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Recommended: Corruption and power
Everyone has power, whether it is over your family, a community, the country. Some choose to disregard the power they have. Others use their power for their own benefit and not for others. In Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah, people like Stepmother are absolutely corrupted by their power. Whereas Adeline is not corrupted by power and instead allows her true self to shine through. People can wisely use their power and will gain respect from the community in a charismatic way. Power is the ability to influence others. This context of power also exists in history, one example being the case of Adolf Hitler. With his powerful, or influential speeches, Hitler was able to brainwash, influence and control the entire nation. He was so powerful to an extent that people followed his demonic deeds without question. This essay will argue that power corrupts some people and allows others true selves to shine through. …show more content…
Niang gives older sister ‘special favours: gifts, pocket-money, outings with friends.’ This shows the power of using reward over punishment whereby she rewards older sister by giving her gifts and punishing Adeline by giving her nothing. Niang also had the power to ‘teach everyone the value of money’ This shows that Niang has the power over the money within the family by dividing it up between the children and giving her children more money than the others. ‘Until you give me a true explanation what is going on, you will have nothing to eat or drink!’ This shows again Niang is corrupted by her power. Niang uses coercion power to force Adeline to speak. Niang shows she is absolutely corrupted by power through how she treats Adeline and has no positive characteristics about
What is power to a human? As time has gone by, there have been many forms of control and influence in the world. Many strive to achieve total rule over a society or group of individuals. Yet the question still presents itself to the average man. Why does man desire power so greatly even though there is visible trouble that follows? Shelley’s Frankenstein, Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”, and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, whether through the situation or the character themselves, depict the evils and hardships due to an imbalance and poor management of power.
Niska is rebellious, wild, strong, a character easy to love. She is born as the daughter of a Windigo killer and has seen much before she has grown. When a priest notices a young wild girl still wander Moose Factory, he comes to take Niska, she runs wild and even bites the priest. “I fought like a lynx then...” (Boyden, 92). Niska is resilient and gutsy throughout her time at the Residential School. When her hair is being cut, the nun cuts hers shorter than the other girls for a simple fact of disliking the young free child. Niska sneaks in the night and cuts the rest of her hair off and is thrown into a sort of solitary confinement for weeks and is fed only once a day. Niska states she never regrets her actions and when her mother comes to break her out is it clear that she has learned from a family of brave and courageous people. They take off into the forest and Niska is once again at ease,“Slowly becoming wild like the animals around us” (Boyden,
When somebody abuses a great amount of power, that individual can lose all their power. The struggle against someone who abuses power is perfectly depicted in the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey. When someone abuses their power, they can impose certain feelings and actions onto others. If someone tries to conceal their personality, . Finally, if someone abuses power and is constantly challenged by another individual who is trying to take the power abuser’s power away from them, the power abuser will always be frightened of his or her challenger. When someone abuses power and takes full control, they can lose all their power and respect quickly.
“With great power comes great responsibility”, a quote that has been repeated over the ages and said to every person of power. Yet we ask ourselves from time to time, who among us deserves to rule and bear such a burden upon their shoulders? Well, Shakespeare in his play Macbeth reveals to us a message about power, its implications and consequences on human beings, and offers an answer to our question above. When people come into a position of power the definition of power is altered and changed according to their perspective, where they believe that every decision that they take and do which hurts others and may even result in their demise is not of their responsibility, they would believe that what they are doing is the right thing no matter what it is and even if it is to others morally repugnant. And such people would do anything to remain in that position withholding power causing them into doing horrible things such as murder, deception, lying, bribery, coning and stealing.
Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth distinctly exemplify the weighty pull that power holds over those with authority. For, once prompted, both craving power, chose corruption in order to obtain and preserve stolen power. Power proved to be so addictive to the two that they remain consumed by darkness and take great and murderous measures to insure their security on the throne. Once the darkness accomplished its end of engrossing the king and queen and leads its victims to their own demise. Demise set in motion by their prompted corruption. The theme of the power of power aptly stated by Lord Dalberg-Acton, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
People who have a desire for power will do anything to get their, even if it means allowing their closest ones to get hurt or them. Sometimes they gain power or do not, but when the person in power has too many expectations as a normal King they lose control which is called a "power struggle". Lady Macbeth has a desire for power over King Duncan. Lady Macbeth uses the power she gained by manipulating her husband to commit murder and rule the Kingdom of Scotland with her husband. She loses her mind by realizing what she has done, by allowing her husband become paranoid killing people who can become a threat to the kingdom except for his family and she also loses her life because she would rather die when she is strong instead of weak later on
Power is a very interesting thing to hold. Many good-natured men have been destroyed by power and turned away from their morals as a result. When giving a man absolute power, it’s ingrained in the human brain to take it to a new level. This ideal is present in every type of government, regardless of if it’s a dictatorship or a government supported by autonomy. Modern day government suffers from this power hungry greed. Power is an element of human life and often leads to temptation because mankind thirsts for control, and that’s what power grants.
From the displays of power that have been shown through out this essay, we see that this story is a story about power. Power is the story is primarily about peoples need for some small amount of power to survive in life and to feel that hey have a purpose within their society which every society it may be whether its is Gilead or Nazi Germany or modern day Britain.
Power. It is defined as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Throughout time, certain individuals have acquired power in their society as a way to govern and keep order among their community. Power is not a new concept; it was used in the past by many emperors, kings, and queens, and is still being used by presidents, prime ministers, and dictators. Although, it has been used to further progress societies into what the world is like today, not all power has been used for the best of mankind. But what goes awry to make power turn corrupt? In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, it is illustrated how power can turn corrupt, when authoritative figures, who possess power, abuse it for their personal gain, rather than for the common good of the society.
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time of birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem appropriate. In school, teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter the work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move up the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its people that was inexplicable.
"Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it" [Lord Acton, British Historian]. It is human nature that the more power one desires, the more corrupt actions they have to commit to attain power. Power is the ability to have control over people and/or things. People who are powerful can, and in most cases will, create an illusion of anything they want you to see about them. This illusion can make people blind to their true intentions.
The abuses of power displayed in The Lord of the Flies and “I Only Came to Use the Phone” show how power when given or assumed can change the person who has been elevated above others as well as changing the person who is being abused. When people in authority abuse this power, they can affect people’s lives and well being.
In real life, many try to use others just like The Crucible to their advantage like for example, being the daughter of the President can influence the daughter to think that she can get whatever she wants whenever she wants just, because she knows her father is the United States President. In my case scenario, a cousin being older than me thinks that he knows what’s best for my life and thinks that I am lower than him and that I have to serve him, just because he is older than I am. “The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.” means if humans have power it can be and will be abused. The people who should have power are the people who are going to protect this country, and not people who are greedy who only care for themselves. It is easy to abuse powers once you have obtained them, but once you start abusing it, you want more and then you can’t
Often, too much power can go to that particular person’s head, and he/she can become corrupt. As readers have seen in literature, abuses of power are often harmful to the abuser and their subjects. Corrupted authority and abuses of power eventually lead to the collapse of society. This concept is shown many times throughout the novel Lord Of the Flies and the short story “I Only Came to Use the Phone”. Displayed through characters and actions, abusive power has dominated what should be morally correct in literature.
To become powerful, is to become corrupt and The Tragedy of Macbeth is a prime example. In William Shakespeare's tragic tale, a young noblemen soon becomes corrupt when he is given the opportunity to become king. His need for power and safety drives him to corruption, ultimately killing off anyone who stands in his path: innocent or not. Throughout the play, many characters portray the impact power has on a relationship: Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, Banquo and Macbeth, Macduff and Macbeth and many more. While all these characters were affected by power in the play, Banquo and Macbeth's relationship best demonstrates the effect of power. By examining the effect that power can have on relationships in The Tragedy of Macbeth, it is clear that Banquo and Macbeth's relationship represent best what the impact of power on friendship can be like. This ultimately illustrates that the need for power can drive people to take extreme measures in capturing that power.