People will have a lot of identities in their life. Those identities may relate to their power in many aspects. In “Jump”, Nadine Gordimer describes a conflicted experience of a white person but lives with black people for a long time. In “Homage”, which is also created by Gordimer, she describes the struggling life of a murderer who kills the president. In “Jump” and “Homage”, Nadine Gordimer talks about how changes of government influence people in different aspects. In her essays, Gordimer illuminates about power and identity with changes of government. By describing these affects, Gordimer writes about personal power and the connection between identity.
In “Jump” and “Homage”, Gordimer describes that changes of government power cause changes of protagonists’ identities. Two protagonists lose the power that they used to have as civilians in their own country because of the collapse their government. In “Jump”, Gordimer mentions changes the protagonist’s life by his experience, which he is caught by the police because he takes a photograph of a sea-bird. When describing his experience, the author states that, “He was detained for five weeks in a dirty cell the colonial regime had used for blacks” (Jump, Gordimer 3). Changes of government make the social identity of people also change. The protagonist in “Jump” is a white who used to live under the control of white people in his childhood. The protagonist does not need to worry about his race. However, when black people come to power, they treat white people like what white people have done to black people. The protagonist is caught because the special identity that he is a white boy. Gordimer describes the cell “had used for blacks” to show that white people used to catch black people without any reason in the past. Now, black people and white people switch their identities. In “Homage”, Gordimer mentions the protagonist’s conditions after exchanging identities, “We leave home because of government overthrew, a conscript on the wrong side; no work, no bread or oil in the shops, and then we cross a border we’re put over other borders, and another” (Homage, Gordimer 1). The protagonist loses his government and loses his identity as a civilian in his country, which is caused by government changes. At the same time, being trapped, the protagonist and his partners cannot go to another country to start a new life. The government power changes influence the protagonists in “Jump” and “Homage”. Gordimer writes their identity and shows what their identity changes with the power change in her essay. They have similar experiences. They lose their peaceful life, former identity, and the power they used to have.
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In “Jump”, Gordimer also describes the gain and loss of power that is related to the value of the identity by taking account of the experience of the narrative. At the beginning of the essay, when Gordimer describes the protagonist’s life in the hotel, she states, “He was offered whisky, anything he liked, at the beginning, and he ordered it although he had never been one to drink spirits” (Gordimer Jump 2). In these sentences, she shows that the protagonist has the power, so he has the right to have anything he wants. The power comes from his identity— the white boy as the victim of the black regime. That identity has value to those white because they need people to prove it is a mistake to return the country back to black. The protagonist can help white people get a proper reason to fight against the black government. Those people give “him” everything that he desires to make him loyal to help them. Then, he has power because of his identity. However, when he finishes his work to tell his story in some television shows, he does not have value anymore. Those white people would not provide any service to satisfy him. When describing his unlucky condition, the author states “The whisky has stopped coming; when he orders a bottle nothing is said but it is not delivered” (Jump, Gordimer 2). Gordimer makes the whisky and service as the power of the protagonist. Making demands means that he has the power to satisfy his requirements. Having no value of his identity to take advantage of, he loses his power. His power of him is closely related to the value of his identity. In fact, the protagonist does not really have power. After all, the power is under the control of white army. They give him power because he is useful to them, but the controller can take the power away whenever the controller wants. By using changes of the power from the protagonist in “Jump”, Gordimer shows that power sometimes appears because of the value of the identity, and power would disappear if identity loses its value.
In “Homage”, Gordimer also interprets that the protagonist’s personal power can be taken because of his own identity. The protagonist loses his own identity because his government is overthrown. Later, he is found by an organization. The organization can give him a fake identity and provides the protagonist with money if he helps them to kill the president. Securing a fake and new identity, he could eat and doing things he cannot do before. The protagonist has the power that he does not have before because of the new identity. However, the protagonist actually is powerless according to Gordimer. When describing his new condition, she states “Worked at the racecourse, and once or twice in nightclubs. Places where they don’t register you with any labour office.” (Homage, Gordimer 2). The protagonist’s identity is still a man without his government. That “no identity” could be regarded as an identity makes him afraid to talk because he does not belong to this country and cannot read the language well. Not only does he have no power to talk, but also does the protagonist’s have no identity to take his power to work because he needs to work in those places which would not register him in the labor office. The identity of “no identity” actually strips off his power to live as an ordinary person, even the fake name does not change it. Moreover, the protagonist has another new identity— a killer, which should be very powerful because he has the right deciding others’ death. Nevertheless, according to Gordimer’s narrative, the protagonist does not have actual power as a killer because the organization disappears. When describing the organization, the author states “I don’t they are here, anymore, they’re in some other country, they move all the time and that’s how they find men like me” (Homage, Gordimer 1). As a killer, he cannot ask others about those people who do not pay him, and he cannot call the police to get the money back either. The killer seems like a powerful identity for the protagonist but actually makes him in trouble and makes him a victim. Gordimer mentions the life condition of the protagonist and things he does to show that power can be deprived by identity.
Power and the government are tied together because they influence people a lot. Government has the power to provide people with the identity as a citizen in their country. When the government changes, the identities of people also change. Unluckily, a lot negative influences are brought to people’s daily life. Meanwhile, when power is related to a person’s identity, the identity can either gives him power or takes his power away. Power, identity, and value are also tied together. They affect mutually. Perhaps, in order to have a balance, before taking an identity, it is important to think about what relationship will be built between power and value.
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