Absolute Power Corrupts Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

“Absolute power corrupts”, quoted from the musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, shows that if someone, a ruler or dictator, has too much or all the power and control over people, corruption or civil disorder is inevitable. In the novel by William Golding, Lord of the Flies, a group of boys establish a monarchy that becomes ephemeral and slowly falls apart. Similarly, in the poem “To A Mouse”, by Robert Burns, a superior farmer’s power causes great despair and loss for an inferior mouse. Comparably, three eighteenth-century philosophers: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau have similar ideas about power. Both stories and the ideas/beliefs of the philosophers share the theme of power and control, and both stories convey the message that absolute

Hobbes believes that you must give up some of your rights to be protected by the government, and the best form of government is absolute monarchy. Contrasting Hobbes's philosophy, John Locke believes that all people are equal, and deserve the rights to life, liberty and property. Locke also believes that the best form of government is representative of the people. Similar to Hobbes's and antithesis Locke’s ideas, Jean-Jacque Rousseau believes that people are unequal in general. Rousseau believes that each person gives up their rights to the majority opinion, which is incorporated into the law by the form of government, dictatorship. The connection between the two pieces of literature, Lord of the Flies and “To A Mouse”, is the corruption and chaos or despair that comes from absolute power. Burn’s message in “To A Mouse” is that one man’s supreme, absolute power or authority destroys the natural union from one living being to another. This message holds true for both Lord of the Flies and “To A Mouse”. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph and/or Jack’s absolute power destroyed the friendship and union in the boys and they quickly turn on each