A tragic flaw is the secret weakness of character that brings about a tragic downfall. Flaws come in all shapes and sizes, some flaws are unknown until certain situations come about that bring those flaws to life. The Carter High football team tragedy in 1988 and Shakespeare's Macbeth, both different events with different story lines still have some similarities. Ambition and greed led to the downfall of their lives. Too much ambition and greed are proven to be a bad thing when these traits are put toward a negative activity or doing, a downfall is near.
While ambition is a good trait to have, In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth is a general who is given a prophecy by three witches that he will soon be named a thane and eventually become the
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His wife, Lady Macbeth plays a major role in helping him reach this goal when both of them are overcome with greed. When he named Thane by King Duncan he still is not very sure the prophecy will come true, he starts to think the only way to secure his way to the throne is to kill him. He realizes that this is a crazy idea and tries to talk himself out of it realizing he is only being driven by his greed. "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'er leaps itself and falls on the other" (Shakespeare 1.7 27-29). He goes through with killing Duncan and then he remembers the witches also said that his friend Banquo's sons will be kings. He is then afraid that his Banquo's children will inherit the crown instead of his own. Greedy for the throne Macbeth murders his friend Banquo and continues to kill anyone he thinks stands in his way. Three of the Carter High boys committed their first robbery five days after winning state at a local Jack in the Box at 2:30 am. This would be the first of 21 robberies 6 of the football players were involved in. These armed robberies would eventually cut their futures short, they were all granted sentences for up to 25 years. That state title should have been enough, but it wasn't. The players were so close to reaching their goals, but robbing a movie store for $256 dollars seemed like it would handle all of their
A tragic flaw, a fatal flaw, hamartia, a personality defect -- people can call it what they like, but ultimately, a tragic flaw is a personal fault in a character that leads to his downfall. The person who has the tragic flaw is known as the tragic hero. However, there are several more components that make up a such an individual. One idea is that tragic heroes in a story are usually dynamic; they change at least once throughout the narrative. An example of a tragic hero is King Creon in the play Antigone, but real people can be regarded as tragic heroes as well. Like Creon, in the play Antigone by Sophocles, Drew Barrymore should be considered a tragic hero because both have high status, noble qualities, and a tragic flaw. They recognize their flaws and suffer the consequences.
Shakespeare created a character in Macbeth who is strongly influenced in his decision making throughout the drama of The Tragedy of Macbeth. This drama is a Tragedy, hence the title, and has a hero, in Macbeth, who has a downfall. Readers become aware of the aspects that lead up to this predicament. Macbeth’s downfall was contributed equally from Lady Macbeth, the three weird sisters, and Macbeth’s ambition.
A tragic flaw is a trait in someone that can lead to their own demise or the demise of people around them. The play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare's tragic play, Macbeth explores the decline of the central character, Macbeth from a respectable warrior to a murdering and lying fiend. This change in character is a direct result of Macbeth’s unbridled ambition and greed.
The play Macbeth traces the character Macbeth's downward spiral from a brave, loyal soldier, to an ambitious, cold blooded murderer. Macbeth is the warrior hero in King Duncan's Scottish army. He is spoken of with great admiration. Macbeth is the Thane of Glamis because of his courage and valor. He is loved for his loyalty to King Duncan, and his bravery on the battlefield. Macbeth further proves his bravery and loyalty when he defeats the rebel, Macdonald. The King rewards Macbeth by naming him Thane of Cawdor. There are many factors which contribute to Macbeth's spiral downfall. The three main factors which contribute greatly to Macbeth's decline is the prophecies told to him by the witches, Lady Macbeth's influence and ability to manipulate Macbeth's judgment, and finally Macbeth's own ambition which drove his desire to be King.
In Macbeth, William Shakespeare portrays Macbeth’s dishonorable political advancement to his downfall, as the acquisition of foreseen titles ends in his execution. While Scotland is fearful of the invading forces, Macbeth’s valor in the battle with traitors secures him the positions of Thane of Cawdor, as well as Thane of Glamis. Macbeth is a character of bravery and courage. In the beginning, one believes that Macbeth is a stable, rational individual, although when Macbeth discovers the weird sisters’ forecasts that he will continue to obtain ranks, an insane character emerges from within. Macbeth’s actions are based upon motivation and truly evoke an imbalance in his mind.
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.” The main character of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth, is filled with ambition. Macbeth is a Shakespearean play in which Macbeth is given a prophecy by three witches which tells that he will eventually become king of Scotland. Macbeth, filled with ambition to fulfill these predictions, let’s nothing get in his way. The principles within Macbeth direct him and his ambition to perform very bad acts. Between Macbeth and his wife, the theme of ambition without morales leads to absolute destruction is abundantly present, especially as the play progresses.
