Power in the Goon Squad

     While reading "A Visit from the Goon Squad," I chose to focus on the word "power" and its meaning to the novel.  At first, I thought the word would occur often because in my own mind I could see many places it would be appropriate.  However, I only encountered the word six times and the word "powerful" once.  This was very interesting to me.  The lack of the number of times the word appeared, though, allowed me to look at the context and way it was used more closely.

     The first time the word "power" is used is when Alex asked Sasha if he can use the bath salts she stole from her friend: "She and Coz had talked at length about why she kept the stolen objects separate from the rest of her life: because using them would imply greed or self-interest; because leaving them untouched made it seem as if she might one day give them back; because piling them in a heap kept their power from leaking away."  It is interesting that the thing that Sasha is trying to fix in her life is what is described as having authority over her.  The same could be said for the encounter of Bennie and Scotty at Bennie's office: "We looked at each other across the black desk, the seat of Bennie’s power."  All Bennie has left anymore is his job, which hasn't been going in a great direction of late.  It is also a reminder to Scotty of what he was never able to have.  

     The context of the word "power" is used in much the same way throughout the rest of the novel.  Egan uses it when Stephanie realizes Bennie has cheated on her again and when she describes Dolly's fall from the top.  Every time the word is used it is in a negative tone pertaining to whatever the subject is, almost in a mockingly way.  For this, I believe the word is used when Egan is trying to convey a sense of actually "powerless" in the characters.  The moments that "power" is presented are when the character doesn't really have any and don't have much control over the situation.  Jules for example states that Kitty has "far more power in the world than I will ever have," and then attacks her.  

It is not until the last chapter that I see a positive use of the word: "The discovery swept over him in a surge of disbelief, followed by a rush of ownership and power- he’d done it."  This quote is used when Alex realizes that he was able to get all the people to come to Scotty's free concert.  In this section, power is seen as control and a good thing, unlike the contexts before it. This makes the ending more hopeful than the rest of the novel since a strong word like that is used in a positive way.