Power. A word that usually comes a negative connotation, but why? The reason could be that people have this predisposed believe that with power comes corruption, but that may not be the case. What if it is not power that creates corruption, but the fear of losing it?John steinbeck seems to think so. “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts….. perhaps the fear of loss of power.” John Steinbeck has lot to say about power in the quote above, but is it true?Does corruption really come from the fear of losing power? I believe so. There have been numerous rulers who used power for their own selfish desires, but there have also been those who used their power for the improvement of the world. Power itself is not the enemy to blame. Take today's society
Power has a negative effect on those who are in power. It has a negative effect, because it causes unnecessary harm. For example, many leaders throughout history have used their power to demonstrate absolute control. In Antigone, Creon used his power in a negative way.
eThe Effects of Power Power. It is waved around carelessly because the people that have it want to use it. They believe they can control events or people just because they may be in a high position. Power can corrupt individuals and cause them to act differently. The novels Fahrenheit 451 and The Wave demonstrate how power can change people or communities.
In the classic American novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, power is a recurring theme. Most of the characters have direct ties to power, whether it is physical, social, economic, or intellectual. But the author balances their powers with flaws. Lennie, a main character, has a lot of physical power. Yet due to his mental disability, he does not understand the consequences of his actions.
In Of Mice and Men, the author, John Steinbeck suggests that power has a negative and corrupting affect on humans. After Lennie’s Aunt Clara dies, George and Lennie go out to find work together, and George is very mean to Lennie, taking advantage of Lennie’s mental disability. When George and Lennie start traveling together, George has “a hell of a lot of fun with ‘im [….] play[s] jokes on ‘im ‘cause he [is] too dumb” (40) and the jokes “make [him] seem God damn smart alongside him” (40). The usage of the word “fun” to describe George’s tormenting of Lennie indicates that his jokes were meant for his own pleasure. Even the usage of the word fun in this context makes the joking seem almost sadistic and cruel.
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck power is revealed in multiple ways. Power is shown as an ultimate decider in who is respected and left out. The many different characters show their power and how they gain it, in various ways which is demonstrated throughout the novel. Power can sometimes be visible to the reader and sometimes can be hidden. Ultimately, power can decipher who you are, how much respect you receive, and where you stand among others financially, morally or socially.
Power Power is the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality. Power is the a man made weapon designed to destroy man. Men have constantly been developing more powerful weapons since the dawn of time just to outclass one another and be on top. World wide tension is built on who has the most powerful weapon and who can build an even more powerful weapon next. In the wrong hands, power is catastrophic.
Power/Powerlessness “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts…perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” This quote is powerful in itself being it comes from a notable individual who has witnessed the copious forms of power and drafted several novels in association with it, John Steinbeck. I agree with Steinbeck’s quote on the grounds that it is coming from a typical, everyday person that people can relate to.
But first what is Power? When researching Power words such as authority, control, direct, command and influence all appear. These words all support the following statement “Power is the ability to influence and control the behaviour of others.” The problem with power is that it often leads to those in power abusing it. As Lord Acton famously quoted “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
John Steinbeck a powerful writer once said “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… Perhaps the fear of a loss power”. This quote by John Steinbeck basically means that sometimes the thought of the loss of power can inflict fear and that would basically lead to corruption. The fear of the loss of that power would corrupt the persons mind and they would eventually want more power.
In the quote by John Steinbeck “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of power”. This quote interests me because the quote itself does not say much but the meaning of the quote does. Some people may only agree with the quote, and others may only disagree. I agree and disagree with quote in a few different ways.
Luis Nolberto 10.25.15 English/3 The Pearl: Chapter 3-5 Centers Writing Center: Corruption According to John Steinbeck, “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… Perhaps the fear of loss power,” Of course, this quote means different things to different people.
Power can be extremely corruptive. When a person is given a certain amount of power they start to feel like they can do anything they’d like with it, and many tend to abuse of it. Zimbardo talks about how people are most likely to do “evil” when they are given power without the responsibility of the damage it will make. During an experiment, one person was chosen to be a teacher and the other a student, the teacher had to shock the student when they’d get the answer wrong and reward them if correct. During this experiment the more wrong answers, the shock would increase.
Others seek power for their own self-serving needs. Self-serving can be defines as selfish, or a need that will not help anyone other than one’s own self. Most of the literature written in England during the 18th century is romance literature. During this period of time, the emphasis on emotions was great. Many characters in literature felt realistic emotions, such as, feeling selfish, angry, jealous, and revengeful.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Power changes the way people act. Power has a negative effect on others because King Creon became a bad king and Hitler used it to lie and kill people. Power had a negative effect because Creon became a bad king. Creon won’t let Antigone bury her own brother.
The Pearl book is filled with great examples of greed and the absence of greed. Three character, I believe that represent greed the most are Juana, Kino and the Doctor. Juana dose not represent greed she represents the absence of greed. The doctor represents things people will do because of greed. Kino, represent how greed can ruin a mans life.