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is described as being “valiant”. He is a skilled warrior, who is loyal to his king and his country. Almost single-handedly, he wins the war for Scotland. He defeats many of the enemy soldiers, including a traitor, all in the name of his king. But, when three witches encounter Macbeth and his friend Banquo, Macbeth’s ambition begins to grow. They tell Macbeth that he will be Thane of Cawdor and King. Soon after, Macbeth meets with King Duncan. He informs Macbeth that he is the new Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is astonished, and from then on he is obsessed with being king. His ambition begins to become ruthless when Duncan proclaims that his son Malcolm is the Prince of Cumberland, and therefore, the heir to the throne: “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step/On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap, /For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;/Let not light see my black and deep desires:/The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be/Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.” (I,iv,48-53) At this moment, Macbeth, realizing that they stand in the way of the witches’ prophecies, decides that both Duncan and Malcolm need to die for him to be king. As soon as Macbeth kills Duncan, he enters into a world of evil. Later in the play, Macbeth’s ambition becomes increasingly ruthless. He kills his best friend Banquo, and almost kills Banquo’s son, Fleance, because he believes they would stand in the way of his reign. The witches told Banquo “Thou shall get kings, though thou be none.” (I,iii,67) This means that Banquo himself would not be a king, but that his successors would be. Macbeth tries to prevent this by killing Banquo and his son Fleance.
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as a courageous and well-respected soldier who is loyal to his King and country. He is described by one of King Duncan's men as “brave Macbeth.” As a result of his bravery on the battlefield, Duncan decides to reward Macbeth with a new title – the Thane of Cawdor – as the last Thane was proven to be disloyal; however, Macbeth is unaware of this, and this creates tension in the audience. The opening scenes show that Macbeth is a powerful and courageous man who is not naturally inclined to do wrong, but is capable of being brutal when he needs to be. The meeting with the witches also reveal that Macbeth is a very ambitious man who craves an even greater power. There is contrast between Macbeth’s and Banquo’s attitudes towards the witches’ prophecies. Whilst Banquo dismissed the witches’ prophecies, Macbeth was “rapt withal.” This shows that Macbeth has thought about being “king hereafter.” Macbeth's first soliloquy reveals his deep desire to be king. His soliloquy also reveals that he would do anything to achieve it.
Insanity is defined as “[the] inability to understand the nature and consequences of one's acts or of events, matters, or proceedings in which one is involved.” In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the protagonist turned antagonist, Macbeth, was once “valour’s minion” (I.ii.16) a loyal and devoted nobleman of Scotland. However, he commits a heinous act of regicide in order to ascend the throne, only to become a tyrant who in the end was regarded as nothing but a “dead butcher” (V.ix.35). Macbeth was unarguably sane in the beginning of the play, however, at the end of the play its unclear whether or not Macbeth truly was a “deranged blood hound” (V.ii.32), or if he was still acting on his own accord. Critics may say that this “Bloody sceptered tyrant” (IV.iii.95), who murdered innocent people indiscriminately through the novel befell the holds of insanity, but in truth, Macbeth, whether for better or for worse, never was truly driven insane.
Human beings are not perfect, and, although people often make mistakes, it is the recognition of those mistakes and the demonstration of remorse that indicates an ability to change. In Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, spurred by the predictions of the witches of her husband’s future as king, makes decisions she will later come to regret. Although she appears to be strong in planning the king’s murder, her moments of doubt throughout the play indicate a sense of weakness which ultimately lead to her mental instability and death.
Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his ambition and it consequentially leads to his downfall and ultimate demise. Macbeth is a tragic hero who is introduced in the the play as being well-liked and respected by the general and the people. He brings his death upon himself from this tragic flaw. His strengths turn into his weaknesses and his ambition drives him to the edge and sets himself up for his tragic death.
Throughout the American history of many heroic leaders an excessive want for the power, leadership, and territory is what led to defeat, downfall, and even death. In the beginning of the play Macbeth was a good man ,but influenced by Lady Macbeth and her question of his manhood and the witches manipulative accusations of becoming King of Scotland forced Macbeth to murder his way to leadership and his death. Macbeth was valiant and brave ,but was influenced by the witches, Lady Macbeth, and ultimately himself.
The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is a tale of a man and his un-bridled ambition, set in ancient Scotland. Macbeth is a nobleman of the king of Scotland, Duncan, who is in mid-war with Norway. Macbeth and his fellow general Banquo encounter three witches. The witches tell the pair that Macbeth will be king, and Banquo’s children will also be kings. Any person in their right mind would question information given to them by strangers, let alone witches, but for some reason these statements intrigue Macbeth. They temp Macbeth to do evil things such as treason, and worse, to kill. Although un-bridled ambition is his main tragic flaw, there is one more that plays a big role in his decisions and the outcome of the story; Macbeth is far too impressionable.
We see the character of Macbeth go through a personality transformation after a powerful predicament from Three witches. Starting as the highly thought of thane of Glamis, Macbeth is told he shall become thane of Cawdor and then king. The witches, quickly portrayed as evil, could have predicted these events, or simply planted the idea in Macbeth’s head, to exploit his fatal flaw.