Power can be determined as dominance over something or someone. Having power is an important factor in life. Once power is established, it can become good or bad. Power is often abused and used to manipulate others. Killing Chickens by Meredith Hall and Lincolnites by Ron Rash both display the theme of power. Power is exemplified in a good and bad manner between the two stories. The mother from Killing Chickens has a bad experience with power in the beginning. Once the power was placed on the mother, it become more pressure that began to add up over time. While also going through a divorce, having power in this time frame was not ideal in order for the mother to cope. It was difficult for the mother to provide and replicate everything the husband used to do. Having complete power also meant she had to learn how to handle responsibilities that came along with power. In Lincolnites, Lily obtains power and receives a rewarding experience from it. Once Lily established a fight for her family, she won all the power over her farm that was on the verge of being stolen. This supplied Lily with comfort and protection over her children. Power in this aspect was used to Lily’s advantage in order to keep her family safe. This provided Lily a positive outcome with the use of power. …show more content…
Having power provided both mothers the opportunity to be in charge of their households. This represented women being powerful and dominant. During the time period this was written, women were looked upon as weak individuals. Men were prone to being the dominating figure in a household. Supplementing power into the mother’s lives gave both stories a positive outcome. Lily experienced safety once she gained power over her household and ridded a threat. The other mother felt fearless once she understood how to use the power she had been given to take care of her