Ambitions are the desires of humans that demands to be achieved or done. Being too ambitious can sometimes lead to the opposite of our aims. People in the past had a thought that excess in ambition would only lead to corruption. However, people nowadays believe that the more ambitious you are the greater you will achieve or become. Is it true, will excess in ambition lead to downfall or not?
The ambition for satisfaction can consume a person’s entire existence to themselves and others. Although having ambition is considered a good thing, it can be taken too far and hurt others around us. Ambition can get in the way of how people perceive others feelings and might not see how it affects others like how in The Great Gatsby, Gatsby's ambition for Daisy was so strong that he didn’t stop to think about how the situation was affecting her. Gatsby went and told Tom that Daisy never loved him, and that hurt Daisy because she did love Tom at one point.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare and The Crucible by Arthur Miller share a common theme in that when humans attempt to pursue their ambitions they become easily corruptible. What is ambition? Google defines ambition as a strong desire to do or achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work. The idea that human ambition is easily corruptible is true both in 11th century Scotland, in 16th century Salem and in the 21st century that we live in today. Ambition drives us to do things outside of the social norm.
One way ambition is presented in a negative way is by Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is one of the most ambitious character who wants to achieve power and can do anything to achieve it. Just after she received the letter from Macbeth she is obsessed with power. Lady Macbeth is really ambitious to become the queen as she convinces Macbeth to kill the King she does this by questioning Macbeth on his
“Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings” is a quote by Salvador Dali expressing the importance of ambition. Ambition is the greatest trait shown by the human race, driving innovation and creativity, which helps to change the world. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley shows the ambition of scientist Victor Frankenstein, who unknowingly, tested the boundaries of science and created something that would inevitably bring his demise. Without the creation of the monster, there would be no way of telling whether or not it was the correct course of action to do so. While ambition blinds the ethical aspect of choices made by scientists, there is a more central theme to the story.
Basic ambition is not essentially good or bad, but simply is. However, Promethean ambition, which involves a human pretending to be God. Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, significantly open up a sentiment of ideas regarding Promethean ambition. William Shakespeare introduces Macbeth as a combatant hero, who becomes king by altering God’s plan. When Victor Frankenstein is astray in his studies he isolates himself from human society.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley tells the story of passionate scientist Victor Frankenstein, whose devotion to science leads him to become obsessed with creating life, but his good intentions lead to a lifelong conflict with his problematic creation. This creature causes pain and suffering for Victor by killing his friends and family, which causes him to feel responsible for their deaths. Ambition’s dark and addictive side got the best of Victor, who became blinded by dreams of glory. Similarly, Don Quixote fails to identify the risks of ambition while exploring Spain. He wants to be a famous knight so badly that he begins to hallucinate obstacles that he must conquer.
Rapid industrialization has led to the widespread destruction of the natural wilderness around us. In President Jimmy Carter’s foreword to “Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land, A Photographic Journey” by Subhankar Banerjee, he describes the picturesque scenery of the Arctic refuge and with it’s one in a million biodiversity, the need to protect it from development of industries and its negative side effects. The author starts his discussion by describing ‘America’s Serengeti’, its inhabitants and their surroundings. He personifies the animals with almost human like behavior – connecting with his audience’s emotions and grabbing their attention instantly.
“If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us” Adlai E. Stevenson. The politician explains his perception of creativity in this quote along with its connection to ambition by relating determination and faith to the discovery of knowledge. He believes that nothing can restrict our drive to seek information when one entirely devotes himself to the pursuit. Similarly, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton, and the creature all attempt to acquire arcane knowledge at any and all costs. Their ambition drives them to take risks and even put the lives of themselves and others on the line.
Ambition is a natural part of human existence, every person has it at least a little. It is when ambition grows too large and takes control of us that it becomes dangerous. It becomes obsessive and soon nothing will stop the person obsessed. Just by looking around at our world today, one can clearly see the results of unchecked ambition. Unchecked ambition can be destructive to a society and cause the society's downfall.
What is ambition? Ambition is the determination to achieve one’s goals. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare the protagonist, Macbeth, possesses ambition, which led to his downfall. In the play Macbeth’s ambition is driven by prophecies from witches and his wife’s aspiration. Ambition caused Macbeth to commit multiple homicides and after those wrongdoings Macbeth is left with nothing.
Ambition is defined as the strong desire to achieve a specific goal and is often driven by determination. It can guide people to achieve goals and aspirations, and some are willingly to do anything in order to satisfy their ambitious personalities. The French military and political Napoleon Bonaparte successfully defined what ambition truly is by stating, “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.”
The road to a fatal outcome can be observed through many different qualities but excessive ambition is one of the main downfalls for most of us in society. Evil motivation due to uncontrollable and unnecessarily high ambition produces difficult obstacles in our lives. We could also become blind to making the right and moral decisions when our ambition is unrestrained. Additionally, all of the paths and routes for immoderate ambition leads to destruction and disorder. Another important note to keep in mind is that chaos and complications will be rooted from not only extravagant ambition but also poor decision making.
Ambition is when you have the determination or desire to want to achive something no matter how hard you have to work to get it. For example, in Macbeth both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth strive to be powerful, and they are willing do to anything they can to achieve that goal even if that means being dishonorable. This is relevant today, because ambition is a big key to living in the 21st century. If you do not have ambition, you will not be successful. You have to want to get through college, work, school, or even the “social event the could be big for your career,” therefore if you have ambition it will be a breeze getting through all these things.