The Power of Ambition
For many individuals pride is the driving force behind motivation and ambition but when one’s pride gets the best of him or her it can cause the individual to break down and self destruct. Every human has a little pride in them but when that pride becomes selfish and done for personal benefit that is when it can become dangerous, taking focus away from the things that really matter like honor, love, family, friends and integrity. In his play, Macbeth, Shakespeare suggests that if one’s motivation is selfish and pride-driven, eventually honor and integrity are lost leading to one’s destruction.
Initially, when one’s selfish ambition and motivation is just starting to grow, one is able to maintain honor and integrity. Before
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Macbeth was strongly driven by his pride; once he knew that being king was supposedly in his future he wanted it immediately. Macbeth killed Duncan in one of the most dishonorable ways one could, when someone is a guest in your home. Macbeth and his wife were suppose to protect Duncan while he was in their home but instead they murdered him thus showing his loss of honor. For Macbeth killing Duncan and becoming king was not enough, instead Macbeth decided he wanted Fleance and Banquo dead so that his unborn sons could be king. This shows that Macbeth's ambition and pride driven motivation is getting out of control. After Macbeth was crowned king he was so full of pride that he thought everyone of his friends should be at the banquet he was holding. When Macduff did not show up Macbeth swore that he would get revenge and he did by killing Macduff’s wife and son. To kill innocent people to get back at someone who you believe wronged you shows that one has no honor or integrity
Macbeth is a greedy person like us all but he unlike most of us is willing to cross anyline to get what he wants. Macbeth was willing to kill someone he considered a dear friend to gain more power as well as killing Duncan's servants to frame them. His greed out-weighed his loyalty for his king and friend showing how much he’s willing to do to accomplish his selfish goal. Macbeth is so greedy that he’d turn against his own best friend to keep his position as king.
Macbeth had many things to motivate him to do his killing from the prophecies, to his wife; However, the realization of becoming king as a whole pushed him to his worst. His motivation started when Lady Macbeth reminds him how becoming king will be good for the both of them. She manipulates Macbeth when she tells him, “Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it” (1.5.6-7).
His lust for power drives him to murder Banquo and Fleance to ensure that they will not become kings, and so that his own sons will inherit the throne. Making rationalizations for the murders, he recalls the witches’ prophecy, by saying “They hailed him to a line of kings... No son of mine succeeding.” (3.1) Desiring to retain the power he occupies, Macbeth becomes increasingly willing to kill in order to preserve it. His mental state begins to deteriorate rapidly as he becomes increasingly more paranoid due to the lingering guilt of the crimes.
Macbeth is also one of the most ambitious character as he does many crimes to achieve the power and become the King. Macbeth’s ambition started when the witches told him about the prophecies because of these prophecies he killed King Duncan and planned to kill Banquo. Before Macbeth killed the King, even though he was really ambitious he still thought before killing Duncan this shows ambition in a positive way. However, he still killed King Duncan this shows ambition in a negative way. The first time Macbeth met the witches one thing they said to Banquo was that his son will rule the world in the fear that someone will take his kingship he tried to kill Banquo’s son.
In Macbeth, William Shakespeare portrays the end of a famed hero who chooses to go down a dark path, rather than choosing a path which would have led to glory, making him a tragic hero. When Macbeth is told his prophecy of becoming king, he intends on doing it on his own terms and decides to make impulsive decisions, such as killing Duncan, Banquo and slaughtering Macduff’s family. These impulsive decisions were an effect of Macbeth being blinded by becoming king, as he felt he had other options. Although it may seem that Macbeth was influenced by society to commit these atrocious acts, he was fully aware of the consequences and went ahead with his plan. Macbeth truly fits the role of a tragic hero as he brought his fate upon himself, through
Desire Having the desire to achieve a goal is common within all, but how one achieve’s it is what differentiates the goal’s outcome . When reading Macbeth by Shakespeare and watching Revenge of the Sith written by George Lucas, the theme that was greatly noticed was that one’s focus on a singular crucial desire can unwittingly lead to many excruciating betrayals shown within friendship, love and oneself. Firstly, a way crucial desire leads to excruciating betrayals is shown by friendship in Macbeth and Revenge of the Sith.
Greed and jealousy live inside everyone, but one must refrain from these thoughts to prevent self destruction. In William Shakespeare's Elizabethan era Tragedy Macbeth, Shakespeare uses betrayal as a vehicle for obtaining power for selfish means, and illustrates the grave costs of betrayal to the individual. Greed often fuels an uncontrolled lust for power. Shakespeare reveals the extent of Macbeth’s greed when Macbeth's first thought regarding the witches prophecy stir thoughts of murder: “ My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”(I.iii.152). Most individuals do not think one should murder someone to obtain what you desire.
Macbeth’s impatience for power leads to drastic actions. He murders the king in the belief that “this blow might be the be-all and end-all” (1.7.5). This assassination could never “trammel up the consequence” (1.7.2-3), as Macbeth believes, but only leads to more trouble. Although Macbeth seizes the throne, Macbeth had to betray his loyalty to the king whose “virtues will plead like angels” (1.7.18-19), and his morality has paid the price. Macbeth has now lost all sense of what honor is by using such dishonest ways to become king.
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.
Macbeth shows that he is willing to kill King Duncan because he is interested in the witches prophecy, after they tell him that he will become ‘Thane of Cawdor’ and then the King.
In the beginning, Macbeth’s character is seen as well respected, brave, valiant, and a loyal soldier, though at the end, he is seen as a cruel tyrant who brought injustice and misfortune to Scotland. One trait that fueled the journey onto his unfortunate path includes his endless ambition. Unlike Romeo, whose only interest is romance, Macbeth’s only true desire is power and the title of King, stopping at nothing to accomplish his goals. Even so, though Macbeth shows a reluctance to kill in the beginning, he continues anyway (Mac. 2.1.75), even sinking lower into manipulating other people to kill for him (Mac. 3.1.100.). His longing for status and power becomes so great, that even when Lady Macbeth dies
Macbeth was working toward being the king of Scotland in the beginning after meeting the three wired sisters. And being told that he was king to be, so it inspired him to do anything that he had to to become king. It did not matter the circumstances he would do it. Even if that meant killing his best friend. He down was cause by him killing Macduff’s family.
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.
The idea of revenge on Macbeth is first begins here and is a subject of the play till the end. The Witches meet with Macbeth again and warn him to “[b]eware the Thane of Fife” (IV.i.71-72). Macbeth becomes paranoid and believes MacDuff is a threat to his throne as well. He decides to hire the Murderers again to kill him. Instead these Murderers kill his mother and son.