I Am Number Four Analysis

Power; A Path To Corruption

Power corrupts. In the novel, I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore, the characters continue to abuse their power. I Am Number Four is a story about an alien and his mentor that have to move to Earth after their planet is taken over and then destroyed by an evil group of aliens known as the Mogadorians. This alien, John, remembers little of his life on his home planet Lorien, and easily adapts to life on Earth. In fact, he begins to wish that he wasn’t chosen to be the one to save his race, and instead live as an actual human. At this point in the novel, John has gotten used to living in a small town in Ohio, and he made some friends, and even has a girlfriend he loves named Sarah. However, his mentor Henri believes

Instead, he just uses them against someone he loves. “My power holds him in place. And I feel strong doing it. Stronger than I’ve ever felt in my life. I am not leaving. I am not running. I love my life in Paradise. I love having a real friend, and I love my girlfriend. I’m ready to fight for what I love, be it with the Mogadorians, or be it with Henri.” This part also connects to my life, and the lives of many others my age in our society. This is the first time that John has ever rebelled against Henri, just like many teens rebel against their parents in our society when they don’t get something they want, even if the parent is just doing so to protect them. Also in this part of the passage, John uses the Mogadorians and Henri as equal adversaries, in spite of the fact that Henri is a guardian who loves him and cares for him, and the Mogadorians are searching for him to try and kill him and destroy his race. This shows John’s disrespect to Henri, someone who is just trying to save his

Because of power just being given to people, their newfound authority and strength is often not respected by them. Instead, this power should be treated with care and used to help improve societies, rather than destroy them. Power can even be abused by qualified people, sometimes for no reason at all. For example, in a recent article titled 11-Year-Old Boy Played in His Yard. CPS Took Him, Felony Charge for Parents written by Lenore Skenazy describes an extreme abuse of power by the Florida Government. In April of 2015, parents of an eleven year old boy were arrested for negligence of their child after he played outside for an hour and a half by himself before his parents arrived home. Their children, a four year old and the eleven year old were then taken away from them for a month by the Child Protective Services. An eleven year old certainly has enough responsibility to play by himself outside while waiting for his parents to arrive home. Although I agree that his parents should have been there to watch over him in case he was harmed, I think that being arrested and having your child taken away is too extreme for this certain case. This most likely did more harm than good for the child, since the eleven year old even asked a judge to give him back to his parents. This example is just one of many where people abuse their power, something