Abuse Of Power In Nightjohn By T. Waller
To begin with, in NightJohn, the theme of power is often abused is exemplified by Waller. In the novel, NightJohn, Waller abuses the power he has and uses his power in a negative way. Waller is a man with great power and buys slaves. If the slaves break one of Waller’s rules, Waller will punish them, while making all the other slaves watch. Waller does many things to hurt the slaves, like running them, whipping them, hitting them, letting dogs chew at them, and even leaving them dangling in shackles for days and nights. Waller also takes joy in seeing people get hurt. In the article, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” it mainly talks about a bird who is trapped in a cage, and its wings are clipped. Someone has done this to the bird and is using …show more content…
In addition, in the novel, NightJohn, the character Waller abuses his power by hurting his slaves and takes pride and satisfaction in doing it. Waller owns a lot of land, power, and slaves. Due to this, he has people working for him all day and enjoys the pleasure of watching them suffer, and fight to hold themselves together. Waller wants the slaves to do what he says and if they don’t, he treats them terribly and in harsh ways. There is one very important slave, named John. John is a runaway slave who has been treated terribly, and has been beaten a great number of times. Waller doesn’t care that John has been suffering, but he does enjoy torturing him and getting what he wants. In the text, it states, “Standing in the sun with the …show more content…
The bird also symbolizes how people go too far with the amount of power they have. The bird has clipped wings, is trapped in a cage, and its feet are tied up, which means that the bird has no escape. The bird has no freedom and has no way to escape, because it cannot walk or run. Since the bird is being abused and has no power, it is traumatized and explains how its life is like a nightmare. In the text, it states, “His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream/his wings are clipped and his feet are tied” (Angelou paragraph 5). This quote shows that the bird is treated very unfairly and that the bird no longer has power. Also, the bird’s wings give it freedom to fly and survive in the wild, which it no longer has. This is an example of how power can be often abused, when put in the hands of the wrong people. Thus, the birds power and freedom has been taken away from it, becasue someone could not control their
Research Paper On Nightjohn By Gary Paulsen
685 Words | 3 PagesDo you think losing a friend or not getting to go over to a friends house or even not eating what you want for dinner is a big deal? See what slaves had to go through and what they were forced to do. The short historical novel “NightJohn” is about how the owner named Waller, the man that lived in the white house bought a slave named Nightjohn, man that didn’t give any reactions to being beaten and taught Sarny, a young girl born into slavery how to read, write, and tell numbers even when it was against the rules. Although Gary Paulsen’s novel, NightJohn, is considered historical fiction, the descriptions of families splitting up, strength of the people, and learning how to read, write, and knowing numbers. Women that were breeders were separated from their babies after 12 months of raising and feeding them and then the child is sent to slavery and raised by some other women.
Slaveholders In The Narrative Life Of Frederick Douglass
492 Words | 2 PagesIn “The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass” Frederick Douglass talks about his life as a slave ,and the challenges that he went through ,but he also tells how slaveholders were affected during slavery. Frederick Douglass talks about how slaveholders have great powers over their slaves. Being the slaveholder can enforce that you are above the slave ,and that you are allowed to do what you please to you “property” ,and that could corrupt your humanity. One example of this is Sophie Auld. Sophie Auld was a kind and generous slaveholder ”I was utterly astonished at her goodness”(Douglass 45); she even helped teach Frederick Douglass to write, but after she had been the master of Douglass for a while she started to become inhumane, cruel, and malice.
Analysis Of Nightjohn By Gary Paulsen
407 Words | 2 PagesNumerous things have occurred in history that most people either believes is false, or denies that it has happened, one of which being slavery. In the realistic fiction novel NightJohn by Gary Paulsen, Paulsen describes the life of Sarny as she goes through the struggle of being slave. Information such as brutality, family seperation, and acts of kindness can be corroborated with Nightjohn through Fredrick Douglass, Mingo White, and Solomon Northup. Multiple examples of brutality can be seen in Nightjohn, the most prominent being whipping and the use of dogs to hunt down slaves. The first act of brutality to be read is whipping, where Sarny reports that slaves would be whipped for going too slow.
Abuse Of Power In Night By Elie Wiesel
1100 Words | 5 PagesThroughout history there have been several people who have rose to power and used that power to rule over people or land. These people usually enforce this power over the people below them, who do not have as much power as him. Some of these people end up abusing their power or struggling to keep it. When discussing this, the common question becomes noticeable; can a person have power and keep power while still adhering to their morals? In certain situations while a person has power, people can temporarily lose their commitment to their morals, but may also be able to keep that commitment.
