In Shakespeare 's work, Macbeth, we see the slow moral decline of Macbeth explored throughout the story, with him slowly stopping his struggle against his evil ambitions, directly in relation to the amount of power he attains. The effect immoral actions have on people who repress the struggle against evil is explored with the character of Lady Macbeth. Up until the encounter with the prophecy of the witches, Macbeth 's moral character was intact. After the encounter with the witches, the ambition for power, deep within himself, is exposed. The witches give Macbeth the prophecy and plant a seed of evil in his mind. This is demonstrated with the quote:
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man (1.3.52-55)
At first glance this may seem like a defense of moral actions in response to the assertion of the witches of his ascension to the throne. But, in reality, the fact that Macbeth 's first impulse upon hearing the prophecy of his
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In the book, “The Fellowship of the Ring” by J.R.R. Tolkien, the way different characters struggle against evil and power, represented by the ring, is the driving force in the book. The ring is the physical embodiment of the worst evils: cruelty, domination, greed. As characters interact with this apparently innocuous trinket, their temptation to take and use the ring’s power corrupts them. The already powerful, such as Gandalf and Galadriel, desire to take the Ring, but they also fear the consequences of wielding its power. When doubting his ability to eliminate the ring, Frodo offers it to Gandalf. The wizard immediately refuses because he recognizes the danger: "the way of the Ring to my heart is through pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good”. Because the ring is evil, the wizard knows that any attempt to wield it, even for good purposes, will eventually end up being corrupted, because the power to do as one wishes without being seen is too great for