The Pride of a Scotsman
What's big, cheap, Scottish and depressing? Scotland. This is one of the many jokes that Scots make about themselves. The Scots have a massive history that goes back to the 1500’s and even earlier that have shaped modern day Scots and how we look at them. From the start of the Clan Wars, to the fight that Bonnie Prince Charlie brought.Scottish history has affected how Scots act like and different among others. Scots have reputation for being blood thirsty, cheap, bagpipe playing and kilt wearing people. Many patterns of behavior can be traced back to a root cause in history. Common Scottish behaviors were shaped by major events in Scottish history.
Bonnie Prince Charlie who is also known as “The Young Pretender”, was the cause of the failed Jacobite rebellion of 1746 in an attempt become king of Scotland, England, and Ireland. Charlie was the great grandson of James II of England who was disposed as King of England because of his absolutism and pro-catholic beliefs. James II, his son James, and his grandson Charlie lived in exile in France. During this time, there were some rebellious conflicts to bring James II back to the throne, but to no avail. As Charlie got older, he wanted to lead an army to take back the throne of England, Scotland, and Ireland. When he was old enough and he had the resources to do so, he set out on his conquest to take back Scotland. He was hoping to get support from England or France, because the countries did not trust Charlie as a leader. (Wikipedia)
As Charlie was heading to Scotland on of his ships was attacked and was damaged. When Charlie got to Scotland he began his attack at Glenfinnan and moved south until he had reached the capital. At this time, there ...
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...ike that for Scots, as a tuxedo is for other culture. The bagpipes are played in Scottish parades like America has their brass bands that go in Parades.(Bagpipe History)
Events in the past have affected modern day Scots. When these events first occurred in Scotland, the Scots kept these memories and traditions with pride that stayed with them throughout years. As more and more generations pass, the sense of Scottish pride stays with them as they teach it to their children. The generations that followed Prince Charlie’s legacy grew up with Scottish patriotism. The families that survived the famine learned and passed on the ideal to not waste resources. Scottish emigrants kept their Highland culture by publicly showing their Scottish roots. The stereotype of Scots were caused by the pride that had been brought down from generation to generation that still live today.
In No Great Mischief, the family blood line introduced in the novel dates to the MacDonald’s, who are the most numerous of the great Scottish Highland clan. The MacDonald clan became powerful through their ability to train their men into great fighters and being frequently battle tested. The Scottish Highlanders played pivotal parts in the political up risings of Scotland's history. One of the up risings that was outlined in No Great Mischief was the massacre at Glencoe in 1692. The massacre of Glencoe as the narrator tells it was that this branch of the MacDonald clan was set upon by troops whom they had quarrelled with for two weeks under order...
Duncan's and Macbeth's downfalls in Shakespeare's play Macbeth results from their reluctance to question the motives and actions of others. It was that absolute trust, believing that no one would try to rise up against them, that foreshadows the murders of both characters. Duncan, the first to fall prey to over-confidence, trusted the Thane of Cawdor completely until he discovered that the Thane was a traitor who was betraying him. In Macbeth's case, he believed the prophecies of the three witches without realizing that they have ulterior motives behind their glimpses of the future. Mabeth shows similar weakness when he accepts the vague statements of the apparitions as absolute fact instead of considering and acting rationally upon them. These poor displays of judgement by Macbeth and Duncan allow them to be taken advantage of at various times in the play.
There are myriad fine lines in life, seemingly unattainable happy mediums that we endeavour to find, and spectrums that we attempt to exist in between. As sentient beings, we are continually evolving, and yet we are always searching for something that will remain constant in our often haphazard lives: Balance. Without it, one may see structure within their life deteriorate, as an overwhelming sense of chaos begins to percolate day to day existence. When we fail to achieve balance, adverse effects soon transpire. In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, the type of balance being discussed is that of ambition and pride. The author suggests that ambition and pride are both respectable qualities to possess, and can coexist within a person
For more than three hundred years, Scotland has been an active member of a union with Wales, England and Northern Ireland but recently this partnership has come under threat due to nationalist views from a group of deluded self-serving failed councillors better known as the SNP. The ideals of these individuals threaten the very fabric of this hub of culture and enterprise that we know and love as Scotland. With the tricentennial anniversary of union, the idea of Scottish independence has again come up for fierce debate. How, I ask myself, did Alex Salmond and his nationalist cronies manage to concoct such a specious solution to Scotland's problems? A question easily answered: on the basis of false, misinterpreted and corrupt data.
