Preview

Macbeth And Charlie In Perks Of Being A Wallflower

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
298 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Macbeth And Charlie In Perks Of Being A Wallflower
Everyone approaches achieving their goals and ambitions differently, and each person will go to different lengths to achieve these goals. In Macbeth, the main character of the same name has huge ambitions, he wants to become king of Scotland. He is determined to achieve this goal, going to lengths such as personally causing physical harm, even committing treason and murder. Throughout the play he overlooks his morals and ethics and does whatever it takes to become king. He is obviously thinking only of himself and isn’t afraid to hurt people that get in his way.

In contrast, another character that had big ambitions was Charlie in Perks of Being a Wallflower. One of his desire throughout a lot of the book was to make sure his friends were happy. For example, during Christmas Charlie cuts himself off from the group, his only support system, because he kissed Sam rather than Mary Elizabeth.When Patrick broke up with Brad, Charlie parties with Patrick and let’s him self destruct because he thinks that's what will make him happy. He even suppresses his romantic feeling towards Sam because that’s what he thought she wanted. Charlie is very passive, he will put himself in a situation where he can get hurt if it means he can achieve his goal.
…show more content…
Charlie cares only for the people around him, he is willing to hurt himself so others will be happy. Whereas Macbeth only has the benefit of himself in mind, he will hurt others, going as far as murder to achieve his selfish goals. Everyone has goals and ambitions, and we will all go to very different lengths to achieve those

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    tell him he would become the King, he becomes willing to do anything to get to his goal. At the…

    • 1256 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macbeth is a very power greedy person. It is not necessarily his own doing that he is such a ruthless person. It all started (Macbeth being power greedy) with the Three Witches predictions: "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!/ All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of/ Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter." (1.3.50-54)<br><br>As soon as Macbeth learned of his future, he began to scheme on just exactly how he would fulfill these prophecies. That is when he decided that he would have to murder Duncan to fulfill the last prophecy. But that is when he had a change or heart. <br><br>The only problem with Macbeth deciding not to murder Duncan, is that all of a sudden Lady Macbeth became the power greedy one. This is when Lady Macbeth's scheming began. Although Macbeth had changed his mind and basically refused to murder Duncan, Lady Macbeth was able to eventually convince him to carry through with the plan. <br><br>Even though Macbeth was the one who executed the plan, Lady Macbeth was the mastermind behind the scheme. Her greed for power was the one major factor that possessed her to convince Macbeth of the plan and carry through with it. Macbeth murdered Duncan at Iverness, and became hysterical after doing so. As a result of Malcolm and Donalbain's suspicions resulting in their departure to England and Ireland Macbeth became king: this was the ultimate power that he and Lady Macbeth had as their goal (well, actually it was more of Lady Macbeth's goal), and now he eventually had received it. Nothing was going to take away this ultimate power from Macbeth, and he would do anything to keep it. Macbeth's ruthlessness results in him ordering three murderers to murder his best friend, Banquo. The power of being king has taken over Macbeth's life, and he is a victim of his own greed for power. He is a tyrant. Not only does Macbeth murder Banquo (not directly, of course), he also murders (actually he has people murder) Macbuffs family.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the start of the play Macbeth is brave and loyal and displays many of the attributes of a great king. However after conversing with the three witches his state of mind goes on a downward spiral eventually ending in his demise. His thirst for power and wealth cause him to act foolishly and with haste rather than waiting to see if the witches’ predictions come true. It is clear from Macbeths reaction to King Duncan telling Malcom that he will be Prince of Cumberland that Macbeths desires have already started to take a toll on his mind ‘That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, For in my way it lies.’ (I. IV. 48). This clearly shows that ambition is taking away Macbeths rational thoughts and he is choosing to act without thought towards the consequences and is only focused on his goal of becoming…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ambition is presented as dangerous quality. It has caused the downfall for Macbeth and triggered many deaths in the play. In act 3, scene 1, he decides to kill his best friend, Banquo so he can stay king. To be king is nothing. To stay king... that's what matters. My fear of Banquo runs deeps. It's his natural nobility that’s so threatening .” pg 51. Macbeth has killed Duncan to make himself king of Scotland, but he fears that it will be all for nothing if in the long run if Banquo's descendant rather than his own are destined to wear the crown. So he hires assassins to murder Banquo and tries to murder Fleance, in effort to destroy the family that someday will take his place on the throne.…

    • 846 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Power Analysis

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Despite Macbeth seeming noble and courageous towards the court, I, as a reader, am knowledgeable of his true feelings and do not feel sympathetic towards him. He does not fulfill the definitions of a sympathetic literary character that I carry in my mind, as he is aware and in control of his evil intentions and actions. In Act I, Macbeth’s initial reaction to the prophecy is murder, and his eventual commitment to the act showcases his true character as a murderous but independent…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ambition can often times be considered the motivation in one’s life. It is one of the key sources to success. Ambition can blind one from determining from what’s right and what’s wrong. Having much ambition can have positive or negative effects. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare Macbeths ambition led to destruction of himself.…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as a very heroic character who doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything. He is described as a warrior who stabbed a man in the stomach, cut him from there to the throat, and cut his head off and stuck it on a post. The type of man that would do something like this definitely does not seem like the type of man who would be nervous to become king. Even if the only way he was going to become king was by murdering the man who is currently king, and in this specific case it would be King Duncan of Scotland. Personally, I believe that Macbeth’s imagination both prompts him to commit and crime and also makes it hard for him to commit the crime because he over thinks things, he listens to his wife too much, and he desires power too much.…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What Is Macbeth's Ambition

