Power has been the single most fought over thing since the beginning of time. The ability to control, own and do as you please are things that even the most simpleminded human desires. We were born with greed and envy pre-installed into the moment we popped out of the womb. As children we always wanted our parent’s full attention even if we had siblings. We wanted them to be “my parents” instead of our parents. As we grew so did those ideals. In school we wanted the best grades, in order to get into the best colleges and make the most money possible. This idea has been the same for generations before us; the idea of having more power, no, all the power. This is an idea that although sounds very pleasing, when acted on as a life goal will always
Pride often leads to someone’s downfall - this idea has been developed from the playwright “Oedipus the king” through Rey’s interactive oral presentation. He discussed that Oedipus’ excessive pride over his knowledge due to solving riddles allows him to not listen to others including the respected Prophet , his dear relative Kreon - he seldom pays heed to them and decides to pursue further for searching the predecessor’s murderer . His own path opens up hidden , dark truth about his life. From the presentation it has been evident that Oedipus was not smart enough to realize that the path he set for himself, will eventually bring nothing but pain.
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. Over the course of the play, power causes Macbeth to turn from honorable to cruel which leads to his downfall.
The famous play “Oedipus The King” written by Sophocles a Greek Tragedian is a perfect example of predestinarianism, the belief that whatever is to happen is already fixed and cannot be avoided. This is very strongly supported by the story as multiple prophecies stated that Laius would be killed by his own son, and Oedipus will marry his own mother. Each one of these prophecies led to each others fulfillments.
Although Augustine’s Confessions is often viewed as the personal account of Augustine’s personal spiritual development, the implications on education made throughout this text are of key importance. Despite receiving one of the finest educations available in his day, Augustine is often very critical of it. His childhood education leaves him completely disordered and disoriented, and distant from God; however, Cicero’s Hortensius marks a fundamental transformation in Augustine and his conception of knowledge. Augustine’s intellectual development draws fundamental questions on what constitutes a good education, and more importantly the purpose of an education [and its relation to human happiness].
Throughout history, power has been one of the most desirable, yet, difficult to obtain traits that a person can hold. Possessing power gives a certain advantage to the holder over all others. When a person obtains power, that person has the ability to carry out an action or has the capacity to direct or influence the behavior of others or a course of events. Power can be interpreted into many different meanings. Power can be described as mental, as in, a very intelligent person has the power to influence others and events with their thoughts and ideas, or, power could be described as something physical, as in, a person has the power to lift, move, or fight someone or something, influencing the thoughts of others by their own actions. In the
Over the course of a lifetime, humans experience many different types of emotions. They come about by your thoughts. Happiness, excitement and joy are caused by an increase in serotonin levels, and by thoughts of what one considers to be pleasant. Anxiousness, depression and guilt are also emotions humans experience, but they are caused by a drop in serotonin levels. Rage and anger are also among some of the most common emotions that affect humans. It is a psychological feeling described as “ an emotion characterized by antagonism toward someone or something you feel has deliberately done you wrong.” (“Anger and Aggression”). There are different types, but they are caused by a triggering situation and, they all have different causes and ways to calm yourself down. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus himself shows signs of, self inflicted anger, volatile anger and chronic anger.
The early days of Greek storytelling had incorporated the themes and lessons into the stories. One of the most common themes is the human condition. The human condition is a popular theme for the reason to relate an event or journey to anyone. A person can view this theme as a lesson or reflection to events in their own lives to prevent a horrible event or have their aristeia. Ego is one common human condition that is examined throughout Greek Myths which is Ego. Ego is the concept of what a person thinks of oneself compared to our people. Greek Myths show ego as the cause of human problems through the mythological characters obstructions in a journey. The human condition of ego and the effect is seen in Oedipus the King and the Odyssey.
Several facets of the manner which Odysseus employs in his efforts to achieve his goal of reclaiming his power in Ithaca would be commended by Machiavelli. Judging the success of a prince by only considering the outcome of their actions is a theory Machiavelli poses on page 86 of The Prince. This particular passage at the top of the page explicates that it is not prudent to judge a prince on the means by which they came about their success; one is only to judge the ultimate result. Here, Machiavelli makes the argument that a prince must do whatever is necessary to secure and maintain power. This principle is prevalent in examining some of the actions of Odysseus on his journey to regaining his power. One such instance is when Odysseus resolves to conceal from the crew the fate that awaits a selection of their members when they sail beneath the cave
Alexandre Dumas once said, “Hatred is blind; rage carries you away; and he who pours out vengeance runs the risk of tasing a bitter draught.” In the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, Oedipus saves the city of Thebes from the Sphinx by solving its riddle. He becomes ruler of the kingdom, but reigns with a blind fury which ends up badly for him. Oedipus responds poorly when he is put into difficult situations and lashes out in anger. Showing that Oedipus is unfit to rule the people of Thebes and is ineffective as their leader.
How does one acquire power? Well according to multiple sources, it really isn’t that difficult. Follow a few simple steps and you are on your way to becoming the most powerful person in the world. But why do we want power, and what makes it attractive? Why as human beings, are we so focused on ruling over others and getting what we want when we want it? All questions that we may not know the answers to, but ones we all have. It’s simply in our nature to want power. Power is what our world runs on. Literally.
Another action where Oedipus’s sense of pride led to his downfall is during the beginning to the play. When the plague is happening and his people is suffering because of his compassion for his people, he sent Creon to go to Delphi. When he learned that he have to investigate the murder of King Laius, he quickly without thinking curses the murderer, unknowingly cursing himself “I curse that murderer; if he is alone, I curse him! If he shares his guilt with others, I curse him! May His evil heart beat out its years in sorrow,” (pg 193).
He was the figure of fun; he was always clumsy and awkward. Britain had resisted Roman rule for over a century, but was conquered by Claudius, who created client kingdoms to protect the frontier. He had succeeded where Caesar had failed. Although not the preferred choice of the Senate, Claudius proved to be an efficient emperor. His first act was to execute Cassius Chaerea and his co-conspirators, the assassins of Caligula. He brought relative peace to Rome with the restoration of the rule of law. He built a new harbor at Ostia established an imperial civil service, and brought about agrarian reform. He reclaimed land by draining the Fucine Lake in Central Italy. He abolished the treason trials of Caligula and expanded the empire further into the Middle East and the Balkans.
Power can be the ability to both demand or request that people do something, and to say how a task should be done or organised. People yearn for qualities that make them feel powerful over the rest of society, aching to be smarter, faster, and stronger than their peers. While trying to be the best, the value of humility is overlooked or forgotten, because it is in our nature to be prideful and in control. What is power? Power is control, and the inclination to act, in either a good or bad manner.
Moreover, Power Corrupt (n.d.) explained that power turns people to be powerful people with bad behaviors and be men who are above the law. People might seek for power to gain their particular aims, such as higher position in