What can power do to someone? When granted the illusion of having control or power over someone or something, most people might take their authority a little too far. When told this, most individuals may disagree, claiming they would never let their power get to their head or that they would be a fair and cunning leader. Unfortunately, domination is just too much too handle and almost always takes people too far. This is clearly demonstrated in stories such as The Stanford Prison Experiment and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.
The Stanford Prison Experiment is a film about a group of scientists and psychologists who gather up young college boys and place them in a simulated prison, several boys acting as the guards and the rest acting as prisoners. Almost immediately after the experiment began, the guards turned extremely manipulative and violent because they think they can abuse their power and get away with it. It is not just the …show more content…
In an attempt to establish order and look for rescue, a boy named Ralph takes charge and insists the children need to keep a fire going to signal passing ships for help. Another boy named Jack, however, soon begins to grow hungry for power and tries to take Ralphs role as leader and when he finally convinces most of the boys on the island to join him, he becomes very violent and harsh, even though he claimed he just wanted to have fun and protect them from the assumed ‘beast.’ The want of power is just too much for him and he clearly demonstrates what the illusion of authority can do to someone. In this way, The Stanford Prison Experiment and Lord of the Flies explore very similar themes involving what happens to people when they have or thirst for power and how far it can take them. In conclusion, the illusion of power has proven to be too dangerous to handle and can corrupt anyone, young or