Betrayal is the result of many situations, in which there are different types of betrayal, but all these different types of betrayal are usually caused by some sort of motivation. In the three different stories The Lamb to the Slaughter, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and The Frog and the Mouse, Roald Dahl, William Shakespeare, and Aesop’s Fables all express different types of betrayal against a family member, friends, or even their own country. Amongst all these stories there is some form of betrayal as a result of a strong motivation. In Lamb to the Slaughter, Macbeth, and The Frog and the Mouse Dahl, Poh, and Fables all use betrayal to reveal evil motivations. In the short story Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary Maloney betrays her family as result …show more content…
After a while of thinking about the witches prophecies, Macbeth had started to fear Banquo for which his sons would soon be up for the throne. “Our fears in banquo stick deep,/ and in his royalty of nature reigns that/ which would be feared.” Here Macbeth is definitely afraid of what might happen to himself since Banquo's sons are up for the throne as well. His fear is taking him over leading him to betray his best friend. As thinking about his fear Macbeth makes a selfish solution to his problem leading him to betrayal. “It will be rain tonight/. Let it come down./ O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly,fly,fly!/ Exit fleance./ Thou mayst revenge. O slave! [Dies]” Because of his fear, Macbeth had sent three murders to kill Banquo and his son, so Macbeth can be the only one up for the throne. He had chosen a witches prophecy over his best friend because he was being selfish and was not considering how he might end up. Macbeth's fear and selfishness had greatly motivated him to betray many people, causing him to destroy his whole …show more content…
These three stories all show a form a betrayal, more importantly they all reveal the motivations that cause them to betray other characters. These motivations really show the true character of a person, determines their weaknesses, and expresses how desperate they are. Everyone has a weakness, and whatever motivates someone to betray another reveals that weakness. Betrayal does not always go well, in most cases betrayal leads to damage to someone or something. In many stories the author includes betrayal, it may be for entertainment, but a lot of times it's to teach the reader the consequences of betrayal, and to also be careful with it. As betrayal can come in many different forms there will always be a cause for it, and an end
Macbeth’s ambition is to remain king for as long as possible and he will kill anybody who stops this from happening. Macbeth feels as if he was given a childless rule, and that his legacy will not continue on in fears his rule will be taken away by someone outside his family. Macbeth states, “For Banquo’s issue, I have filed my mind; For them the gracious Duncan have I murder 'd, put rancors in the vessel of my peace only for them, and mine eternal jewel given to the common enemy of man. to make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings”(Shakspeare 3.1.64-69). Macbeth had committed murder, poisoned his own mind, and destroyed his soul only to end up benefiting Banquo’s heirs. Macbeth, being the paranoid character that he is, feels threatened by this and orders both Banquo and Fleance to be killed. In Act 3, Macbeth says that, “and mine eternal jewel, given to the common enemy of man, to make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!” (Shakspeare 3.1.67-9). Seeing this choice of act, leads Macbeth’s blind ambition doing all he can, in order to remain where he is, even if he is ‘blind’ to what it going on and fails to truly understand the concept of his choices in killing Banquo, which only further deteriorates his mind because of his thirst for power, causing
The dream of becoming king has ironically changed from a bright future to a tragic end due to some of the crucial decisions Macbeth has made during the course of his journey, and a number of his actions will backfire on him. The first of his actions that backfired was when he murdered King Duncan, which he regrets afterwards. Another action that backfired was the murder of the guards, which could've drastically changed the outcome of this entire story since he could've gotten away with King Duncan's murder if he didn't commit it. The third action that backfired on Macbeth was when he ordered the murderers to murder Banquo and Fleance at which they failed to eliminate Fleance. The murder that he committed was a necessity for Macbeth in order to secure his spot as king.
