Abuse of Power in The Handmaid’s Tale and Night
Humankind has an inner desire to achieve power and success. Whether that power is achieved through morally correct means is dependent solely on the individual themselves. If the achieved power is abused it directly correlates to a negative ripple effect on the lives of others. In the novels, The Handmaid’s Tale and Night written by Elie Wiesel and Margret Atwood respectively, the same concept applies. The systems in both novels abuse their power, oppressing the lives of those around them through physical, mental, and psychological pains. Through constant oppression the masses are stripped of their own identity, become confined physically and mentally, and lose their connection with their …show more content…
Abuse of power is a prominent focal point of both novels and its negative repercussions are analyzed through comparing and contrasting the two novels.
In both novels the main characters adapt to their oppressive environments in order to survive, however the penalty for survival is an alteration in the physical and mental identities of the characters. In The Handmaid’s Tale and Night the main characters are described as young, happy, optimistic individuals who become tyrannized by the systems in charge. Elie from the Kamal 2 novel Night starts of as an innocent young child who wants to gain knowledge about his religion. Ellie states, “He wanted to drive the idea of studying Kabbalah from my mind. In vain. I succeeded on my own in finding a master for myself in the person of Moishe the Beadle” (Wiesel 4). This shows that despite resistance from his father, Elie wanted to quench his thirst for knowledge and be known as an intelligent young man. However, as Elie faced the struggles of the concentration camps, Elie’s mindset and attitude changed. Due to the lack of food, unhygienic atmosphere, and gruesome work, Elie’s mindset changed to a point where his only goal was to survive. By the end of the novel, Elie stopped idolizing his father and did
Humankind has an inner desire to achieve power and success. Whether that power is achieved through morally correct means is dependent solely on the individual themselves. If the achieved power is abused it directly correlates to a negative ripple effect on the lives of others. In the novels, The Handmaid’s Tale and Night written by Elie Wiesel and Margret Atwood respectively, the same concept applies. The systems in both novels abuse their power, oppressing the lives of those around them through physical, mental, and psychological pains. Through constant oppression the masses are stripped of their own identity, become confined physically and mentally, and lose their connection with their …show more content…
Abuse of power is a prominent focal point of both novels and its negative repercussions are analyzed through comparing and contrasting the two novels.
In both novels the main characters adapt to their oppressive environments in order to survive, however the penalty for survival is an alteration in the physical and mental identities of the characters. In The Handmaid’s Tale and Night the main characters are described as young, happy, optimistic individuals who become tyrannized by the systems in charge. Elie from the Kamal 2 novel Night starts of as an innocent young child who wants to gain knowledge about his religion. Ellie states, “He wanted to drive the idea of studying Kabbalah from my mind. In vain. I succeeded on my own in finding a master for myself in the person of Moishe the Beadle” (Wiesel 4). This shows that despite resistance from his father, Elie wanted to quench his thirst for knowledge and be known as an intelligent young man. However, as Elie faced the struggles of the concentration camps, Elie’s mindset and attitude changed. Due to the lack of food, unhygienic atmosphere, and gruesome work, Elie’s mindset changed to a point where his only goal was to survive. By the end of the novel, Elie stopped idolizing his father and did