The Human Mind In Macbeth And The Talented Mr. Ripley

In Robert Stevenson’s novella ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, Dr Jekyll transforms from the handsome “well-made” scientist into the devilish, sinful and villainous Mr Hyde. Similarly, in William Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Macbeth’, Macbeth transforms from a patriotic hero into a malevolent tyrant. By comparing the thoughts, intentions and actions within the protagonists’ behaviour, it is clear that both Stevenson and Shakespeare present the theme of change from good to evil within their stories.

Throughout the Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the character of Macbeth possesses an essential characteristic of madness and irrationality that embodies the theme and important elements of the literary work. In the play, Macbeth’s character is perceived as so ambitious and desperate to achieve the greatest benefits for himself that his hysteria is manifested in the setting of the play, Scotland, in the characters that surround him such as his wife, Lady Macbeth, and his rival Macduff.

Guilt is the cause of the destruction of many, particularly in Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Macbeth. As Macbeth and Lady Macbeth continue to murder for the sake of power, they embark on opposite journeys but their guilt ultimately drives them both to insanity. Macbeth goes from being driven mad with guilt, to his instability causing him to murder recklessly. His wife goes from expressing no compassion or guilt to her guilt overcoming her and driving her to madness.

Shakespeare engineered a most impressionable character in Macbeth who easily succumbs to the extensive magnitude of opposing constraints. This character is Macbeth, who is the protagonist in the play and husband to a conniving wife, who in the end is the sole cause for Macbeth 's undoing. Conflicting forces in the play compel internal conflicts within Macbeth to thrive on his contentment and sanity as he his torn asunder between devotion, aspiration, morality and his very own being. He has developed a great sense of loyalty from being a brave soldier; however, his ambition soon challenges this allegiance. As his sincerity begins to deteriorate, his own sanity starts to disintegrate until the point where he cannot differentiate between reality

The story of Macbeth originates in Scotland , as lord Macbeth was a famously well respected war hero who never lost a battle , later leading him to earn the crown of Thane of Glamis.However, on his journey to return home from battle , he met with three witches whom claimed to seek great things in his upcoming future ; Thane of Glamis, then Thane of Cawdor, and finally they hailed him as King.When these things actually become true , The enlightening thoughts of new possibilities however heightened his ambitions to superiority;and awoken the corruption and deception in his soul that he never knew was there.In this shakespearean

Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is a tragic story about man’s faults. While fictional, Macbeth shows many true aspects of man, such as pride and corruption. Pride is shown in almost every act of Macbeth. It shows that even men whom are considered the best, most loyal men, can fall folly to the pride of life. Shakespeare uses Macbeth to show how pride is destructive, sin corrupts the mind, and that not all counsel should be taken.

The urge to be seen as perfect is a desire commonly found among humans. However, even some animals are not immune to such desires. A bird trying to attract the best mate in the forest by creating a perfect nest will fight to the death for a twig that it believes will make its nest excel beyond the rest. The bird will even go so far as to break the incubating eggs in a nest if it contains an item that the bird wants as its own. Similarly, in humans, there are characters that strive for perfection primarily based on self-satisfaction, rather than the well-being of others so much so that they begin to weigh ideology above humanity. The protagonist Macbeth, by the famous William Shakespeare, has different phases of respectability, all molded by his inevitability of fate. As an audience we interpret and form an opinion through Shakespeare’s use of psychological audience manipulation (Source C) to observe how one can fall prey to their own desire to create a perfect life; thus, it leads one to abandon their morals and commit horrible acts. When individuals begin to weigh ideology above humanity, they become bitter and accusing, they begin to lose their grip on reality and they create chaos and war. And at the end, Macbeth, the tragic hero stands up in front of us undeserving of the fate that was brought to him.

Readers of Macbeth can look at him from different perspectives; a troubled man who fell to the dark side, or an arrogant, power hungry man who got what he deserved at the end. Macbeth by William Shakespeare tells the story about a man who was so desperate for power that

From the beginning of Macbeth to the end, the influences of evil have tremendous effects on the characters of the play. Some characters such as Banquo recognize and are terrified by the the dangers of these evil influences and keep away from them, while others give into the evil’s supposed, promising rewards and lead themselves down a path of villainy. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth exhibit characteristics of villainy, however one proves worse through murderous actions and internal state of heart prior to death.

Macbeth’s greatest weakness is his ambition, but it is also his greatest strength. Despite his ambition being one of his major weaknesses, it is not his sole weakness he exhibits that contributes to his inevitable death. At the beginning of William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ the protagonist Macbeth is described as ‘brave’, ‘noble’ and ‘honourable’, however Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeths desire for power consumes them. Macbeth’s ambition overrides his conscience and transformed his greatest strength into his greatest weakness. Macbeth’s inability to resist temptations that led him to be greedy for power, Macbeth’s easily manipulative nature which allowed his mind to be swayed, Macbeth having no self control and his excessive pride was what allowed him to renew his previously honourable and celebrated title into one of an evil ‘tyrant’.

Guilt plays a very important role throughout the course of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Not only does it advance the plot, but it plays a major role in character development throughout the play, particularly in the cases of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The two characters handled their guilt very differently, thus causing their different downfalls. Macbeth ignores his guilt, thus leading him to commit further crimes and blurring his moral conscience. Lady Macbeth handles her guilt differently; she has no method of distraction and is haunted by her guilt. Being trapped in her own mind causes her to fall to the brink of insanity. Through the deterioration of the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, William Shakespeare's Macbeth reveals the negative impact guilt has on a character’s state of being.

People tend to act on impulse, often not fully aware of the possible consequences that will result from their actions. Macbeth fails to act against the trap he sets up for himself during his pursuit of power. In the 17th century tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare utilizes blood imagery to represent how the selfish ambition that transforms Macbeth and how Macbeth’s guilt will not allow him to divert from his onslaught. The further individuals dulge into their guilt, the more difficult to renounce guilt.

Throughout literature, we see human characteristics in our characters. Characteristics such as punishment, downfall, middling character, free choice, and nobility. In this play called Macbeth we see all these characteristics fall into place throughout the good and bad choices acted on by our main character Macbeth. The play demonstrates how power will make or break character and lead to his/her own destruction by possessing a few of these characteristics.

The Tragedy of Macbeth demonstrates the change of heart most people had during the time period of the English Renaissance; likewise, this time period also is known as the time of expansion. Specific values and beliefs shifted from just strictly religious to humanistic values. The time of expansion created new curriculum and a broader array of topics that people could study through universities while gaining an education. Humanism is “a system of thought that focuses on humans and their values, capacities, and worth” (American Heritage Dictionary of English Language). It can also be known as “(Philosophy) a philosophical position that stresses the autonomy of human reason in contradiction to the authority of the Church” (Collins English Dictionary).

“Lady Macbeth” is a 14-year-old female, currently inpatient at a hospital, for obsessive and compulsive behaviors. She reports that at age 13 these behaviors started to arise and she describes the rituals and thoughts that were present during this time. She says that she was afraid of germs that were on her clothes and on other things, so she would shake her clothes for a half hour before she felt comfortable putting them on her body. She stated that it would take her 6 hours to get ready to go out to do something socially because she would have to shower and would go over and over again cleaning herself, to the point that her hands would be cracked and bleeding. Soap and water became not enough for her to get clean so she began using rubbing