. Having equal power couldn't be possible as for we are life
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Jazmin Graham
9/18/2013 11:31:15 am
For years, people have been told to "be yourself", "do what you love", and not let anything get in the way. These ideas of self pride have become a moral that our society feels obligated to fulfill. In order to be yourself and live the life you want to live, sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in and resist against your oppressor. In more extreme cases, Linda, in the story, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, refuses to give into her slave master, and continues to fight for what she believes in (freedom). On the other hand, resisting to power can seem as innocent as rebelling against your parents' beliefs, or opposing to the ideas of the government. Rebelling and resisting against power is good and moral because you are supposed to fight for what you believe in.
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Mr. Biggs
9/18/2013 09:56:25 pm
So there are "everyday rebellions," not just large scale political upheavals. I agree, and that would be an interesting idea to pursue and write about. I'm curious why we're "supposed to" fight for what we believe in - because the alternative is no progress?
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Georgia Stierman
9/18/2013 11:34:47 am
The question that intrigued me the most was "What justifies it? Does it need to be justified?". What justifies resistance and rebellion, in my opinion, is the amount of suppression one person/a group of people is put under. I think that the question "Does it need to be justified?" all depends on the type of power somebody has. Some people utilize their power in a beneficial way, using it for the betterment of the society that they have power over. In contrast, others take advantage of their power, using it selfishly in ways to only benefit themselves. What people do about the power they are controlled by is an important factor as well. Those brave enough to rise up against their oppressors are the ones that have the courage to face whatever consequence they may receive from taking such a risk, just to make a difference.
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Anthony Jimenez
9/18/2013 12:05:51 pm
Will of power is almost like a human instinct, us as human beings always want to strive to be better than everyone else. Like we're running through obstacles and taking people down that get in our way, or who are less than us, but its a race to nowhere. So we love the characters that have resistance against all odds, such as authorities' decisions. Our attraction towards the rebels in literature, is that we admire what they do, what we could never do because of the restrictions we have. A very well known political figure, Thomas Jefferson, once said "Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." In other words, what Thomas Jefferson's point was, don't let people define you because they don't know any better than you do. Take action, don't let others characterize you, you're better than them. I think countless people are afraid of saying what's on their mind so they rather speak through art or writing because it's a lot easier to get away with. Then being outspoken of what's on your mind, because many people can tell them, they are wrong but when citizens write or create something from their creativity some people don't notice what the person is saying. But those that do, feel better because they know someone feels the same way. And the creators, can go to sleep at night without feeling like they are going to be killed the next morning. I assume we celebrate with those with resistance because of their boldness and heroism because they stand out of the crowd and we want to stand out with them too.
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Mr. Biggs
9/18/2013 10:40:16 pm
Phenomenal quote! I like this comment:
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Katie Carroll
9/18/2013 12:13:40 pm
"Resistance is thought transformed into feeling. Change the thought that creates the resistance, and there is no more resistance.” - Robert Conklin
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Samantha Quinn
9/18/2013 01:00:16 pm
Some might say that love is something strong and everyone should want to have it, while others may dissagree. There can be an illusion of love especially in the relationship between Montag and Mildred in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The two had been happily married for numerous years as their hearts told them. One day a teenage girl told the married man that he was not in love for the flower did not rub off onto his chin. As silly as it sounds, it was the truth; however Montag did not want to listen to that. All this time he believed he was in love it was a figment of his imagination. “It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end” Leonardo da Vinci once said. The conflicted man wanted to resist this horrible realization after many years of marriage. This is similar to some people in relationships today; in some cases the choice is made not to listen to what your heart is saying while others listen to it. No matter what the choice is, there will always be that hesitation of whether to trust that the love is true or the love is nonexistent.
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Mikey Brewer
9/18/2013 01:17:37 pm
“A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality.”
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Jose Ramirez
9/18/2013 01:20:18 pm
Resistance is an act of standing up against a higher power; or in other words rebellion. Rebellion or resistance could be considered as an act of power trying to take over another power. It seems that no matter what, every human aspect revolves around the "will to power". As humans, our desire to will to power seems to be in our nature to want to over power whatever is over us. It's almost as it's become our instinct even though as humans, we've set up societies that gives us boundaries to a certain extent. Resistance is just an other word phasing one's "will to power" clashing with another's.
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Hannahrose Wallis
9/18/2013 01:26:06 pm
I believe we are drawn to characters like Clarisse, because she is such a strong willed person. She doesn't care about fitting in or being like anyone else. I think Clarisse is that type of character that we perceive ourselves to be. She didn't rebel in a way that was violent, but in a more effective way. She simply ignored the world around her and continued to do what she thought was right. She payed no attention to the world around her, or maybe she payed to much attention. In "Fahrenheit 451" they tried to control the people by cutting off their social interactions. Clarisse created her own "social" interactions with herself by taking strolls at night. She found her own way of keeping her thoughts wondering without technically breaking the rules. This shows that she is more than just curious, she is also clever, which gave her her own kind of power. Clarisse had the power to think in a world where thinking was "illegal". This type of resistance requires the most thought in my opinion. She resisted without really resisting. She found ways to bend the laws instead of break them. I believe this is why we all admire and look up to characters like Clarisse. She gives us a sense of power that we can find within ourselves.
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Gabby Recalde
9/18/2013 05:31:21 pm
Power is much like a chain reaction. It spreads from one person to the next. The thing is, power can hold different meanings to different people. For example, in V for Vendetta, the government seemingly takes away V's power. In doing so, they are giving him the power to rebel. Later on, V gives Evey, and many others, the power to think freely and take action. Every action, has a reaction, showing some kind of change of power. I believe that this is why we are so interested in characters like V. These characters do things we would be far too scared to do, and then they demonstrate that normal people can make big changes as well. This creates a sense of admiration for these characters and also gets the reader thinking of resistance and individuality. Questions about your own life start to subconsciously form. This can possibly cause that same reader, who started out timid, to take an open stand for what they believe in.
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Gabby Recalde
9/18/2013 05:46:12 pm
"Man's greatness lies in his power of thought."
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Mr. Biggs
9/18/2013 10:10:52 pm
I couldn't agree more. Thinking allows us to envision more possibilities for action than might be immediately obvious to us. Thought-based actions will have greater power because they see more potential outcomes and can push toward a new, creative future that others lacked the vision to see.
Amy Thomas
9/19/2013 01:42:59 am
Resistance is a powerful thing. Having resistance drives people to do some things they never thought they could do. I think resistance should be celebrated because it helps society progress. Like the colonists who came to America, they progressed so much and so quickly unlike the Native Americans. I believe the natives had resistance but not nearly as much as the colonists. I may not have read the novels we were assigned over the summer but there is a book I'm absolutely love: Divergent. The main character of that book, Tris, has a lot of resistance that isn't expressed in the beginning of the book, but starts to show gradually throughout the novel. Because of her resistance, she was able to save many, many lives as well as hers. People, naturally, have resistance, but some don't show it as much or as well as others. Having resistance is a good thing, majority of the time because it helps very much and gives you courage when dealing with life's scary situations.
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Ricky Wild
9/20/2013 04:47:39 am
I commented and did by blog post in the B day section by mistake. But here it is.
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