Power Corrupts Essay free essay sample

APower Corrupts All Essay Throughout our life, a normal person’s life, we will have someone who we follow or look up to. Those types of people could either be your boss, a president, or maybe even one of your parents. What if your boss suddenly told you that now every morning you come into work you had to leave a dollar at his office door for working for him? That would not make you very happy that it would cost you a dollar just to go to work. This is just one example of how power can corrupt anyone. Even the most gentle and honest people can be corrupt by power and the need to control others. In the Green Mile, Percy uses his ability to push around the criminals, who came into the Green Mile. In Animal Farm, the pigs are able to use their knowledge to control the other animals through fear and changing rules. We will write a custom essay sample on Power Corrupts Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Finally, in the Lord of the Flies, the children began as innocent and gentle children, but turn into savages who want to kill and control the other children, again, through the need to control others. In Animal Farm, Napoleon and Squealer use their superior minds, and perfectly executed persuasion, to control and rule the other animals of the farm. The first time they used this ability was to control the others in the meeting that was held in the barn. Snowball and Napoleon were arguing over the idea of building a windmill or whether it was a good idea, and were just worrying about whether or not their needs were going to be met. It looked like Snowball was going to win the argument to build the windmill, but then, after Napoleon gives a strange whistle, nine enormous dogs come charging into the barn and chase Snowball off the farm. After the dogs had chased Snowball off the farm, they returned to Napoleon’s side. Napoleon then said that there would be no more meetings, therefore no more debates, therefore no windmill. This would mean that Napoleon and the pigs would now be making all the decisions. Now that Napoleon had all control over the farm and its future, he was able to change the rules that were first set up when the farm was taken over by the animals, called the â€Å"Seven Commandments†. They basically stated that they should not be like humans and that animals should do no harm to other animals. These rules were quickly broken by Napoleon and the pigs. The most important rule of all the seven rules were that â€Å"All animals are equal†, but this was changed near the end of the book to â€Å"All animals are equal but some are more equal than others†. This is important because it meant now that Napoleon and his fellow pig members were now ‘more equal† really meaning more important, than all of the other animals. This meant now that Napoleon had complete control over all the other animals and could now have them do whatever he wants. In the Lord of the Flies, the children who crash landed on the island, begin to lose control of themselves and turn into savages. Two children, who were named Ralph and Jack, fight over who will be the leader. Ralph, the first child to take control of the children through the use of the â€Å"giant conch†, and his new friend Piggy, want the children to form a camp and sustain life by eating the fruit that the island was offering them. Jack, a rogue child, who only wants to control the children and hunt for food, begins to offer the children meat instead of just fruit. This makes the children become more close and friendly towards Jack. Jack uses this power later in the book to raid Ralph’s camp and take Piggy’s glasses which are used to make a fire. Piggy’s glasses are thought to possess power because the glasses can make fires. Ralph decides the next morning that they will travel to Castle Rock, the home of Jack’s tribe, and request them to return Piggy’s glasses. Ralph brings the conch and when they reach the castle he blows it to get the attention of the guards. Jack returns from a hunt and tells Ralph to leave his camp, but Ralph refuses until Piggy’s glasses are returned back to him. Jack and Ralph begin to fight each other. Jack orders his men to capture Eric and Sam and to tie them up. Ralph becomes enraged at this and attacks Jack once again. While they fight, Roger pushes a boulder down the hill, but Ralph dodges it, but Piggy is not as lucky, and is struck by the rock which throws him off the edge of the mountain and breaks the conch into a million pieces. This ends the importance that the holder of the conch be the leader since there is no longer a conch. Jack then throws a spear at Ralph, and then captures Eric and Sam, whom he tortures until they join him. This scene shows how Jack has lost control of himself and has forgotten that they are all children who are scared and just want to make it home safe. In the Green Mile, Percy uses his ability to push around the other criminals who are chained up and can do nothing about it. Percy is thought to be a bad person throughout the Green Mile. He works at a penitentiary called Cold Mountain Penitentiary. One of his jobs is to escort the new death row criminals onto the â€Å"Green Mile†. One time he does this in the book, is when he is walking Delacroix onto the â€Å"Green Mile†. As Delacroix is getting out of the van he was put in to transport him there, he trips, because Percy is pulling him too fast and he accidently grabs onto the genitals of Percy in an attempt to break his fall. Percy is enraged by this and uses his baton to beat Delacroix. Percy again uses his power over Delacroix during his execution. Now, before the cap is placed onto the criminals head, a wet sponge is supposed to be placed onto the forehead. This acts as a conductor so that all the electricity passes through the skin and goes to the prisoner’s brain to make the execution quick and painless. Percy did not do this, but not because he forgot to do it, but because he wanted to have revenge for Delacroix laughing after he had urinated himself when he was scared. Now, since he had left out the wet sponge, when the electric chair was turned on, Delacroix’ face burst into flames and he began to scream in pain. It was one of the most gruesome executions that Paul, the Warden of the â€Å"Green Mile†, had ever been a part of. Percy regretted what he did, but was still happy that he had got his revenge using the power he had to lead the execution. You may say, well why didn’t anybody say anything after Percy did all these horrible things? Well, it is because Percy used the old and I quote from the Green Mile, â€Å"my uncle is the governor so if you say anything I’ll make sure you are on the breadline by the end of the week†. By doing this Percy was able to make sure that he both didn’t get beat up by the other guards and also to be able to stay at the â€Å"Green Mile†, or to continue to stay in power. These three books are all examples of how power can and does corrupt someone’s thoughts and mind. Even the most innocent of children in Lord of the Flies were able to be corrupted by power. Some people enjoy having power though, like Percy. He enjoyed controlling the prisoners and having the ability to beat them. Then there is Napoleon, he used his intelligent mind and changing the rules to control the other animals. Power is something that only people who have the ability to reject the temptations that comes with having power. That is why people should just stay away from power in general.