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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Feelings of Power


     There are various groups of people in the first part of the book that hold different amounts of power.  That power is based off of beliefs and the background of the people.    Annette, Mr. Mason, Christophine and the workers on the estate all have their own forms of power over themselves and others.  At first Antoinette’s childhood is simple and she feels at home even though she is the only white child in the area.  She feels equal until her encounter with the black girl on page 6. “One day a little girl followed me singing, ‘Go away white cockroach, go away, go away‘ I walked fast but she walked faster, ‘White cockroach go away, go away, go away’.”  After this Antoinette runs home and hides until Chistophine finds her.  The other girl feels a sense of power over Antoinette, even though she is part of the “elite” she knows the strength of her people and how their numbers are greater.  Mr. Mason feels that he has power over the workers due to his status and how he views the workers.  “They are curious. It’s natural enough.  You have lived alone far too long, Annette. You imagine enmity which doesn’t exist.  Always one extreme or the other.” - “They’re too damn lazy to be dangerous”.  Mr. Mason underestimates the workers and that gives him a sense of power, thinking they could not be a danger to him.  The workers also feel a sense of power as they gather to burn the house.  They have the numbers advantage and the they have been insulted by Mr. Mason so they are spurred into action.  The power remains with them until the parrot dies and Christophine comes out, then the power has shifted to the Obeah and superstition.  “I heard someone say something about bad luck and remembered that it was very unlucky t o kill a parrot, or even to see a parrot die. They began to go then, quickly, silently, and those  that were left drew aside and watched us as we trailed across the grass. They were not laughing any more.”  The various characters in the book move in and out of power positions due to their actions and how they view themselves at the time.  When a character feels like they hold power, like Mr. Mason, they act on it and whether or not they do hold power is irrelevant, as they spur another group into response.  That group or person may or may not affect the balance of power but since they are affected by it, it alters their view and changes how the power is viewed.  I found a link to a website that looks at some of the themes of power in The Wide Sargasso Sea as well, http://www.shmoop.com/wide-sargasso-sea/power-theme.html.

3 comments:

  1. The shifting power dynamics of the novel are definitely worth noting. I think it's interesting that the workers assert power by lighting Antoinette's home afire, and the image of the burning parrot never leaves her mind- she asserts her own power in a parallel, unwritten scene when she lights the Thornfield hall on fire at the end of the novel. "There must have been a draught for the flame flickered and I thought it was out. But I shielded it with my hand and it burned up again to light me along the dark passage" (190). In both instances, fire is used to usurp power and destroy. But, I think it's possible that fire also falls under the motif of heat. The Caribbean people are said to be passionate and sexual because of the hot climate.

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  2. I agree with the shifts in power. I would argue though there is no longer an "elite" group. I think that there is still a struggle of identity between these two groups of race. You can see this struggle in the way that Antoinette views herself. On page 14 Antoinette calls Tia a "cheating nigger" and then refers to herself as a "white nigger" who is no better than a "black nigger". At this point I see Antoinette and a lot of the other characters trying to recreate their identities in this new world. You can also see this on page 15 when Christophine is dressing Antoinette, " No more slavery! She had to laugh". Christophine and Antoinette and both trying to find their place in this shift of power.

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  3. Despite all of the different power dynamics in this book, Antoinette never really held her own power. There are certain times when it seems like she tried to assert her own power, like by telling her husband that he would not be wealthy if he hadn't married her and inherited her estate, attempting to make her husband love her through magic, but it never won her respect from her husband. It seems like she is deprived of the power she so desperately wants. Maybe that's what caused some of her mental problems towards the end of the book.

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