I got the power

Power is the ability to control a person’s life in a way in which the person being controlled has no say. Power is earned rightfully, sometimes. Most of the times, people use wrong ways to earn power which is never theirs to begin with. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." (Acton). This quote is a representation of the story Macbeth, and how the character Macbeth is corrupted by power. In William Shakespeare’s novel, Macbeth, a tragic story of a hero, displays this dominant theme of power. Macbeth, a loyal, respected, and strong leader becomes the prey of his wife, who forces him to obtain power. However, Macbeth’s sense of losing his power that he has just attained causes him to utilize his own mind to ensure that he does not lose that power, leading him to make the wrong decisions. This story demonstrates that excessive desire for power can corrupt a person’s life.

The start of Lady Macbeth’s manipulation and the witches’ prophecies is what triggers the later negative outcomes of power as seen in the story Macbeth. Macbeth, a character who is loyal and innocent develops into a completely different character when the desire for power takes over. This starts with the witches in act I, scene III, page 6 when the witches say, “All hail, Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter!” (Scene III, 6). Their prediction leads Macbeth to ponder over the thought of him being king. When his wife finds out, she begins plotting on how to make Macbeth king. She says, “Come, you spirits and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty” she did not care about Macbeth, but the power that she yearned for. Lady Macbeth filled up her mind with negative thoughts, so she cou...

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...ide people to corruption as portrayed in Macbeth. When people have power, then tend to utilize it in the wrong way, choosing the wrong decisions. One example of power seen in society is the power of society over the government. The society has the ability to use their power to manipulate the government. An article by Lin Chia-fan, talks about the influence of society over government. After an innocent young man died by abuse from military personnel, 250,000 people protested in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. This demonstrates that the society has the power to cause change in society. Power is vital, only if it is used right. In Macbeth, power was used negatively leading to Macbeth’s corruption because of his misuse of power. In today’s society power is used both negatively and positively depending on what the person or society is trying to convey or do.