Life Changing Effects Of Corrupted Ambition

Life Changing Effects of Corrupted Ambition Many people have hopes or goals that one might want to accomplish in their future. They may desire powerful positions or occupations, while others may desire prosperity and wealth. This is known as ambition, the spellbinding force that leads one toward success. However, an excessive amount can result in harmful acts and damaging outcomes to get ones temporary satisfaction. William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” shows a great deal of ambition between characters and how their choices made determine the fate of others. These acts can be expressed as a need for power, an urge to get revenge or using violence to reach goals. Each character has a unique reason for their ambition and a different way of displaying their desire to achieve their overall objective. Though out the story Macbeth strives to reach his goals and with the help of his power hungry wife, Lady Macbeth, he kills the good King Duncan and gets his wishes. He is then forced to contend with the vengeful son of Duncan, Malcolm. All these characters have distinctive desires and will endure violence, revenge, and betrayal in order to feed their ambition and gain power. All of these choices show how far a determined person will go to achieve their goals.

Macbeth is the most ambitious character in the play, he is a ruthless king who has people killed in order for himself to remain in power. From the beginning of the play, Macbeth was described as a kind person who would never kill to gain authority. While his ambition expands over the course of the play, it also exists prior to his hearing of the prophecy of the witches; these three sisters are the ones who initially plant the seed for his overwhelming ambition, he stated “"If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir." (I.3) Over the course of the play, as his success grows, so does his ambitious nature. After Lady Macbeth convinces him to kill Duncan, Macbeth’s life changes and will