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages

    After the three witches, or weïrd sisters, tell Macbeth about his future of becoming king, he became fixated on the sense of his head being adorned with the crown. While it was not his intended idea to kill the king, he does so in order to satisfy his desire to have the crown on his head. While Macbeth may have felt guilty of his deed, his ambition led him to slay the lives of more innocent people in order to keep his objective from failing. In fact, Macbeth’s aspiration to rule without the pressure or the questioning of others gave him the motivation to murder his best friend, Banquo. Macbeth states, “Whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall Who I myself struck down. And thence it is, That I to your assistance do make love, Masking the business from the common eye For sundry weighty reasons” (Act 3, scene 1 Pg. 89 Shakespeare). Macbeth was so determined to remove any threats to his reign that he became daring enough to hire someone to murder his friend and his family. Macbeth’s ambition took control of the situation, and because Macbeth needed to satisfy his ruthless desire, he preformed the immoral act of murder. As Napoleon Bonaparte once stated, ambition can be used for good or bad acts, depending on the values that are influencing these motivations. Macbeth, seeing the only way to become king was commit murder, was motivated and so determined to take the…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth and Macduff

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages

    thoughts” (1:5:40). Lady Macbeths uses the harsh “t” expresses her self loathing toward her self and her weakness. “Nor keep peace between” (1:5:45). There is an eerie “e” sound portrayed in this line.…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    His eager and impatient schemes for power and influence led to an overwhelming guilt that ended in self-reproach and shame. His drive to become king instigated actions he would never have done if achieving his goal wasn’t so concrete and tangible. Ambition alone can occasionally be a good thing, helping one to reach their end goal, but when that motivation is taken over the edge and makes one feel guilty and weak willed it is often considered a fatal flaw. Shakespeare does not give Macbeth the opportunity to enjoy what he achieved, proving that it is more satisfying to attain your goals fairly than to obtain them through malicious and corrupt actions. When Macbeth realizes the only to achieve the throne was to kill Duncan, his first defiling act was committed, leading to shame and remorse: "How is’t with me, when every noise appals me? What hands are here!...No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red” (Act II, scene II, line). The color green symbolizes Macbeth’s remorse and disdain towards his actions, showing that his ambition led to destruction of his personality and self awareness. The murder of Duncan was the beginning of Macbeth’s path to self destruction and moral corruption.…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is Macbeth A Tyrant?

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shakespeare wrote many works of literature that covered many different topics. In Macbeth, one of his main topics was ambition. Macbeth was driven by ambition causing him to commit his first murder. He then begins to commit other crimes including murder again in order to cover up for his other crimes. Eventually, Macbeth is seen as a tyrant that loses his life for it. We assume that Lady Macbeth also goes crazy but in reality she is plotting and calculating. Her greed and conscious begin to weigh heavy on her and she ends up committing suicide. Proof of this is when Lady Macbeth says, “It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without the illness should accompany it.” (N.p., n.d. Web Dec 2015). Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to become king so badly that she pushes him to commit murder so that he may become king. He ends up giving in to their ambition by killing Duncan after Lady Macbeth belittles him and makes him believe she will leave him. Although…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare portrays the theme of ambition within the story. Ambition can be shown in many different ways, many of them being good. But Shakespeare showed it differently in Macbeth, a more murderous way. It can be argued though that his ambition to become king is caused by different people. Once the three weird witches tell Macbeth his future, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.51-53), he got the taste of power and had a motive to kill whomever got in his way of becoming king.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth was a noble and loyal man, who would never harm his King. If it wasn't for the influences of the witches and his wife, Lady Macbeth, he would have lived happily as Thane of Cawdor, an honorable title in itself. The downfall of Macbeth was ignited by the actions by those around him, mainly, and eventually, his ambitions took over. Macbeth never had the intention of killing his king, but was ultimately persuaded that it was the correct thing to do. With his wife’s cajoling, and the three witches’ foretelling of his future Macbeth, will stop at nothing to gain position as King of Scotland.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macbeth

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Macbeth was very hesitant about killing honorable men to get what he desired most. After he made the first murder, all of the other ones were easy and he had no thought about it at all. The prophecies that the witches conjured triggered his greed to become king and to help his fate come true. First he killed Duncan so he could take his place and be crowned the king of Scotland, which led Malcolm in fleeing the country helping Macbeth to take the throne. Malcolm was next in line, but he…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth was seen as a brave and noble man by all of his peers, and even King Duncan himself. This is why Duncan proclaimed “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won,” (1.2.67) referring to the fact that he named Macbeth to be Thane of Cawdor. One would think that after such accomplishment and high standing that Macbeth would be satisfied with his position. However, this is not the case. It is obvious that Macbeth has ambition, as most people who are in power do. In fact, ambition is often a necessary quality of people in such high standing as Macbeth is. However, Macbeth’s ambition does not just drive him to do great things. It in fact controls him: “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’ other---” (1.7.25-28) Macbeth clearly realizes that his ambition is too great. It is about to make him do something that he knows is wrong, and is against everything he has supposedly stood for, yet he also knows there is nothing he can do to stop it. Macbeth second guesses his intent to murder Duncan before he commits the crime: “We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honored me of late, and I have…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays