Power is an extremely seductive force. Once an individual has experienced the sense of authority that power can bring, the appeal is so great that he will stop at nothing to gain greater power. Man has been known to lie, cheat, and steal in order to acquire power. He has even been known to murder for power. The desire for power plays a major role of Shakespeare's story of Macbeth, a tragic figure who seeks greater power, destroys those around him to gain power, and in the end is destroyed by his own greed, as well as in the life of Richard Millhouse Nison, the brilliant, yet self-destructive, thirty-seventh president of the United States, who unnecissarily ruins his presidency through is won greed. Somilarited and differances can be seen in Macbeth's and Nixon's rise and fall from power.
Richard Nixon's and Macbeth's rise to power has much in common, yet several differances can be noted as well. Because of his courage and stature, Macbeth already obtain the title of Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor. After he had discovered that the witches" prophosies were true, this motivated him to do evil things to get the power he desired. In order for him to get teh crown, King Duncan had to die, so Macbeth simply murders him in his sleep. At first, Macbeth does not want to commit this evil crimes, but Lady Macbeth pressures him into doing things that he would normally not do Once she sees that Macbeth's ambition in inflamed, she will stop at nothing to see that he obtains the crown, but she knows that Macbeth's conscience will stand in the way of his own ambition. She understands him well: "Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o" th" milk of juman kindness to catch the nearest way.:" (1.5.17-19). As for Nixon, he moved his authority leven over a period of many years. He was first Lieutenant Commander in the Navy. On leaving the service, he was elected to congrass form his California district (http://www.