The way people act toward each other can cause betrayal to play a huge role in their actions toward one another, which is the first way in which betrayal is portrayed. For example, before they were born, “The twin argued inside of their mother’s stomach and fought about their birth.The right-handed twin wanted to be born the normal way, as most children are born, but the left-handed twin said no and said he saw light in another direction(Iroquois 41),” so the right-handed twin was born naturally while the left-handed twin ended up not being able to go the direction he saw light in was born through his mother’s armpit,
...and people and their betrayal has caused major indents in the course of history. Benedict Arnold was a man that was not satisfied with his home country so he decided to betray it and join the British forces. This was not the right thing to do and it supports the fact that the end doesn’t justify the means. His actions support this statement because even though he got money and got away from his “misery” in the American army, he wasn’t liked even by the British and he had died without being known. In the end he didn’t make much of a so called “profit” from his actions. The main theme to learn is that betraying someone is not the correct thing to do.
This is because how he is king and Banquo knows about the witches and might be suspicious about Macbeth killing Duncan. Even though that Banquo is Macbeth’s best friend he is betraying him because he doesn’t want lose the crown and not be king anymore. He didn’t have any remorse planning this because he was not going to do it as he sent people to do it for him. We see how Lady Macbeth is less dominant in this scene like how Macbeth was in Act 1 Scene 7. When he says "make our faces visors to our hearts" this highlights that Macbeth is not scared to kill Banquo and has a plan on how not to feel guilty. Additionally, Macbeth says how he is jealous of King Duncan “life’s fitful fever he sleeps well”. This indicates that Macbeth is under a lot of stress because he’s about to kill his friend, even though he looks confident he still may not want to do it. Macbeth is trying to prove to everyone that he is the King and not is weak and he doesn’t want anyone thinking differently about him. In this scene we see how Macbeth has changed his behavior after he becomes King and has all the power. This shows the audience how Macbeth has drastically changed and gained so much power from killing
Later in the play Banquo starts to have a bad feeling about Macbeth. "Thou hast it now: King, Cowdor, Glamis, all,/ as the weird women promised, and I fear/ thou play'dst most foully for `t." III i 1-3, this is a quote from Banquo explaining how he feels about Macbeth's predictions coming true. Macbeth realizes this about Banquo and he starts to have feelings about killing Banquo. This isn't the only reason he feels this way, the witches had also made predictions for Banquo. "Thou shall get kings, though thou be none." I iii 67, Macbeth doesn't want any of Banquo's family to rule Scotland; he wants his own family to continue to rule. Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his on Fleance. The murderers end up killing Banquo, but Fleance gets away.
In fear of losing this power to his friend Banquo or his son Fleance, whom of which the witches said would be king after Macbeth and would yield a long line of kings, Macbeth had them murdered in the woods while they were out horseback riding. This proves that he truly believes in what the witches have to say about him and his future, which leads him to back to seek out more of the witches half truths to see what else would come of his future. The next set of prophecies that the witches had to offer were shown in a set of three apparitions. The first said “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff. Beware the thane of Fife,” the second apperition then spoke “none of woman born can harm Macbeth,” the third aperition then said “Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him”(Shakespeare,168-170). Some say it was the witches fault for Macbeth’s actions next, but in reality it was Macbeth’s and Macbeth’s alone. Due to these three prophecies Macbeth’s level of arrogance went up along with his hunger for power as well, his level of common sense was decreasing faster and faster. Macbeth’s lack of common sense caused him to make rash decisions without thinking them through. Such as when he says “From this moment the very firstlings of my
By pricking Macbeth’s desire for power and prestige with promising prophecies and giving him confidence with the apparitions, the witches lure him to commit evil deeds and to continue doing so endlessly. Their tempting prophecies bait Macbeth into their deceitful plot. Banquo, a fellow nobleman, warns him about the prophecies, “But ‘tis strange: and oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence'; (I, 3, 122-127). Banquo is a smart man, and it is unfortunate that Macbeth ignores his advice. To be sure that Macbeth self-destructs by his own sinful behavior, the sorceresses create prophetic images that ensure him security. Not knowing they are all part of the deception, Macbeth easily succumbs to their plan. He aimlessly kills, believing nothing can harm him, but he is dead wrong. The witches true intention is best revealed in Hecate’s orders, “And that distilled by magic sleights shall raise such artificial sprites as by the strength of their illusion shall draw him on to his confusion'; (III, 5, 26-29). Macbeth’s biggest misfortune is encountering the witches, and an even bigger mistake is to revisit them. The cunning scheme of the wicked women successfully leads Macbeth to evil and confuses him enough for him to lose command of his actions.
