Go Down, Moses and Star Wars on Imperialism and Colonialism - Essay Example

Go Down, Moses and Star Wars on Imperialism and Colonialism Colonialism and imperialism have similarities but they also have differences at the same time. Colonialism is said to be the expansion of power by conquering new lands and gaining control over them. In short, colonialism “is a system of direct political, economic, and cultural control by a powerful country over a weaker one,” (Kozlowski 1). On the other hand, imperialism is defined by Webster as “The policy, practice or advocacy of seeking to extend the control, dominion or empire of a nation,” (Kirkman 133).

Colonialism seeks the control and gain of power directly while imperialism can be indirectly by formation of alliances and treaties among nations. Imperialism gains control of another country by a formal way through creation of empires or less formal by using economic and military threats to dominate another country (D’Anieri 35). Both domination and hunger of power were seen in The Bear as seen in Go Down, Moses and in the empire of Star Wars saga. The death of the Bear Dear Old Ben had shown how an empire fell down.

The power that once the great bear of the forest had for years were stopped by Boon. Also Ike had the thoughts on rise and fall of empire through out the storyline as he kept on checking the ledger left by his predecessors. He did not accept the inheritance of the land and he became a carpenter (Hagood 68). Colonialism is directly seen in The Bear as the fellow men of Ike killed Dear Old Ben. On the other hand, Star Wars showed how imperialism fell when Darth Vader died due to the lightning released by Palpatine to kill Luke Skywalker (Lucas).

The death of Darth Vader who regained the consciousness as Anakin before he died led to the fall of the empire. The loss of power as Anakin redeemed himself by fighting against the Dark Side of the Force showed how the empire fell in Star Wars. Both stories reflected how the power and the dominating character fell and the empire and colony at the same time collapsed. Works Cited: D’Anieri, Paul. International Politics: Power and Purpose in Global Affairs. USA: Cengage, 2010. Hagood, Taylor.

Faulkners Imperialism: Space, Place, and the Materiality of Myth. USA: Louisiana State University Press, 2008. Kirkman, Fred. The Incredible Hoax: The Nature of the Beast. Canada: Trafford, 2003. Kozlowski, Darrell. Colonialism. New York: DWJ Books, 2010. Lucas, George, dir. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. 1977. Twentieth Century Fox, 1997.