Power In Nancy Farmer's The House Of The Scorpion

Power. It is a concept rarely discussed, but never do we believe that each and every one of us has the desire for it within. Those who are thought of as powerful are never associated with good things, and only those who use power extremely are ever perceived to be powerful. Friedrich Nietzsche’s article “On the Doctrine of the Feeling of Power” gives some excellent insight on what power really is and how much humankind will give up to gain more of it. His philosophy is demonstrated throughout civilisation, including Nancy Farmer’s The House of the Scorpion. These two things help explain power to us, be it the ideas of power, corruption of power, or similarities between these two writings and other events and documentations worldwide.
Power …show more content…
Nietzsche explains in his work that one will give up much for the sake of more power (Nietzsche). This idea is present in classic fairy tale Cinderella. The wicked stepmother gave up much for the sake of her ultimate goal-marriage of one of her two daughters to the prince. She showed extreme power over Cinderella to stop her from getting in the way for so long, and soon Cinderella rebelled from that power. Every bit of power the stepmother had over the girl came crashing down in one moment. All the power was soon corrupted and all was lost. Power also corrupts those who hold it. In The House of the Scorpion, Rosa shows her power over Matt in an extremely forceful way, when in the end, she is practically an equal to Matt, perhaps even lower than him. Because she takes out her pain on him in the most drastic of ways, she is soon perceived as an insane person by those who care about Matt and those whom she believed cared about her. The next time she and Matt met, she had become an eejit, forever to be a mindless, unfeeling servant (Farmer). This is not the only example of Nietzsche’s philosophy in The House of the Scorpion. Much more of that philosophy is …show more content…
Nietzsche’s article explores the idea that “He who feels ‘I am in possession of the truth’... What would he not throw overboard to stay… above others who lack ‘the truth’!” (Nietzsche). This idea is also present in The House of the Scorpion, expressed through the fierce Keepers. They feel that they have the power, that they are the only ones who deserve such things for their hard work, while they let the Lost Boys feast on plankton. Their ‘truth’ which they possess would be the Five Principles of Good Citizenship and the Four Attitudes Leading to Right-Mindfulness, which they drill into the heads of all of their boys. Additionally, Nietzsche says that “...[powerful people] take delight only at the sight of unbroken persons who could become their enemies and at the sight of all the possessions that are hard to come by…” (Nietzsche). This statement describes El Patrón rather precisely, as he is well known for his endless ‘dragon hoard’ and supposedly foolproof ways of keeping enemies out of his hair. As he tells his clone, “Always choose your bodyguards from another country, Matt. They find it harder to make alliances and betray you.” (Farmer 63). Nietzsche’s philosophy is not only found through these characters, but also through everyday