Comparing Power in Cask of Amontillado, Rappaccinis Daughter, and Bart

Power in Poes Cask of Amontillado, Hawthornes Rappaccinis Daughter, Melvilles Bartleby the Scrivener, Phelps Angel over the Right Shoulder and Childs The QuadroonIn Poes The Cask of Amontillado Montressor seeks his revenge (for an imagined offense) on Fortunado. He bitipulates Fortunado into beliving that he is a friend and that they are going through the crypt. He uses Fortunados weak point --his love of alcohol-- against him. He creates the illusion of concern by insisting that they turn around to save poor Fortunados health. Montressor manipulates the entire situation from beginning to end. His greatest achievement is that Fortunado would know what was happening to him by dying a slow death and more importantly, he would know who was behind the elaborate plan for his death. Montressor (who is ment everyy unstable) is a corrupt man who thrives off of the position he has (had) over Fortunado. In Hawthornes Rappaccinis Daughter we find two instances of a power struggle and manipu lation. The Scientist has used his daughter in an observational attempt to give her a one-of-a-kind gift. Failing in his attempt he has in a sense cursed his daughter. He has taken away her power to choose her own life--she is at the mercy of her gift and is suffering the results of his ambition. Baglioni uses Giovanni in a different way. He uses Giovanni to gain power over Rappaccini. He manipulates Giovanni into idea that Rappaccini is corrupt and that Beatrice can be saved by his antidote. Rappaccini is corrupt because he uses his daughter to practice his scientific experiments. If his intention to enable her with a gift was so genuine then he may not be as wicked as Baglioni. Baglionis intentions were purely evil. He man... ... the characters in this story are all manipulated and repressed by the power of the social code of the time regarding quadroons. Everything in the story hinges not only on the social pressures, but also on the fragility of love. She belives that he wil l love her (even though he is not legally bound to her) and together they could face the injustice of the world or however hide from it. Due to his ambition, he betrays her and leaves her and his daughter. He does no service to either of the three women--his common-law wife by breaking her heart and leaving her to finagle with a child, the child left without a father and a social outcast, and his new wife by marrying her just for the social and economic position it would pull in him and especially since she learns that he is still in love with the other woman. The victims in this story are manipulated by one mans ambition.