effects of power

Attaining power in works of literature can be a very effective way to bring a character to life. Once a character gains power, the reader sees their true personality, whether that is a good or evil personality. Power can bring people together and provide happiness or destroy a person and cause chaos. Many works of literature contain characters that are affected by power. Some characters are affected for the better while others are destroyed by the effects of power. The destructive effects of power are evident through characters in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Xanadu by Audrey Thomas, and Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The first effect of power on characters was made evident in the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. One character who was affected by power was Roger. His power was made evident when Golding wrote: High overhead, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever. Ralph heard the great rock long before he saw it. He was aware of a jolt in the earth that came to him through the soles of his feet, and the breaking sound of stones at the top of the cliff. Then the monstrous red thing bounded across the neck and he flung himself fat while the tribe shrieked. The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee. (Golding 200)
Roger wanted everyone on the island to know that he did have power. Roger chose to demonstrate this power by killing Piggy. Roger’s desire for power made him kill an innocent person who was always trying to help out. The next character who was affected by power was Jack. Jack showed his power when he led his tribe to hunt. Jack said, “‘I cut the pig’s throat,’ said Jack, proudly… ‘We had to have them in the hunt,’ he said, ‘or they wouldn’t have been enough for a ring’” (Golding 73). Jack used the power he had over the tribe to hunt. He made the tribe believe he had more authority than Ralph. Because the tribe did everything Jack said, the tribe followed him on the hunt