The nature of power can undoubtedly corrupt the human mind, as power in itself manifest our inability to develop a way of thinking and thought process that is rational and logical. This can have a profound impact on the individual and society, as ones over ambitiousness can create a lack of moral consciousness, which ultimately results in a corrupt human mind. Effectively, a sense of power and corruption becomes reflected in the social and ideological part of society. This belief is further strengthened by the way human dignity is revealed in the world in which we live. Within both William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ and Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda’, we have distinct concepts and ideas about power and corruption.
Power and corruption both have the capacity to influence the mind of the individual in accepting forms of truth and potentially seeking to manipulate their truths to others. In the play ‘Macbeth’, the themes of power and corruption are revealed to the audience as a way of representing the inevitable downfall of Macbeth through both his actions and his uncontrollable obsession for power. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is able to gain power when he successfully defeats the Thane of Cawdor. This becomes problematic as the witches begin to take over his mind, resulting in him believing that whatever has been said to him is true. For example, when Macbeth states, “Two truths are told as happy prologues to the swelling act of th’imperial theme”, the audience is able to see Macbeth’s eagerness and ambition to gain a sense of power and ultimately seek to become king. The effective use of alliteration in this instance places into context the potential hidden motives behind Macbeth in gaining power and ambition. Furthermore, we are able to see Macbeth’s ambition and power through Lady Macbeth’s views and her ability to reflect on her husband character. She is profoundly aware of her husband’s ambition, yet she believes her husband is not capable of any ruthless forms of behavior like others who would place morality to the side to seek greatness. This particular reference from Lady Macbeth toward her husband reveals that she believes his character is true and also that she knows her husband quite well. This is evidently highlighted when she states: “Thou wouldst be great,/ Art not without ambition, but without/ The illness should attend it”. In this instance, Lady Macbeth is placing into context that whilst her husband wants to be king, he is unwilling to do any dirty work in order to achieve his goal. The powerful repetition of the word ‘thou’ develops a connection between the audience and Macbeth in her attempt to convince them that her husband is honest and truthful. This effectively highlights that power and corruption have the capability to bring out the worst in the individual.
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Power can more often than not be distributed and represented in a way that captures readers’ attention. In Dahl’s ‘Matilda’, the representation of power and corruption is highlighted in distinctive form, for instance, we are presented with the evil like character of Miss Trunchbull, the principle who abuses her sense of entitlement and projects a sense of power that overtakes the mindset of the individual. In contrast, Matilda is viewed to have forms of superpowers which doesn’t necessarily allow her to gain an advantage over others, but rather foreshadows a distinct worldly perspective. Within the novel, Miss Trunchbull is viewed as an individual who abuses her power when she states to Amanda Thripp: “What are those?”. In this particular instance, Miss Trunchbull is referring to Amanda’s pigtails, which results in the reader feeling a sense of uneasiness and sympathy towards Amanda. The use of rhetorical questioning allows the reader to engage in the power-driven motives of Miss Trunchbull and her approach towards teachers and students. Similarly, the corrupt and dishonest nature of individuals within society is reflected through Matilda’s father taking advantage of any situation that arises. The powerful use of dialogue between Matilda and her father is exemplified when she states, “It’s cheating”, with her father responding, “No-one ever got rich being honest”. This particular conversation mirrors how corruption can result in an immoral way of thinking where the individual has no guilt for their actions and takes a sense of pride in their manipulative behavior.
Effectively both texts ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Matilda’ reveal the inconsistencies involved with respects to power and corruption and how they have the capacity to negatively influence the human mind and the ability to make rational decisions. Both texts have distinctive types of power within characters such as Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Miss Trunchbull and Matilda. These characters employ their own sense of power in order to gain a sense of control over their own destiny and others. The effective use of the complicated metaphor by Macbeth, “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erlaps itself and falls on th’other”, allows us to understand that Macbeth has become self-reflective as to his motives and ambitions in murdering King Duncan and his unwillingness to move forward with his plan. This conveys that power has the capacity to corrupt the individual’s mind. Similarly, the power-driven nature of Miss Trunchbull in the novel ‘Matilda’ is reinforced when she states: “I shall personally see to it that you are put away in a place were not even the crows can land their droppings on you”. The powerful use of first person in this instance portrays the belief that power and corruption has overtaken the mind of Miss Trunchbull and her disturbing characteristics are being represented for everyone to see. This highlights that power can profoundly corrupt the individual’s mind.
In essence, it can be said that power in itself can corrupt the individual’s mind. Both Shakespeare and Dahl’s texts represent how individuals’ minds can become distorted through gaining a sense of power, which results in a corrupt sense of greed that leads the individual to become immersed in themselves and their power-driven motives. Hence power and corruption are profoundly interconnected, and were not just a part of Elizabethan society, but also are reflected in texts such as ‘Matilda’, which are still present in today’s modern world.
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