Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth demonstrates what can happen when one pursues power at the expense of everything else. The main character, Macbeth begins the play as a strong character that is greatly admired, however as the play progresses, Macbeth’s personality and actions become more and more deceitful. Macbeth’s deceit eventually leads to his destruction.
Following the murder of Duncan, Macbeth realizes that the murder has put him into the control of demon forces which are the enemy of mankind. Macbeth recognizes that the conscious acts which torture him essentially reduce him to a human individual. This is the inescapable bond that keeps him “pale” and at Act 3 Scene 2, he states:
“Come seeling night
Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day,
And with thy bloody and invisible hand
Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond
Which keeps me pale”
The above quote by Macbeth demonstrates that he imagines that the execution of more murderous deeds, (instigation of the murder of Banquo), will help him pursue his interest of personal safety and also destroy any personal humanity left within himself.
Immediately after the death of Duncan, Macbeth is disgusted with himself for murdering Duncan. This is shown by Macbeth when he states:
“I have done the deed”
He says this instead of simply saying that he has murdered Duncan and is consequently almost trying to avoid the subject. This demonstrates that Macbeth is deeply ashamed of what he has done. Macbeth also feels that the killing of Duncan has cut him off from God, because before the murder the text is full of references to things being divine, but following the murder everything in the text becomes bleak and unhol…
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…e prophecies give Macbeth a false sense of security. Macbeth is very insecure, which is an explanation as to why he feels he has to kill anyone who he remotely views as a threat to his reign including his plan to murder Macduff:
“I’ll make assurance double sure”
I think this is because he is so insecure that he feels he needs to kill Macduff to make the prophecy come true. The multiple roles of Macbeth in the play demonstrate his changing character and illustrate the complete evolution of Macbeth’s personality. Macbeth begins as a respectable person and gradually his personality descends until he eventually falls apart and loses control. Perhaps the message that Shakespeare is sending is that no good will come from evil -even if it first appears that you will not be found out.
Works Cited:
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.
Feminist Refutation of the Deconstruction of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
A Feminist Refutation of the Deconstruction of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
As Captain Jaggery’s ostensibly moral imperative from Avi’s The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle implores, we the readers “protect the natural order of the world” through our disbelief in our heroine as reflected in our intuitive reflection upon and deconstructionalist critique of the book. In fact, it is likely that our disbelief of Charlotte’s story is as much a comment on our attitudes towards gender roles as it is an educated and thoughtful response to its clues. Even as we find ourselves believing along with the story, we, upon reflection, find valid ways to destroy that believability, in no small part because we define what she does as either “female” (believable) and “male” (not believable).
The preceding was provided so that the student could gain an understanding of the paper. The complete paper begins below:
So what we have here is a girl who admits she owns the weapon that murdered Mr. Hollybrass. A girl who lied about where she got it. A girl who was taught to use a blade, and learned to use it, as Mr. Grimes would have it, ‘uncommon’ well. A girl who, all agree, is unnatural in every way she acts. Gentlemen, do we not, as natural men, need to take heed? Is it not our duty, our obligation, to protect the natural order of the world? (Avi, 178)
As Captain Jaggery’s ostensibly moral imperative from Avi’s The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle implores, we the readers “protect the natural order of the world” through our disbelief in our heroine as reflected in our intuitive reflection upon and deconstructionalist critique of the book. In fact, it is likely that our disbelief of Charlotte’s story is a…
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…ive to males. This in itself indicates a gender expectation on the part of the reader, one that predisposes the reader to disbelieve and should lead us all to re-examine our motivations in deconstructing the text. Moreover, females and males alike colored Charlotte’s adaptation to her circumstances with a movement from a female role to a male role as if gender roles were intractable and binding from both the male and female points of view — she wouldn’t be able to do it, despite the fact that quite possibly her own survival dictated she probably could have not done otherwise! Once again, logic dictates that we at least acknowledge that our inability to accept Charlotte’s account could be more of a reflection of our gender expectations than her twisting of the truth.
Works Cited:
Avi. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. New York: Avon Books.1990.