Recently I have been closely reading Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. I chose to look at the book with the close reading lens; power and resistance. Using this lens I was discovered that it was portrayed in many different ways in my book. Both power and resistance were portrayed within many characters' lives in love, family relationships, and government. Two characters that showed both power and resistance were Ellie and Katie. They're two very different people living two contradicting lives.
Ellie shows power in many situations which makes it clear that she's a character that likes to have power. Usually with power come control and Ellie needs power to feel secure in a situation. For example when she's having a good time with Katie, she brings up Katie's weakness to put her in her place. Here it shows that once a conversation stopped going in the right direction, Ellie had to say something to make sure she still had power and control in this situation. Ellie can feel safe when she has control over a situation because it means that Ellie can have things conformed for herself.
There were also several situations where Ellie showed resistance. She was forced to show resistance in a situation with love twice throughout what I read. The first time she had to resist the power her past lover, Stephen, had over her as well as the familiarity of life outside of the Amish community. This was early on in the book and Ellie was just getting used to her surroundings without the familiarity of Stephen and her regular lifestyle. The second time she has to resist Stephen when he shows up unexpectedly. This time it isn't so hard because he doesn't have much power over her, barely any at all now. After analyzing these two situations I realized that resistance in love has to do mostly with temptation and giving into it.
Katie is different from Ellie in many ways but she still shows power in certain situations. Unlike Ellie who craves power and control, Katie barely ever gets to experience having power. Katie gets her first glimpse of what it feels like to be in control during her relationship with Adam. She can see how her presence affects him and she's slightly surprised at his response. Because she's a young woman and a part of the Amish community she has to follow orders and doesn't really get a say in what's done. This is why having power over Adam, even if it's sexually or with love, is new to her. This displays her innocence and her inexperience in the world aside from her community.
In Plain Truth Katie is probably the character that shows the most resistance. She's very stubborn which helps to egg on her resistance to others' power. For example she resists the things people are telling her, biological evidence, and her own mind. She's unable to cooperate well with Ellie when it comes to the trial in the beginning because she doesn't want to believe that she's had a baby. This is mainly because she's in a state of denial within her own mind, preventing her from being able to accept the truth. I think this shows that she's the sort of character that makes them self believe in an idea they've implanted in their own head.
Overall, closely reading Plain Truth changed and enhanced my reading experience. I was able to view things I wouldn't have seen before and drew many varying conclusions.
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