The Struggle Between Man and Power
Draft Thesis: Throughout Lewis’ novels, Man has always struggled to gain power, due to the Nature of Man, which is to desire power, therefore Man can never fully be satisfied in life due to the longing of control over others, which is also demonstrated inThe Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, as we learn about Stalin’s ruthless control over Russia.
The topic of the Nature of Man, specifically how humans desire control and power, because it is in our Nature is pictured in both novels, That Hideous Strength and Abolition of Man. Lewis demonstrates how the nature of Man is to gain power, since humans always want more. Furthermore, humans always want what they can’t have, so, for example, Mark in That Hideous Strength desires to be a part of NICE without really recognizing how corrupt and dangerous his part could be. In Chapter 3 of Abolition of Man, Lewis discusses how men power over other men and that through generations this has been a trend of people overpowering others. This then leads to a discussion of science and how Man will go past the limit, using all sorts of unethical methods, to gain power over others. This idea is also brought up by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in his autobiography, The Gulag Archipelago, as he talks about his life in prison and Stalin’s power of Russia and the corruption and violence of it all. Overall, the Nature of Man desires power and control over others, even if it means danger and corruption.
“Close Reading” Passages:
- “In order to fully understand Man’s power over Nature, and therefore power of some men over other men, really means, we must picture the race extended in time from the date of its emergence to that of its extinction. Each generation exercises power over its successors: and each, in so far as it modifies the environment bequeathed to it and rebels against tradition, resists and limits the power of its predecessors. This modifies the picture which is sometimes painted of a progressive emancipation from tradition and a progressive control of natural processes resulting in a continual increase of human power” (Lewis 57) –Abolition of Man, Chapter 3
- This quote represents my point of Nature of Man as Lewis discusses how humans really do want to control others, and how it is almost an unconscious thought. If one were to think about this in a Freudian Psychological way, Man desiring power and control is an unconscious desire that no one really admits, although it is always there. Through generations, there are always people ruling over others, however the Nature of Man suggests that everyone has this desire to be above everyone else.
- ‘“Man has got to take charge of Man. That means, remember, that some men have got to take charge of the rest- which is another reason for cashing in on it as soon as one can. You and I want to be the people who do the taking charge, not the ones who are taken charge of. Quite” “What sort of thing have you in mind?” “Quite simple and obvious things, at first- sterilization of the unfit liquidation of backward races (we don’t want any dead weights), selective breeding.”’ (Lewis 41) –That Hideous Strength, Chapter 2
- In this quote, Feverstone is talking to Mark about NICE and portraying the whole situation as something that Mark should take advantage of and desire. Feverstone displays my exact point of how the Nature of Man leads him to need power and desire control over others. This is an interesting passage because it shows the selfishness of humans and how naturally, everyone wants what’s best for themselves and what will get them to the top.