Power Relationships in Hughess Father and Son and Lawrences The Prussian Officer :: Essays Papers

Power Relationships in Hughess military chaplain and Son and Lawrences The Prussian policemilitary personnelThere are many homogeneousities in plot and theme in Langston Hughes Father and Son and D. H. Lawrences The Prussian Officer. While each story is told in a very different style, the general tone is similar in each. The focal point in each story is a relationship amongst one man in power, and another man who is a subordinate. The dominant man has generally benevolent feelings towards his subordinate, information which is related to the reader through an wise narrator. Due to societal influences, the man in power suppresses this emotion not only from others, but from himself. This suppression later erupts into violence. Colonel Tom (Father and Son) feels regard for his illegitimate black son, whereas the Prussian officer (The Prussian Officer) harbors a homoerotic attraction to his orderly. These feelings are socially unacceptable to the point that neither man is capable of admitting this attraction even to himself. A description of oppressive heat occurs in both, increasing the feeling of futility of the younger mans struggle. The characters seem locked into their situation, and fairish as the heat is unavoidable, so is the conflict. The feeling that the dominant male is hiding a secret from those around him is more explicitly stated in Father and Son. From the very beginning, the narrator informs the reader that Bert is Colonel Toms son. Today his youngest son was coming home.Bert was coming home (Hughes, Father 599). This occurs before the reader realizes that in that location is a problem in the relationship that Bert is illegitimate and has a black mother. Additionally, Colonel Tom is hiding his interest, and even pride in this boy who is so similar to him in appearance Hes too damn much desire me, the Colonel thought. Quick as hell.Well, anyway, he must be a smart darkie. Got my blood in him (Hughes, Father 601). On the other hand, in The Prus sian Officer, there is more of an implied denial of the feelings the officer is harboring for his orderly because the officers homoerotic attraction is never explicitly stated Gradually the officer had become aware of his servants young, vigorous, unconscious presence about him.It was like a warm flame upon the older mans tense, rigid body.And this irritated the Prussian. He did not choose to be touched into support by his servant (Lawrence, Prussian 3).