Frederick Douglass Use And Abuse Of Power Essay
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What Do Birds Symbolize In Macbeth
984 Words | 4 PagesIn literature, birds often represent beauty, freedom, and grace. Shown soaring through the sky, these creatures remind us of freedom and life. However, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, birds represent chaos, the moral and physical destruction of Shakespeare’s characters. As the play progresses and the kingdom crumbles, Shakespeare presents birds alongside the destruction, thus transforming such elegant creatures into symbols of doom. Even though birds do occasionally display order, that order is ultimately crushed as more birds appear, suggesting that all order ultimately breaks down.
Frederick Douglass Negative Effects On Slaves
753 Words | 4 PagesFrederick Douglass’s narrative provides a first hand experience into the imbalance of power between a slave and a slaveholder and the negative effects it has on them both. Douglass proves that slavery destroys not only the slave, but the slaveholder as well by saying that this “poison of irresponsible power” has a dehumanizing effect on the slaveholder’s morals and beliefs (Douglass 40). This intense amount of power breaks the kindest heart and changes the slaveholder into a heartless demon (Douglass 40). Yet these are not the only ways that Douglass proves what ill effect slavery has on the slaveholder. Douglass also uses deep characterization, emotional appeal, and religion to present the negative effects of slavery.
Symbolism In Susan Glaspell's A Jury Of Her Peers
641 Words | 3 PagesSusan Glaspell’s short story, “A Jury of Her Peers” is full of symbolism, which is portrayed through the bird in the story. The story takes place in a house that is set far back and is a lonely place. With the story being written in the 1920’s the attitude men have towards women is by far noticeable throughout the story with them being doubted or looked down upon. There is a murder scene that is being investigated with the wife of the murdered man as the number one suspect. The men in the story are looking in all the wrong places, where the women looked in the one spot to find the one clue that would close the entire case.
The Bird Symbol In Kate Chopin's The Awakening
730 Words | 3 PagesIn the book The Awakening by Kate Chopin, symbols play a big role in bringing out the theme of Edna Pontellier’s awakening. One specific symbol defines Edna’s journey which is the bird symbol. Edna, including all the women in her time are trapped by the constraints placed upon them by a male-dominant society. But Edna is the only one who decides to live life as she pleases following her whims and not living under someone’s demands. Edna represents the birds because she thinks she is free, but birds get trapped, just like how Edna gets trapped in having to follow social norms.
Literary Analysis Of Nightjohn
950 Words | 4 PagesNightjohn, a novel written by Gary Paulsen, takes location throughout one of the finest periods of prejudice and racism in American records. Nightjohn is the story of a young slave lady named Sarny. Within the book, Sarny meets any other slave named Nightjohn, he teaches Sarny a way to study and write. Ultimately, after Nightjohn is punished for coaching Sarny, he runs away, however, later he returns to complete coaching Sarny. Sarny failed to accept the fact that she was a slave or the unfairness in opposition to her prevent her from learning.
An Analysis Of Vince Brewton's Article 'Bold Defiance Took Place'
554 Words | 3 PagesMasters basically taught their slaves that they didn’t have any worth and humanity, that’s how he was raised as a slave, to be less than what he is. As a young slave he didn’t know much and that was normal. Masters wanted slaves not to know much of their status so they was quite clueless. Masters kept the slaves clueless so that they wouldn’t stand up for themselves. Slave owners wanted the slaves to know that in fact they were very to the slaves.
To Kill A Caged Bird Analysis
1630 Words | 7 PagesIf we compare the bird’s wings to Tom Robinson’s hope, the feet to his heart, and his action of running to the action of opening his throat to sing, we can visualize the song that Tom Robinson would sing, one about him losing hope and not wanting anyone to control his life anymore, and so in this manner he is very much like the caged bird in this poem. Similarly, Tom Robinson’s physical struggles can be compared to the caged bird in the poem “Sympathy”. In the novel it’s written “Tom
The Awakening Bird Symbolism Essay
791 Words | 4 PagesBirds are gifted with the extraordinary ability to fly. Their wings propel them above the ground and over people below. They are able to view the world from an angle that no one else gets to see. This is what makes birds and wings such powerful symbols in literature. These symbols characterize characters, move the plot and develop one more of the book’s ideas.
Sympathy And The Caged Bird Poem Analysis
443 Words | 2 PagesCaged Bird both share a very common theme; segregation, slavery, and imprisonment. According to the poem Sympathy, “Till its blood is red on the cruel bar… I know why he beats his wings.” And from the poem Caged Bird, “…His bars of rage…so he opens his throat to sing.” These quotes show that both birds are treated like slaves. The bird from Sympathy was shipped until the back is full of blood and the bird from Caged Bird was held in a dungeon where it will die.
Compare And Contrast Caged Bird And Sympathy
1215 Words | 5 PagesThe free bird has the freedom to be exposed new experience and to see the beauty of life. These are all experiences that a caged bird will never experience. It has been free its whole life it , so it doesn't know the struggles of being
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