Battles for power, a comparative paper between Anne Carson's novel in verse "Autobiography of Red" and Marie Howe's collection of poetry "What the Living Do"

Battles for Power "As in childhood we live sweeping close to the sky, and now what dawn is this" -Anne Carson, Autobiography of Red <Tab/> Central to the themes of many of the novels we have read thus far is the influence of sexual abuse on the development of characters and their actions. After withstanding abuse, generally at a young age, they are often reluctant to trust others, and further become …

…not try again only to be defeated. He was forever wounded by his brother's abuse. Marie however, as illustrated later in her novel, was able to learn to trust herself in order to have control in her relationships. When confronted by the restrictions of their abuse, both Geryon and Marie were faced with the opportunity to break them. While Marie succeeded and Geryon did not, they both regained the power to control their own actions.