his family.” (Famous Scots 2) This differed from the public fury that was scene in
In Jamaica Kincaid’s article “Excerpt from on Seeing England for the First Time”, she notes that people should not forget their own traditional culture and should protect traditional cultural. Kincaid lived in a British colony when she was a child. When she saw England on a map in her school, she thought England was a beautiful place and like a jewel. In addition, England is an important and seriousness and adoration in her country because most people thought England is a leader of the country, and most things came from England in the life of her childhood, such as a cup of cocoa, shoes, and clothes. In a hot summer, her father wore a felt hat which came from England just because he saw a picture that an Englishman wore a similar felt hat in
Henderson, Ailsa. Hierarchies of belonging: National identity and political culture in Scotland and Quebec. McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP, 2007.
During the time when everything looked rough for Scotland, Macbeth came through. Macbeth was heroic on the battlefield and didn't hesitate to demonstrate courage and strength. As captain of the army, he was a leader. Macbeth killed the enemy by taking his sword and pushing it through the slave's stomach and all the way up, which demonstrated his ruthlessness. Macbeth cared about his country and was fearlessly fighting for it. Macbeth's bravery is tested and this causes...
At the beginning of the film the Scottish have won a war and you see a
3.) Malcolm and Donalbain leave Scotland because they suspect whoever killed their father, will be targeting them next.
...h’s end because they drove Macbeth to kill Duncan and they let him over relax which lead to his death.
While he did do many detastable things, he did them because he was a loyal Scottsman and family man. He wanted the best for Scotland. He believed that Scotland deserved the best and that the best was him. When he realized that his family line would not carry on he did his best, or what he thought was best, to continue it. His wife did nothing to discourage these bad ideas, infact, she encouraged them.
In their book, Smith and Wistrich state that Britain sensed a problem in the identity once there has been devolution of power to Scotland and Wales in 1998 (2009). It maybe true that Scots and Welsh feel more attached to their own na...
Countries vary in multiple ways. Some are big, some have mountains, some have dictators, some are as old as time. One thing that remains constant is the cultural pride and need for national identity in each. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, pride is the “delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship.” Therefore, it can be inferred that cultural pride is the love, appreciation, and elation for where a person comes from and the practices of that culture. For example, Americans take pride in everything that has been invented and accomplished in America. Hispanics take pride in the traditions of their ancestors like “Day of the Dead.” The Scottish take pride in their heritage, and they traditions and didn’t appreciate England taking over their land and forcing them to change their way of living in the 1290’s. National identity is important because it is what makes countries unique from one another. If humans didn’t have their own personalities, every person would be the same, despite their different body shapes and features. Likewise, if countries didn’t have their own identity, what would make them different? The film Braveheart showed the strive Scotland had to form their own national identity. However, films that are fictionalized have many effects. Fictionalized films focusing on national identity can act as a demagoguery and cause political movements. Even though the film Braveheart provides a good example of cultural pride and the strive for national identity, it does not accurately portray the Scottish rebellion of England; moreover, many historical films don’t accurately portray historical events.
Shakespeare’s famous play, Macbeth, is the story of a man named Macbeth who kills the present king of Scotland, Duncan, in order to become the king, and the aftermath of that event. Within Macbeth, very few female characters are introduced. The first female characters are the three witches, who prophecize the whole play, and then Lady Macbeth, the wife of Macbeth and the most prominent female character in the play. Both the witches and Lady Macbeth lead Macbeth to kill Duncan, but once he does, they find themselves unable to live with the consequences. Shakespeare purposefully wrote the main female characters in this derogatory way so as to assert the idea that women cause ambition, ambition is bad, and therefore, women are bad, but then shows that once the women cause bad things to happen, they can’t deal with them. In Macbeth, Shakespeare documents his belief that women are not only deceitful and cause deadly ambition, but cannot withstand the ramifications of that ambition once they come to pass.