Is betrayal as black and white as one sees it to be or is there a time, at which, it becomes more a shade of grey? Like Jeff Keuss, the writer of “The Lenten Face of Christ”, I will approach Silence looking for a theme that not only shows up throughout the entirety of the book but also allows me to look at the theme and make a conclusion about the entirety of the story. In Silence, by Shusaku Endo, the reader sees a constant theme of betrayal come up. We see the Christians faced with becoming an apostate, as well as specifically the Jesuit Priest Rodrigues, being betrayed by Kichijiro, as well as having his mentor Father Christovao Ferreira “betray” his faith, as well as Rodriguez himself eventually recounting his faith. The entirety of this
Another example of the betrayal of a friend occurs not too long after. While Vladek and his family are hiding in the attic bunker in the ghetto, they are forced to go out in search of food at night. One night while they are scavenging they find a stranger who wanders into their house. The stranger tells them that he has a wife and a baby that he needs to find food for and he only wandered into the house to rest for a moment. The refugees take pity on him and allow him to stay with them for a short while, despite their gut feeling...
The three murderers in the stories are all spine-chilling assassins. The killers show no sorrow for the deeds they have done. The authors provoke the readers into thinking the landlady and Mary Maloney are sweet, nice ladies, but they turn out to be hair-raising slaughterers. Readers who read “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “Lamb to the Slaughter”, and “The Landlady” will be scared by the creepiness of the murderers and might have nightmares for weeks. So look around and be alert, because a murderer might be behind
Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" is considered one of his great tragedies. The play fully uses plot, character, setting, atmosphere, diction and imagery to create a compelling drama. The general setting of Macbeth is tenth and eleventh century Scotland. The play is about a once loyal and trusted noble of Scotland who, after a meeting with three witches, becomes ambitious and plans the murder of the king. After doing so and claiming the throne, he faces the other nobles of Scotland who try to stop him. In the play, Macbeth faces an internal conflict with his opposing decisions. On one hand, he has to decide of he is to assassinate the king in order to claim his throne. This would result in his death for treason if he is caught, and he would also have to kill his friend. On the other hand, if he is to not kill him, he may never realize his ambitious dreams of ruling Scotland. Another of his internal struggles is his decision of killing his friend Banquo. After hiring murderers to kill him, Macbeth begins to see Banquo's ghost which drives him crazy, possibly a result of his guilty conscience. Macbeth's external conflict is with Macduff and his forces trying to avenge the king and end Macbeth's reign over Scotland. One specific motif is considered the major theme, which represents the overall atmosphere throughout the play. This motif is "fair is foul and foul is fair."
The worst feeling of pain anyone could feel is when you are betrayed by some who you though loved you. Betrayal is an act of disloyalty and it is violating someone's trust. In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, betrayal is a reoccurring action between many characters. This play shows the audience different types of betrayal that are imaginable, from a husband betraying his wife, a boyfriend betraying his girlfriend and a mother betraying the son and father. These actions of betrayal hurt the people that are most loved and destroys them where it most hurts in the end. Betrayal is one of the strongest and most important themes in Hamlet. The entire play revolves around the murder of King Hamlet. Betrayal is expanded even further, there is not one character who does not commit betrayal through the course of the play. The actions of betrayal in the play lead to the hurtful destruction of the characters.
betrayed, and of a life taken, is that he tricks his readers into complicity with a
...lling to betray the person that he loves the most it assures the reader that he is the least sympathetic.