Literature review on “The Power” by Naomi Alderman
The novel “The Power”, written by Naomi Alderman focuses on how everything
changes within the society when women discover the ability to provide electrical
energy from their bodies, overpowering men both physically and socially. Each of
these power regards clearly allows Alderman to engage the issues of race, class and
religion clearly exposing the complex nature of power and it’s abuse. Each
perspective also evokes the readers to contemplate the characters’ situation and
choice in light of these intersections and how the diversity of this undermines the
fight for justice, rather than promote it. Related to the thought “power tends to
corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”, such an analogy clearly proves
that gender or social status bias is not the reason for corruption, but rather its power
that directs to it. In this essay, the focus is on the analysis of some of the characters
in the novel “The Power” and on how such characters on the course of the story
actions relate to their status and how the later turns out to be corruption within the
system. Furthermore, through the experiences of several individuals, this essay will
examine how the intersections of race, class, and religion in "The Power" highlight
the intricacies of power in society.
The main idea of “The Power” focuses on how physical power is shared and
changed. The rise of electrical power in women represents an immense shift in
social systems. The change represents actual power struggles involving gender,
ethnicity, class, and religion. Alderman demonstrates how anyone can get corrupted
by authority, without implying that women could control it more responsibly than men.
This emphasizes a more important point: regardless of who possesses it, power may
result in oppression, violence, and persistent inequality.
, One of the ways Alderman chooses to dissect power is through race. The racial
identities of the characters play a major part in how biased they are treated when
accessing power in the new society. Roxy, one of the characters in the story, was a
white British woman with a mafia background; a woman in power who doesn't
weaken oppressive structures so much as learns to navigate and exploit them.
Ascending within the male-dominated criminal underworld, her story portrays to the
reader how she becomes just as ruthless and cruel like the men around her leading
to moral corruption. Examining Roxy’s journey suggests that power may be just as
easily corrupted amongst Black folk of any gender when combined with aspects of
race and class, Miller (2020).
in comparison, Tunde, a male journalist from Nigeria, represents an alternative
aspect of power dynamics. Through his documentation of the global disruption
brought about by women's newfound abilities, Tunde's perspective draws attention to
the uncertainty that results from disadvantaged individuals trying to make sense of
this shift in power. Alderman could question the ways in which authority, especially in
an era of female empowerment, can sustain violence and inequality because of
Tunde's status as an observer. His experiences show that even while women are
rising to positions of authority, systematic racism and classism still exist, creating a
corrupt cycle that runs across all genders. The manner in which racism and power
connect in "The Power" highlights the fact that corruption is an ongoing issue that
arises from society systems rather than just an individual's mistakes. The
experiences of Roxy and Tunde complicate the story of empowerment by serving as
a reminder that the historical context of race affects how power is understood and
used.
