Playing with Power

There is blood, so much blood beneath the polished facade of the Peoples Revoltutionary Council. Blood of the people of Sessamekesh, blood of fellow government officials and most of all, the blood of the royal line. An army uniform is a good hiding place for a snake. And a snake that hides well, in the case of General Citizen and his guards. In the book, Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card, many such snakes hide or come to light depending on the skill and rank of the uniform that is its host. However the thing is, in governments, there are usually many snakes. So what happens when there are too many of these reptilian miscreants in a room? The snakes kill! Behind the analogy of this post and the many subtle metaphors in the book, an underlying theme in Orson Scott Card's creation is the power struggles and revolts within the corrupt structure known as the "people's government. Which is not so aptly named as the "people" do not realized what "their" government was up to.

               One example of this theme is General Citizen. When Rigg is arrested by General Citizen, he begins to trust the solid, clever and almost fatherly figure in his crumbling life. What Rigg doesn't know about General Citizen is where his loyalties lie. This uncertainty and slight vagaries about his general person make Rigg find it hard to believe that the General is totaly on the government's side. It turns out Rigg is partially right about General Citizen, he is actually working with Rigg's mother, the former queen Hagia Sessamin, to overthrow the People's Government and return the royals to power in Sessamekesh. After finding this out, Rigg trusts Hagia and Citizen and this turns out to be his downfall. Already the corruption of youth and not only government is apparent in the book: a boy cannot trust his mother because of the power struggles in the government. Rigg has been through so much in his life, but this still takes him by surprise, although he does not say this outright. As the male heir to the royal throne he expects some plotting towards him, but not the backstabbing of his own mother. Up until this moment Hagia's actions have seen maternal and she has expressed the desire to become a "true mother." But Hagia bearly knows Rigg so she justifies her actions as secluded from her hormones. I think that Rigg's mother is drunk with the idea of ruling the empire so she forgets her love for family and exchanges it with a lust for power,   a common theme that the royal house has fallen for for. Their possesions have been taken from them, they are at the mercy of the common people. No wonder Hagia Sessamin wants to break out.

                 Correlating with this fictional government, common theme in historic governments has been power struggles.I compare this book to the movie J. Edgar. As much as this movie is, obviously, about the head of the FBI himself (J. Edgar Hoover), it is also a movie about political manuevers, personal and proffesional relationships and the thirst for power that encompasses almost all of us. This is evidenced as General Citizen and Hagia Sessamin are supposedly in love, which is why Hagia chose him to lead the revolt.  This correlates with the relationship between Hoover and his assistant Clyde Tolson as depicted in the movie. Is it romantic? Political? There are many disagreements about these two men, but one thing is certain. Their relationship affected Hoover in some way and his politics which sparked controversy and much criticism. In my opinion, I think that you know you are in trouble when leaders make important decisions based on personal relationships.

Power is a huge player in any organization or even family. Who holds the power, what they do with it and how are all extremely crucial to any group. This is why the power struggles in Pathfinder are such a huge part of the book. In a corrupt government, power is the chief prize. Hagia and Citizen both hope to gain power and Rigg is caught up in the middle. I guess there is always power to be taken, but it is you who must decide whether to use it for good or bad.