Macbeth was a book that tested the morals of a man that was
loyal to his king and docile to others. When Macbeth's decisions -making is put
to the test, he gives into his desires and to the pressure of power. Macbeth
showed that when we are given an opportunity to receive luxuries of power we
give into those desires and become someone entirely different.
Macbeth started off as a docile person that wasn't really independent in his
actions. Macbeth was a soldier loyal to his king but the prophecy of his rise
to power wavered his loyalty. "Are you afraid to match your acts with your
ambitions? Can you want that glittering prize-the crown-yet be a self-confessed
coward?" -Lady Macbeth (1,7,40-44). Lady Macbeth was able to manipulate
Macbeth when he was wavering in his decisions and allowed Macbeth to push
himself to go against the king. "All my faculties shall be devoted to this
terrible deed."-Macbeth. When Macbeth says terrible deed he still recognizes
that murdering Duncan is a bad thing to
do but he is still willing to go through with the deed for the sake of power.
Throughout the whole scene Macbeth shows signs of his decision still being
wishy-washy and doesn't have a concrete decision until he actually commits the
deed.
Macbeth became paranoid of people suspecting him to murder the king and
eventually came to trust only himself. "To be thus- a king- is nothing. I
must be safely thus. I fear Banquo deeply..." (3,1, 47-48). Macbeth fears
his best friend Banquo because Banquo has evidence that is highly likely to
accuse Macbeth for treason because he was there when Macbeth received his
prophecy. Macbeth says this quote because he feels he must do something about
Banquo because he knows too much. "Banquo scolded the Sisters when they
first told me I'd be king, and ordered them to speak to him. Then, like
prophets, they hailed him as the father to a line of kings."-Macbeth
(3,1,56-59). Another reason he is paranoid of Banquo is because he also got a
prophecy that his sons would become king. Macbeth would want Banquo and his
family to be out of the picture so he can have complete power and not have any
problems along the way. The decisions he made eventually led up to him changing
into a completely different person and became overcome by the power of being
king.
Macbeth changed from a docile person to a selfish person which came to be from
just hearing he had the chance at power. "All our yesterdays have merely
lighted the way for fools to reach their graves. Out, Out, brief
candle."-Macbeth (5,5,20-23) Macbeth didn't show any remorse in the way he
said it and said the people would eventually die. Macbeth in this quote showed
that the decisions he made had no effect on him anymore and showed he had
completely changed to another person. "I've almost forgotten the taste of
fear. There was a time when shrieking in the night would have turned me
cold."-Macbeth (5,5,9-12) This shows that Macbeth changed from all the ghosts
and being guilty from all the murders he commited. Macbeth developed a lot
during the story but also changed a lot in the end when he didn't really care
about his wife dying and such and that shows that power changed his life with
the decisions he made.
In the end, Macbeth was another person that gave into their desires and
eventually completly forgot about his own safety in the end. There are many
things Macbeth could have thought about and it could have turned out another
way such as the prophecy but with the thought of him having power drove him to
lead his fate in another direction. Macbeth drove himself to a wall and
completly lost himself in his desire to stay king, and ended up dying over his
decisions. Macbeth is a prime example that power leads people astray and that
power leads people to a downward spiral of a multitde of feelings.
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