Who Is Responsible In Macbeth

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One day, three witches tell you that you will be ruler. You will be superior. You’re close friends with the king and your wife tells you that you’re a coward if you don’t kill him anyway. Power is in your reach. Is it morally right to seize it? Macbeth asks readers this very question.
Macbeth is one of the most popular stories of all time on the subject of morality. When three witches tell the ambitious Macbeth of his future as a king, he and his wife assassinate King Duncan. They continue a life of murder to hold the throne. Macbeth kills two guards outside of Duncan’s room to prevent them from pointing fingers at him and his best friend Banquo in fear that Banquo’s kids will become kids (another magical prophecy). Finally, he kills
The ultimate cause of murder is fear. (Source 4). Macbeth demonstrates many of these fears. Macbeth kills Banquo because he has a fear of competition for the crown. He kills Duncan with fear of being cowardly and unmanly. He kills two servants for fear of being caught killing Duncan (Source 5). Other examples of murder motives come from pop culture, such as the cult classic Heathers. Jason Dean, a psychopath who uses his popular girlfriend Veronica to help him kill the bullies of Westerburg High, is afraid of Ram Sweeney and Heather Chandler of further bullying and ruining Veronica’s life. After the pair kills Sweeney, they also have to kill his best friend, Kurt Kelly, because he was a witness. That’s a fear of being caught, exposed, and sent to prison. Another example includes The Hunger Games, where contestants of the Games are forced into an area to kill each other. They kill with a fear of failure, a fear of never seeing their families again, and ultimately, a fear of their own deaths. It is often thought that murder reveals societal aspects and expectations, but society reaps murderers through their own expectations and by causing all of these fears (Source
Everyone goes through a process of moral development, which Lawrence Kohlberg says contains six stages that develop through socialization. The first stages occur from four to ten years. Stage 1 dictates that one will do things they deem to be good to avoid punishment, such as an early bedtime or a ‘timeout’. Stage 2 is similar in the sense that one will do things that they deem good to earn rewards such as candy or time on electronics. The next two stages occur anywhere from the preteen years to being a young adult. Stage 3 is popular for moral flexibility, as the definition of what’s good changes. Those in Stage 3 often do things they deem good to avoid rejection, such as sleepovers and sneaking out of the house. This changes to Stage 4, when most agree that the things they deem good are in accordance with laws. Some teenagers and young adults do not reach this point for a long time by living immoral lives of underage drinking and illegal drugs. The final stages are not reached by everyone. Stage 5 considers good things to be anything that helps the greater good. Those in Stage 5 are the most likely to justify murder and torture in the case of saving others. This only gets tricky in cases such as Kelley and Sweeney from Heathers. They are known and accepted rapists at Westerburg, but are nonetheless worshipped as football stars. Would the act of killing them be justified by