Theme Of Greed And Ambition In Macbeth

Emily Brown

Mr. Sowden

English 12A

18 October 2016

Power, Greed and Ambition Found in Macbeth

In Macbeth, the characters´ greed and initial impulses drive them. Rarely do they consider the serious repercussions for their actions. Macbeth and his wife in particular stopped at nothing, killing multiple people in their way for Macbeth to become king. This puts them in a state of a dangerous rage, leaving a trail of lies and terror behind them. This state leads to consequences and a dramatic downfall later on in the play. Although Macbeth is only a play written in 1606, there are many concepts and characteristics that can be connected to several periods that we have seen in the past 100 years. The extreme ambition that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

A well-known example of this type of government is Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany was run by Adolf Hitler who shares many similarities to Macbeth during Nazi Germany’s rise to power. Towards the beginning of their quest to power, both leaders were model soldiers and good men. Macbeth is even described by the Captain as a courageous gentlemen: ”Like valor’s minion carved out his passage, Till he faced the slave; Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, Till he unseamed him from the nave to th' chops,” (Macbeth, I, ii). Hitler was the model and fearless soldier that Macbeth is portrayed to be in the above quotation. He believed everyone should have a car so he invented the Volkswagen which is also known as, ¨the people's car.¨ Doing things such as these established respect for Hitler as Germany's leader. Hitler had good intentions, but this changed when the hunger for power grew out of control. Like Macbeth, Hitler killed many innocent and undeserving people because he thought they were a threat to his reign as king. Macbeth´s ambition drives him much like Hitler's ambition did during World War II. Hitler was ambitious and continued to crave power even after he took over all of

Nixon was fearful of opposition and that someone may turn against him. He also developed guilt over the illegal Watergate and fear that he would be caught. His paranoia eventually led to his downfall. Like Nixon, Macbeth performed many actions driven by his desire for power and control. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on th' other”(Macbeth I, vii). This quotation above shows that Macbeth knows that what he's doing is wrong, but continues to do it anyways because he wants to eventually become king. He is paranoid that people may be out to get him and take his throne