Role Of Evil In Act 3 Scene 1 Macbeth

The answer to the question "why people do evil things when they know these things are evil" is ultimately dependent on perspective. So if you are wondering whether "the ends justify the means" is a sufficient answer to that question, I would argue that it depends on who you ask and the context in which you ask that person. To the people who strongly believe in the end goal, this would be considered a sufficient response because it makes them feel a little better about the evil they are doing. However, to the people who don't support the goal, this would considered an insufficient response because the means is all that those people see. Perhaps a couple of hypotheticals could help explain this.

If Armenia decided to invade Turkey tomorrow

Well, an example of Macbeth using the ends to justify the means is when he decided to have Banquo killed. In Act 3 Scene 1 Macbeth realizes that, "Upon [his] head [The Weird Sisters] placed a fruitless crown and put a barren scepter in [his grip]" (3.1.66-67), and with the goal of securing the crown for his children and himself, Macbeth convinces two murderers to kill Banquo with his son. Clearly, Macbeth thinks that staying king justifies killing his best friend, however, after the deed is done and Macbeth has reached the ends by securing the crown, all that he is left with is living with the guilt that comes with using evil means. With no end goal to occupy his mind, the guilt drives him to insanity and he begins to hallucinate Banquo's Ghost. He asks his guests at the feast "Which one of you have done this?" (3.4.59), but in actuality, he is the one to blame. The "ends justify the means" can only be temporarily sufficient because those who use it are just fooling themselves. Another example would be when Lady Macbeth convinced Macbeth to kill Duncan and take his place as the King of Scotland. Her own power hungry ambitions lead her to be, "[Filled] from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty" (1.5.49-50) and therefore, to become queen, she convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan. However, just as it happened with Macbeth, when she finally does become queen, the guilt fills her unconsciousness as "She rubes her hands" (5.1.28-29)

From Lance Armstrong cheating his way to winning seven Tour de France races and becoming an inspiration to cancer patients, to President Trump wanting to improve our National Security by banning immigrants of a certain race, origin, or religion, there are those that would say that the ends justify their immoral means. However, that answer is like a time bomb just waiting for the ends to come. And when the end comes, and you're left with living with what you had to do to get it, that time bomb will explode, filling your heart and mind with