Macbeth: Fear and Cowardice William Shakespeare's great tragedy, Macbeth is a play based more on character than deed. The play is a journey along the life of Macbeth, beginning at the apex of his career and following him to his demise. The cause of this sudden deterioration has been debated for centuries. Some attribute Macbeth's quick degeneration to ambition. Although Macbeth is not lacking in ambition, this is not the essential element that causes his demise. It is fear that permeates Macbeth--utter
remarkably brave soldier. Henry’s transformation from cowardice to bravery is portrayed through Henry’s change in thoughts, actions, and dialogue. In fact, Henry’s transformation from cowardice to bravery is portrayed through Henry’s change in thoughts. For example, Henry conveys cowardice after the second battle in the book. After Henry runs away from battle he thinks that “he had fled with discretion and dignity” (Crane 121). Henry portrays cowardice by running away from his problems and trying to convince
lips. I ran” (391). Amir running the kite for Sohrab symbolizes that he has redeemed himself from the guilt he has from the past, and the kite is no longer a symbol of his guilt. Finally, Amir has found redemption by acting courageously instead of cowardice, and he is no longer running from the past anymore; he is running towards the
Courage: to be unafraid of circumstance. Cowardice: fear that makes you unable to do what is right or expected, or a lack of bravery. These antonyms carry weight, define the character of a person, and challenge many to struggle against what they fear. Yet it isn’t as black and white as definitions, or boxes to neatly file away another human's actions. In the narrative, “Lather and Nothing Else.” by Hernando Tellez, unfolds a tense situation between two men on opposing sides of a war. Captain Torres
situation as opposed to cowardice. In Khaled Hosseini’s novel ‘The Kite Runner’, all the characters demonstrate the balance between courage, cowardice in their own way for various types of reasons. Firstly, characters such as Hassan, Soraya, and Baba depict this certain quality of courage, secondly, characters such as Amir, Sanubar, and Hassan depict the quality of cowardice, and lastly characters such as Sohrab, Farid, and Zaman depict the balance between courage and cowardice. The author, Khaled Hosseini
courageous, and Jimmy goes above and beyond proving it. To actually take blame for a man’s death, and tell his father you’re sorry takes a lot of guts. War makes people own up to things that they normally wouldn’t. It turns boys into men, and proves cowardice or
According to Meriam-Webster dictionary, bravery means the quality that allows someone to do things that are dangerous or frightening. Living in this world, people need to have bravery, but unfortunately it is hard to achieve. When people do not know how dangerous a situation is, they are not afraid of it. In certain situations, people are so unaware of how dire that situation is that they are foolish and reckless. In these situations, people are more reckless than brave, but still contain a bit
Though his bark cannot be lost Yet it shall be tempest tossed This implies that the witches have only limited powers and can only direct people within certain limits. If this is the case, then we must see that Macbeth's ambition and moral cowardice are responsible for his tragedy.
Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman fears rejection by his son, Biff, and the business world. His fears master him, creating in him a fantasy world of life as it was eighteen years ago. Willy’s avoidance of reality and his suicide show his cowardice. However, the emphasis he puts on financial success prevents him from realizing the consequences that his suicide would create. Willy’s refusal to face reality and accept responsibility shows that he is a coward. According to Gordon Hitchens,
the play when Creon accuses Ismene of being an accomplice to Antigone’s schemes; contrarily to Ismene’s previous words, Ismene chooses to stand by her sister’s side. Although Ismene’s actions within the play Antigone can be considered as complete cowardice; through another perspective it may be noted that Ismene is not entirely without courage First, some find Ismene’s initial
Hedda’s death is an act of courage, as rebellion against the rules of the society, however other believe that Hedda’s actions show cowardice, as she is unable to cope with the harsh reality of the her situation. Hedda's singular goal throughout the play has been to prove that she is still in possession of free will. Hedda shows many examples of both courage and cowardice throughout the play, differing to the character she is with. Hedda grew up with a general as a father, therefore living as she pleased
expectations of war. He wants one thing out of this experience, Glory, and he would go to any extreme to fulfill it. In battle Henry acts impulsively and is easily manipulated, he flees from battle at the sight of others running. When he realizes his cowardice he rationalizes without end to why he ran. He justifies that nature also flees at the sight of fear when he scares a squirrel to runoff. Henry acts shallow and vain when he manipulates his friend, Wilson; he uses the letters Wilson gave him as
and the intrapersonal battles that reeked havoc on even the most battle tested soldiers. O’Brien is able to express these ideas through eloquent writing and descriptive language that makes the reader feel as if he were there. The struggle to avoid cowardice is a prevailing idea in all of O’Brien’s stories. In “On the Rainy River”, O’Brien writes of intrapersonal struggle in its most profound form. The gripping torture of indecision seemed to paralyze Lt. Jimmy Cross in every move he made. Fear is what
relied on the words of Apollo to guide them, but the oracle did not always act encouragingly. The Greeks defeated the Persians in the Persian Wars due to heroic actions performed by Athens and Sparta and occasional assistance from the gods, but cowardice shown by other poleis nearly ended the Greeks’ chances of success. Unity between the Greek poleis could be seen occasionally in the battles of the Persian Wars, but not consistently. The Greeks first confronted the Persians during the Ionian
strikes and kills a man riding a motorbike while passing a car on the wrong side of the road. Then, in a moment of weakness, horror, and cowardice, "lowering my head, I stepped down hard on the gas. I tore down the road to Rome and dropped my load at the yard" (222). Gino informs the reader of the utter embarrassment he endures as a result of his cowardice, which is labeled as such in all of the local newspapers' reports: "The hit-and-run driver had fled the scene of the accident like a coward
support that man is born a coward. When he is on the training ship and witnesses the collision of two other ships, Jim’s cowardice holds him back and he fails to go over to the scene of the wreckage to save people. The truth in reality is that romantic dreams fill Jim’s mind and cause him to think far beyond the pragmatic horizon, effortlessly proving Stein’s belief of the cowardice of man. After training, Jim serves a steamer named the Patna for several years, but at first he never sees a good opportunity
racial discrimination, family secrets and battles with ones own conscious. Amir the main character struggles with the relationship between him and his father and also him and his so-called friend Hassan. The book shows us that jealousy, and not cowardice as Amir claims, leads Amir to reject the one true friend he has. Though in the end Amir isn't always controlled by his horrible jealousy towards Hassan. In the begging we see that Hassan has always stuck up and covered for Amir no matter how much
Such cowardice, he says, reveals a national weakness and is an invitation for their enemies to attack. Wiglaf reminds them that the loss of Beowulf means no more gifts, a loss of land rights and everything that makes life joyous. Wiglaf emphasizes that death is
In Antigone, by Sophocles, which centrals around themes such as bravery in the face of death, civil unrest, and unyielding dedication to divine justice, it is easy to understand why Ismene’s character is often called cowardly, docile, and indecisive. However, this view of her undercuts the most basic facet of her personality, the one which is absent in Antigone — a will to live. With this in mind, Ismene’s personality is far one-dimensional, as there are are certain traits she needed to embody in
difficulties/ opposition with firmness/fearlessness." The words that make courage a relative term are danger and opposition. The definitions of those words are what determine if a person or an act is considered to be foolhardy, courageous, or cowardice. Those labels change from society to society because people possess varying ideas as to what is danger and opposition means. For example, there are many types of people who encounter danger regularly like police, firefighters, cultural tribes