"Is He Good or Is He Bad?"
In Macbeth, William Shakespeare portrays a particular kind of evil. As the character of
Macbeth grows into darkness, he searches for more power. Every time Macbeth completes a
battle for power, he lusts for more. In Act I, the witches state, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." This
foreshadows the disorder and moral darkness in which Macbeth will plunge himself. Macbeth
begins with a bright light of what he wants in his life; later on, he is persuaded by his wife and the
witches to yearn for more power. Macbeth turns from an essentially good character toward evil
by giving into: his need for power, his insecurities about his relationship with his wife, and
vengeance.
First of all, Macbeth is easily persuaded into the idea of being king. The witches
previously told the truth of Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor, now why not move forward and
become king. Yet, he knows the only way to become king is to have Duncan die first. In the
beginning of Act I, Macbeth is satisfied with his status of living. He doesn't yearn for more, but it
is implanted in his head that he wants more. In Act I, Scene IV Macbeth takes one giant step
towards evil. He states, "Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires." He
tries not to express his desires for he knows they are wrong. Macbeth rather hide what he wants
then to do harm against others.
Before returning home, Macbeth writes a letter to his wife telling her of all the predictions
made by the witches. Lady Macbeth definitely wants her husband to be king for selfish reasons.
She knows that Macbeth will not cheat to get anything even if he wants something badly, so she
Stipanov 2
drills in his head that she will leave him if he doesn't kill Duncan. Within Act I, Scene IV, Lady
Macbeth states, "Come, thick night, / And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell." In other
words, if Macbeth takes a giant step towards evil, Lady Macbeth makes an even greater leap.
Once Macbeth returns home, Lady Macbeth takes charge and starts making plans for Duncan's
murder immediately. Even when Macbeth tells his wife he cannot go through with the murder,
she begins to mock him and tells him that he is a coward.
Macbeth starts to desire the kingship of Scotland after the three witches tell him of the future. The witches tell Macbeth he will become the king of Scotland, but they do not tell him how he will become king. Macbeth starts to desire the kingship after:
Driving is a privilege Americans have been afforded since the invention of the automobile in the late 1800’s. Yet with great power comes great responsibility. One of the responsibilities associated with being able to drive several tons of metal at high speeds is the responsibility of doing so without any distractions or impairments. Choosing to drive drunk puts not only the driver in danger, but also everyone else in the car and on the road. Currently, the average drunk driver will drive eighty times before getting caught by the police (1). On average, one third of all people will be involved in a drunk driving accident during the course of their lifetimes (7). Whereas driving drunk once can be seen as a mistake and a one-time lapse in judgment, choosing to recklessly ignore the law and the safety of others is a serious offense against society. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that one in three persons arrested for drunk driving are repeat offenders (2).
“Drink the first. Sip the second slowly. Skip the third. The speedway ends at the cemetery” (Rockne). Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 48 minutes. The annual cost of alcohol related crashes totals more than 51 billion. In Recent discussions of drunk driving, a controversial issue has been whether the driving while intoxicated laws should be increased due to the amount tax payers are paying for drunk driving crashes. On the one hand. Some argue that the driving laws for driving drunk should remain the same and not change. From this perspective the laws about driving under the influence should greatly increase to be stricter, this will help decrease the death rate per year in the United States. On the other hand, however others argue that the laws about driving while drunk are already too strict and should remain unchanged. In sum, then, the issue is whether the laws about driving drunk should be greatly increased to be more effective, or remain unchanged. Because drunk driving can result in unnecessary and premature deaths, unsafe roadways, billions of dollars spent on taxpayers due to DUI’S, and losing a loved one. Drunk driving laws should be altered to be more efficient.
To begin, Macbeth loses his sense of integrity slowly throughout the play until he has none remaining. Macbeth is introduced as a valourous and successful general. His drive for power, however, causes him to taint the perfect image of himself he has created. Once the witches flaunt the idea of being king in front of the man, his natural impulse to gain power and prestige is ignited and he begins a rampage in order to achieve his goal. Its this human quest for power that causes his mind to disregard truths he once held selfevident, such as valour, loyalty and patriotism, giving way to a cruel wrath. The goal of increased power causes Macbeth’s mind to distort his morality and make diabolical deciscions, such as killing the king he once loved so dearly. Futhermore, the threat of losing power also causes Macbeth great mental distress and leads to further loss of loyalty and morality. He fears Banquo is plotting against him shortly after his coronation and hires murderers to kill his old best friend. This demonstrates Macbeth’s paranoia being placed above rationality, due to his fear of losing power. “ We have scotch’d the snake, not kill’d it;”(III,ii,15). This quotation demonstrates Macbeth’s desire to hold on to his fleeting power by illustrating that he does not feel safe in his current position. He is prepared to defy his moral compass and loyalty and kill those he loves...
