Ian Thomas

English 9 Honors
Mrs. Cox P.5
7 April 2015

The Power of Ambition

Throughout history, people have fought and strived to be in the places which they wound
up. Many important and impactful people in history such as Martin Luther King Jr., Albert
Einstein, and Steve Jobs went through this process during their lives. This trait of sorts is
formally known as ambition. Ambition is the driving force which helps guide someone to their
goals if they desire success. Its an extremely powerful thing and can become dangerous if
expressed too much or used by a person with evil motives, which history has many examples of.
The centuries-old tale of Macbeth is a textbook way of showing how ambition can go bad, as
Macbeths desire to be king drove him mad and led to the death of him and his wife and
accomplice Lady Macbeth. Going back to evil figures in history, many of these ambitious
villains had originally been normal people until their passion drove them to madness. One of the
more notorious individuals in this category is Adolf Hitler. Hitler began as a simple Austrian
politician before his thirst for power consumed him, causing him to transform Germany into a
totalitarian powerhouse and start World War II, the bloodiest war to date. Another example is
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Mussolini also started as a normal politician, but just as Hitler
did, he became power-crazy and took over his country, eventually creating an alliance with Nazi
Germany, Japan, and other smaller countries to form the axis powers of WWII. Now on to some
good cases of ambition. A great man who most of you may know as Martin Luther King Jr.is the

perfect illustration of a positive ambitious figure. I say this because he managed to convince
nearly an entire nation that segregation was ruining the United States and the African American
population should be truly free. This was no easy task, however, as the U.S. had lived this way
for hundreds of years, so after leading his followers from Selma to Montgomery and enduring a
series of race fueled acts of violence, he gave his I have a dream speech, changing the
American way of life almost single-handedly. Another person similar to MLK would be George
Washington. Before becoming president, George Washington was a general for the Colonial
Army. This was the band of militants that battled Englands mighty royal army during the
Revolutionary War. The colonials were extreme underdogs and were seen as an easy opponent by
the British. Despite immense doubt about his leadership abilities, Washington fought hard and
led an improbable victory against King George III and his men. To wrap things up, these men the
true power of ambition, whether it be good or bad. It overtakes every other feeling someone is
having and can either lead them to failure or ultimate success.