Examples Of Being Blind In Macbeth

1604 Words7 Pages

Have you ever been working on a paper for school or practicing for a tournament for so long that you forget to eat? I think most people have had a moment where they were so caught up with wanting to do well in something that they forget about what is important (in that example, taking care of your body). The definition of “blind “ is “adjective. 1.unable to see; sightless. 2. lacking perception, awareness, or discernment.” In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, his characters Macbeth, a Scottish general and Thane of Glamis, and his wife, Lady Macbeth, are overcome with the desire to succeed that they lose track of what is right and wrong and become blind to the consequences of their actions. The play begins with three witches informing Macbeth and his friend …show more content…

The effects of our actions become an afterthought, and our own ambition leads the way, blocking out everything else. Most people however, work hard and honestly to succeed, while Macbeth and Lady Macbeth choose to murder and lie. Macbeth’s ambition causes him to lose common sense and give into his wife’s persuasion, leaving him wracked by guilt and insane with power, even killing his friend Banquo and imagining daggers. Lady Macbeth imagines her and her husband living a lavish life and lets that dream take over, forgetting about how this could affect her sanity, which eventually leads to her death. Even though you could say they knew about the consequences (as evidenced by Macbeth’s considering why it is wrong and wondering what would happen if they fail), so they weren’t blinded by their ambition, this is untrue because they were blind in the sense that they could not judge well the pros and cons of killing Duncan and could perceive correctly. This proves that whenever given the opportunity to do well, we should always think about the consequences on what could happen if we go too far. We need to look at it from every angle and ask ourselves “Is it really ok to cheat or am I overzealous? How is this going to end? Am I really doing what is right?” It’s important to aspire and be determined, but we need to make sure we are not blinded by our ambition, because even if we think we are seeing clearly now, hindsight is 20-20. It could be that we really were marching forward blinded, so we have to make sure our motivation and desire to succeed isn’t inhibiting our ability to see