Macbeth’s blind ambition leads him to surrender to his dark desires that taunt him throughout the play. Macbeth is frequently tempted to result to the wrongful methods that seem to roam inside of him. In the beginning however Macbeth tends to ignore these desires and depends on chance. He declares “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 3, 143-144). This declaration by Macbeth shows his initial stand, which is reliant on fate and sin free. Yet as Macbeth’s character develops throughout the play, he moves farther from his dependence on chance and closer to his darker desires. Eventually his blind ambition to become king overp...
Macbeth's desire to become king is strongly supported by his wife, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is a highly ambitious woman who, like her husband, is willing to do anything to obtain power. Shakespeare uses a series of imagery to vividly portray the desire for power in Lady Macbeth's soliloquy: “Come, you spirits/That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,/And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/Of direst cruelty!” To achieve her ambition, Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth “to catch the nearest way.” This means she wants him to kill Duncan so that he can become king. However, she fears that Macbeth is “too full o' th' milk of human kindness” to “catch the nearest way.” When Macbeth is reluctant to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth starts attacking his masculinity. “Then you were a man,” she said. Lady Macbeth also uses the power of emotional blackmail to manipulate Macbeth into killing Duncan.
When the play begins after Macbeth’s encounter with the three witches and hearing their prediction, “thou shalt be king hereafter!”(Iiii), he has to make a choice to wait for the title to come to him or take some action to become king sooner. When the problem first arose Macbeth is in a state of shock. He does not know how to accept what he has heard. However, when he shares the problem with Lady Macbeth immediately begins plotting to get her husband the throne. Nervous and confused he questions his ability to be king. Macbeth wonders why me he say "why do I yield to do that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my heart knock at my ribs "(Iiii). Macbeth does not know how to take over and what to do. He feels why he is getting crowned king without his impact. Confused he says “If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me, without my stir"(Iiii). First Lady Macbeth questions her husband’s ability to rule she thinks about it "yet do I fear thy nature: it is too ...
Dreams are people’s expectations for a better tomorrow. However, intoxicated drivers shatter those dreams without a reason or warning. Even with all the advertisements that highlights the dangers and effects of driving drunk, yet people still chose to drive while intoxicated. Many advocates are working hard to get these people off the streets, and they have been able to reduce the number of alcohol related crashes. Organizations such as Mothers against Drunk Driving have acted alongside law enforcement to reduce the horrific statistics. However, so many innocent lives are still taken by drunk drivers. In order to lower the rate of drunk driving in the United States, there is a need to revoke drunk drivers’ licenses, a need for higher rate of conviction, and a need to make ignition interlocks
It is in human nature that the more power one desires the more corrupt actions one must do to attain it. In Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth, a Scottish noble's craving for power leads him to do terrible deeds that leads to his demise. Shakespeare shows that power corrupts by using Macbeth who corrupts under the thought of have power over others. Macbeth becomes corrupt under the thought of becoming king and gaining almost complete control over the people that he rules. Macbeth wants the power badly enough to do horrible deeds such as commit regicide. Lady Macbeth becomes very ambitious and allows herself to become seduced to the idea of becoming Queen. Her ruthlessness urges Macbeth to commit regicide by questioning his love for her and his own manhood.
In life there is always something greater than what you have, and there are always people who want more. Macbeth was one of those people. He always had a secretive need for him to be king and when opportunities were thrown at him his thoughts and “what if’s” drove
Macbeth is an intense play that discusses how power will corrupt anyone. This theme is developed throughout this scene as well as the plot. Finally Act I, scene VII is a key moment in character development.
"All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee, thou shall be King hereafter!" (1.3.49) The witches help fate out by giving Macbeth this information. If Macbeth had never known this, he would never have had the idea of becoming thane of Cawdor or king. This is the start to Macbeth's road to success and ultimate demise. It was predetermined by fate that Macbeth would believe the witches' words. When Macbeth does in fact become thane of Cawdor, he then believes fully in the witches and is willing to do anything it takes to become king.
Driving under the influence is one of the most common and dangerous situations in which anyone can be or be placed. Drinking and driving is a serious offence that can cause someone to be physically harm or even killed. Not only are you putting yourself at risk but you are also risking the lives of passengers in the car as well as any other car and occupants sharing the road with you. Many people believe that increasing fines for drunk driving offenders will play a compelling role in cutting down the occurrences of driving under the influence. However, while harsher DUI laws will look effective on paper, they will not make a significant step in the fight against drunk driving. Although there is a law enforced for drinking and driving in the
In conclusion, as the cases of drunk driving quickly increase over a period of time as one of the fastest developing public problem, more definite and stricter regulations should be emphasized on books and in the academic world to control such recurring drunk driving offenses. Drunk driving is a very serious problem in our society today, but it is becoming socially unacceptable causing the numbers of alcohol related traffic fatalities to decline considerably.
She knows that Macbeth is courageous and will never back down from a challenge and this is exactly what happens. He ends up listening to his wife. The relationship between Macbeth and his wife is strong. There is much trust between the two and there is also openness. However, the two butt heads and have opposing views many times.