Lord of the Flies & Macbeth

Corrupting power has been showcased through many stories like Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Throughout Macbeth, the desire for absolute power is the main drive for the two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. They are consumed with a great craving for ultimate rule, and are willing to achieve it by whatever means necessary. Power had corrupted the thoughts, actions and behaviors of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. As a result of their greed, selfishness and longing for supremacy, they were unable to escape the tragic fate at the end of the play that was a result of their own doing.

     Personal power has the ability to be essential to greatness, and at the same time is able to destroy a person’s nature. In the drama Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main character, Macbeth, becomes corrupt through power that he gains. The play shows that even someone who starts out like Macbeth and does not crave power, will do terrible things to gain authority and power.

Like lady Macbeth he is put into a situation that is not in anyway his own fault, a new society without adults or rules to follow. The trouble lies within the way he decides to handle this situation. While Jack's counterpart Ralph is busy trying to make the best of the boy's tough situation Jack seems to do nothing but cause agression and controversy between every body. Lady Macbeth and Jack share a common lust for a position of leadership, and both decide to overthrow the current power holder who in Jack's case is an idealized boy named Ralph. In contrast to Lady Macbeth's straight forward serial killer tactics, Jack uses more of a fear and bullying technique to win over his followers. As the story progresses Jack learns to use the “beast” to strike fear into the hearts of the boys, and in turn take control of their behavior, a strong reminder of how religion and superstition can be wielded as devices of power. A great historic example of this is when Hitler convinced the German people that the Jews were the source of Germany's economic crisis. One example of this is when Jack says “'Quiet! You, listen, The beast is sitting up there, whatever it is-- Hunting,' said Jack. He remembered his age-old tremors in the forest. 'Yes, the beast is a hunter'” What the boys don't know is that the real beast lies within them, not the cave in the forest, the only person who knows this is Simon who soon falls to the hand of Jack's irrational and savage

In Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, both Macbeth and Ralph are persuaded by the illusion of power leading to the blindness to the truth of who really is in control however, the choice of how they want to obtain and maintain their power is in their hands, but while Shakespeare reveals the dark sides of obtaining power through violence and manipulation, Golding believes that violence only destroys civilization and that a working order will ultimately result in a better society. Initially, Macbeth from Macbeth reveals his thoughts on power and how much it means to him. Macbeth hears the witches prophecy about the power that is promised to him and it has him wondering the benefits of what the kingship will give him, and what he has to do to obtain it but he has “no spur to prick the side of [his] intent, but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself.”(1.7 25-28) Macbeth is already a thane in Scotland but that is not enough for him. He wants further control, his ambitions are overtaking his reasonable thought. He has no real justification for killing Duncan, he thinks the only reason is his want for power, he believes this is enough for him to commit the murder. This is revealing the amount of control that the illusion of power has over Macbeth, it is leading to him disobeying his values. Similarly, Ralph from Lord of the Flies seems to have his own plans of how things on the island should be run, with him as leader. When the boys are

Power is the ability to influence the behavior of others. In the Shakespeare play, Macbeth, and Dr. Seuss’ book, Yertle the Turtle, the characters demonstrated the actions and effects of how people behaved when they were in possession of power. They are usually arrogant and try to gain even more power. The theme of both works of writing were that the power was gained, abused or misused, and then lost. Power can make one so greedy they will do anything to acquire it. Lady Macbeth, for example, helped Macbeth’s ambition grow into something he used in a malicious way. Macbeth and Yertle were victims of power’s effects, which led to their downfall.

Power is the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events. When people have too much power it can lead to corruption. Macbeth’s power as king led to the corruption of Scotland and his downfall. He was given to much power which he acquired himself by killing Duncan because he believed he would be a better ruler. No one stopped him because they didn’t know the horrible deeds he done for sure and were scared to speak out in the fear of their lives. Too much power went to Macbeth’s head that he was paranoid that someone was out to take his crown away. He had many executed and left Scotland in a fearful state that was much different than when Duncan ruled. Macbeth did not see anything wrong because the only thing that mattered was him being and staying king. Macbeth’s political power as king made him jealous and led to the corruption of himself and Scotland that often ended in murders, therefore, emphasizing that too much power is a destructive,

Power is something most people strive to get when they don’t have it. Power is what runs the world now and has for a long time. The problem with power is that it corrupts. Through out time it’s posed a problem. Shakespeare’s drama Macbeth is a great example of how power will corrupt even at the thought of it.

The idea of power and especially political power has its many definitions, and is used, explored, and even exploited, featuring in all human experiences in the struggle for authority and dominance. The theme of power is widely explored in the two texts of Macbeth by Shakespeare, the famous

In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, power is portrayed in many instances. Macbeth was just the general of Thane of Glamis, when he was walking and came upon three witches. The witches stopped him and told him the prophecies of his life. Macbeth was taken in by the witches’ prophecies and his wife’s aspiration of him being king. He (Macbeth) was so intrigued by the news and what was to come that he began thinking of all the ways to become king.

Power is nothing to be handled lightly. As the lessons of history have shown, power can be implemented for the benefit of the subjects or for the personal furthering of the ruler. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, the main character is used as the antithesis of an exemplar for those in power over others. The perils of power are demonstrated by the actions of Macbeth through his rise to kingship, his time of ruling, and his fall.

Power has a negative effect on others because it can be abused in order to control people and things for the wrong reasons. For example, in the play ‘Antigone,’ the King of Thebes, Creon, has a full power of the city of Thebes. Once Antigone breaks a rule, Creon claims that he “will carry her far away. Out there in the wilderness, and lock her up.

In most superhero movies, the hero is forced to fight some sort of monster or villian that is terrorizing their city. Yet, often the hero has a inner conflict with themself on if they are able to fight the thing threatening them. Their greatest fear is not what this monster can to do them or their city, but rather what they have to become in order to defeat the monster. Throughout the play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, and the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, characters act to be afraid of the known, such as the supernatural or the future. The characters blame their own actions on their fear of the unknown, when in reality they actually fear what they have to become.

The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare shows the change in people when power gets in the way. While he was gaining fame and power Macbeth, also was losing his happiness and satisfaction. According to Macbeth “To be thus is nothing/But to be safety thus”. This shows that he thinks that to be the king is nothing if he is not safe and happy; but the more he is receiving the less he feels. This leads him to commit more immoral acts which obscure the clarity of his thought and does not make him realize the real destruction he is going to cause himself. His feelings get in the way of how he perceives the world around him which is changing rapidly. The power that Macbeth achieves through negative means prevents him from thinking clearly, and

After reading Lord of the Flies and Macbeth, and veiwng The Hunger Games, it is apparent that the each text shares common ideas. In particular, the theme of human nature is the most evident in the novel, play and the movie. Each of the texts reveals the innate evil within the nature of man through the actions of the characters in varying circumstances. Despite all three works being explored in different time periods, the common factor among them is that no matter the setting and the varying situations the characters find themselves in, a similarity exists in the way they carry themselves. All characters struggle to define themselves in their trials, yet ultimately become inhumane and savage as a result of their human nature.

Power can easily be used for negative purposes, however is difficult to utilize it in a positive nature. Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games explores re-humanization to resist the capitol’s negative power. Negative power is being explored in Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut to control the public’s abilities. Positive power is having the courage to resist something that oppresses. Doing something positive with power is hard, doing something negative with power is easy.