Comparing Power In Brave New World And Richard III

Power is like a knife. A knife in proper hands can create pieces of culinary art however, a knife in cruel hands only creates destruction. Power is misused in both Brave New World and Richard III and both literary works demonstrate the same consequences. Power will destroy morality within the abuser as well as their society. This abuse of power will also lead to the creation of discontent among people. Maltreated power will lead to the manipulation of a person’s actions, removing free will. Brave New World and Richard III demonstrate how power creates conflict through how it creates discontent within society, destroys morality, and manipulates one’s actions.
The abuse of authority in Brave New World and Richard III creates unhappiness in

In Richard III, towards the end of the play, Richard III comprehends the nature of his actions and makes clear the lack of morality he has, “My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, / And every tongue brings in a several tale, / And every tale condemns me for a villain” (5.3.194-196). Richard III feels internal conflict about his actions, resulting from the abuse in his power as king and is ability to manipulate others. Brave New World conditioning phase out individual morality and replace it with a standard way of living. In the conversation between John the Savage and Mustapha Mond, Mond comments on the nature of the new world, “. . . they’re so conditioned that they practically can’t help behaving as they ought to behave. And if anything should go wrong, there’s soma” (Huxley 194). Conditioning has destroyed morality as morality is defined as the ability to know right from wrong. By forcing a standard behaviour upon people, they do not know what is right nor wrong but simply act upon conditioned impulse. This standard behaviour and lack of feeling are what lead the outliers of Brave New World’s society to rebel. As demonstrated in both pieces of literature, an after-effect of power abuse is the destruction of morality. Richard III shows how Richard III did not have morality in his actions, leading to the conflict on Bosworth Fields whilst, Brave New World demonstrates how power is abused and individuality replaced with a standard being. Those smart enough to see past the conditioned will rebel against the society. Richard III demonstrates lack of morality on an individual level, whilst Brave New World showcases lack of morality on a societal level however both result from the abuse in power and overall negatively impacts