<p>Hey guys,
I'll be taking the SAT this saturday and I really need some last tips on the essay! Please take a look at this one and tell me what can be improved!
Thanks!</p>
<p>Are people’s actions motivated primarily by a desire for power over others?</p>
<p>In most cases, people’s actions are motivated by selfish desires because it is human nature to do so. People will always act to gain control over someone or over something. The Enron scandal, Iago from the play Othello best exemplify this.</p>
<pre><code>In 2001, the world watched with bewilderment as top executives from the Enron corporation were sent to jail for fraud. These men, although already very wealthy and very powerful, through financial schemes hid billions of dollars of debt for their own selfish goals. To further expand their power, these senior executives from the Houston based company were willing to commit crimes for petty reasons. One could say that these men had it all, nice cars, big houses and most importantly power. But apparently that wasn’t enough. They wanted more and were ready to do anything for it. This is just one case, but it is fair to say that most act like this, act for selfish reasons and mostly act to be powerful.
Examples of people who committed crimes to acquire power over others exist in literature as well. The character Iago from Othello, just like the top executives from the Enron Corporation acted deviously to regain power over an other. Iago deftly plotted a plan to manipulate Othello so that would give him a promotion instead of giving it to Cassio. Iago’s actions were motivated by nothing else but this desire to be more influential. Iago wanted to be in control, he wanted Cassio as his subordinate and not as his superior. To achieve this, he concocted a plan to make Othello believe Cassio was making him a cuckold. Iago’s actions could only have been motivated by something that somehow controls us all. That something is human nature. Since humans have been living on earth, they have always had a person in charge, a person in a position of authority. This position, the most coveted of them all, will always have people lining up to take it. Most will do anything to get it. Whether it be hiding billions of dollars of debt or manipulating people, one will always have some action that, if it works, will propel him or her to the top.
Again, people seem to have an everlasting desire to be the number one. This competition for the first place pushes people to do things. This competition is what motivates most humans. This competition is the reason most people aren’t too surprised when they hear about some person who did something to further his or her own power.
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