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Comparison Of Power In Lord Of The Flies, And The Princess Bride

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“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power”. In other words, this quote by Abraham Lincoln, means that power can reveal a person’s true character. One can see how this is true in the writing of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and William Goldman's The Princess Bride. By analyzing the actions of the characters of Macbeth, Jack and the character of Inigo, it is evident how power can change people. Macbeth goes to drastic lengths to become king with his greed for power, Jack creates a savage world with the willingness to do anything for power, yet, Inigo uses the power he gains through determination and training to avenge his father’s death.

In Macbeth, …show more content…

At first he thinks that just being the lead singer in the choir back at school should be enough to make him the chief. "A chief! A chief! "I ought to be chief," said Jack with simple arrogance, "because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp." (Lord of the Flies 1.229-231) However, he loses the vote and although Ralph asks Jack to lead the hunters, he is still furious. Not only is Jack power hungry, he is jealous of Ralph’s authority. He becomes obsessed with hunting. "I painted my face—I stole up. Now you eat—all of you—" (Lord of the Flies 4.191) Jack did kill the pig and get the meat. This implies that he is a good leader, but forcing the other boys to eat it should not give him power. It makes him more like a dictator. The other boys are under his influence and go wild after this. Jack is crazy with power on the night Simon in killed. He has worked his tribe up chanting and dancing during the storm and when Simon appears they attack and kill him. This act of savagery shows just how Jack’s power has evolved. Along with the death of Simon, Jack plans to hunt and kill Ralph. “They’re going to hunt you tomorrow.”( ) Sam and Eric relay this message to him while in fear of their own safety. Power has totally changed Jack. He is nothing more than a savage beast

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In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, because of three defining moments, Jack changed the most out of all the boys. The first of the moments that changed him occurred in the beginning of the novel on page 23 when Ralph was chosen to be the chief of the boys instead of Jack. Jack was upset at not being chief, but he still took a position of leadership by making the choir boys the hunters and volunteering to be in charge of them. Ralph says “Jack’s in charge of the choir. They can be-what do you want them to be?’’

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The Painted Idol: Jack’s Rise to Power[gfbvnmj in Lord of the Flies “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.” (Abraham Lincoln) Every man has a natural thirst for power and the opportunity to have an impact on his world and his life. This is natural and has led to many great things throughout history, as many virtuous people have harnessed it for benevolent purposes, but just as many have fallen to its influence, which inevitably brings destruction in its wake. William Golding’s allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies, illustrates how man can be tempted, seduced, and defiled by power and potential for an impact. It does this through Jack’s creation of the mask and use of it to hunt but

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When Jack and his hunters relentlessly kill him it is the first time readers truthfully see evil overpower good. Now that the once Christ-figure is dead their devilish traits start to escape them. Even Piggy, someone who is portrayed as wise and kind, tries to justify for Simon’s murder when he says, “It was dark. There was that- that bloody dance. There was lightning and thunder and rain.

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All Jack can think about is hunting rather than helping Ralph and the others build shelters and make a signal

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Everyone, at one point in their lives has wanted power more than anything. Those who do get it have to make the decision whether they want to use it for good or evil. Power can turn a person into something they never dreamed they would become because it starts to take over their lives and people do not know what to do with so much power. There are many examples of power in the play Macbeth and every person that got it used it in very different ways. This caused many changes in people from turning from good to evil or evil to good.

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