"With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility"

In chapter seven of Orson Scott Card’s Seventh Son Alvin Junior has an eye-opening vision. A “Shinning Man” appears in Alvin’s room after he used his fantastical abilities to send cockroaches after his sisters during a fight. The figure appears multiple times, and the second occurrence is when Alvin realizes who the person is:

    “There was the Shinning Man, visible again at the foot of his bed, but not shinning no more. Now Al             Junior realized that he knew this man. It was Lolla-Wossiky, that one-eyed whiskey-red who got himself     baptized a few days ago.”

Alvin’s vision employs fantasy in that the Shinning Man is in fact ethereal in some ways, but then Alvin realizes that the Shinning Man is Lolla-Wossiky. The fantastical elements of the novel made the story more confusing in my opinion; it was often difficult to understand what Card was trying to convey. Alvin Junior has a moment of clarity in the same section; he realizes what his ability is to be used for, and why his previous use of it was wrong.

    “So Alvin made the most solemn promise of his whole life, right then and there…. ‘I’ll never use it for          myself again.’”

The line shows Alvin finding maturity where it once was vacant; he decides that his ability isn’t for his selfish purpose of revenge, but rather as Lolla-Wossiky says, “to make things whole.” This sudden moment of knowledge marks a new section in Alvin’s life, and his coming of age.

Comments

[Thomas L.]

This example is great in describing coming of age. Alvin was much more of an immature character at this point, doing anything to get back at his sisters. He uses his powers to benefit himself, until he realizes this is a mistake. His coming of age transformation is solely due to his encounter with the shining man.

[Emma B.]

I think it's imparative to point out this almost epiphany Alvin goes through. Instead of being his old self-centered self, Alvin finally realizes that there are more important things he is capable of doing that only he can do. His meeting with the 'shining man' was the moment that defined him going on the 'good track' instead of the 'evil one' that he had the option to choose.

[Emilie B.]

I thought this part of the book was really interesting too. It definitely reflects how young children think that the world revolves around them, and here, we see where Alvin learns otherwise.

[Emma B.]

Something to also look at is the transformation also occuring on page 39 with Reverend Thrower. He see's a person who says "the devil takes it's victories" and then disapears. It is then that Trower decides what his task is to do for the rest of his life; make America a more Christian place. It's interesting that both characters have this epiphany after a ghost-like experience occurs to them.