‘Where There Is Power, There Is Resistance.’ Compare and Contrast the Ways in Which Margret Atwood, Ken Kesey and Sylvia Plath Explore This Statement in ‘the Handmaids Tale’, ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and Selected Poetry.

5787 Words24 Pages
Michel Foucault believed that power was omnipresent at every level of the social body; to him, power itself is not a thing but a relationship between characters, family members or even the state. ‘Power is not possessed; it is exercised. And where there is power, there is always resistance ’, for Michel Foucault the exercise of power coerces resistance and contrariwise. An exploration of power and resistance within The Handmaids Tale, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Sylvia Plath’s selected poetry, exposes how Foucault’s quotation is vindicated by the oppressed – the characters and Plath - who seek to transgress limitations imposed upon them by their oppressors. Margret Atwood, Ken Kesey and Sylvia Plath each explore the convolute relationship between power and resistance. Historically, it is unequivocal that power triggers resistance, as Atwood stated ‘Once something becomes forbidden, it also becomes potentially transgressive’ . Of the many parallels between the two texts and Plath’s collection of poetry, the time in which they were all written proves to be one of the most influential similarities intrinsically linking the three. The end of the 20th century, in which these texts were written, brought about a period prevalent with developing freedoms, innovative concepts and constant power struggles throughout the world. Atwood, Kesey and Plath reflect the balances and imbalances of power in contemporary history, each producing works which became symbols of rebellion against conformity. Keasy’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest has been depicted as ‘holey successful as an indictment of modern society ’. The reciprocally dependent bond between power and resistance in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest reflect the progressive nature of the late 1950’s. Keasy’s novel demonstrates as a reflection upon his time working with mental patients, it serves as a critique of

More about ‘Where There Is Power, There Is Resistance.’ Compare and Contrast the Ways in Which Margret Atwood, Ken Kesey and Sylvia Plath Explore This Statement in ‘the Handmaids Tale’, ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and Selected Poetry.

Open Document