As a poor teenage boy, Jack doesn't have what we traditionally associate with power in This Boy's Life. (He would if he got bit by a radioactive spider, but then this would be an entirely different kind of story.) He's keenly aware of his powerlessness and looks for ways to change that. He gets into guns. He advances through the ranks of the Boy Scouts. He tries to manipulate people with his lies and stories. All of them are attempt to grab some kind of power, and through it exercise control over his life that he really doesn't feel he has.
Questions About Power and Powerlessness
- In what ways does Jack demonstrate his power over other people? In what ways is he shown how powerless he is?
- How does Jack's mother powerless to affect her circumstances? How about Dwight?
- Is Jack a better person when he has some kind of power or when he doesn't? Why?
- How do Jack's attempts to reinvent himself give him power or take it away?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Jack sees power as the key to his identity.
Jack's identity has nothing to do with how helpless or empowered he feels.