Betrayal is to expose treachery or disloyalty to someone, and this behavior has been around with the human race for a long time. From ancient civilizations, to modern day politics, to literary works old and new, betrayal has been the answer for many different situation throughout time whether good or bad. Great examples of betrayal, deception and exaggeration are in the series of fantasy novels written by American novelist and screenwriter George R.R. Martin. The series of novels called “A Song of Ice and Fire” takes place on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos.
The story focuses on multiple families, or Houses, fighting to control the Iron Throne, which lies in the capitol city of Westeros called King’s Landing. Houses form alliances with other Houses against one another and a young girl in Essos named Daenerys is slowly rising to power with an army and three dragons. Adding to it, a supernatural army of undead is marching down from beyond the great ice wall in the North of Westeros for unknown reasons. All of these events give way to betrayals and deceptions that are done for the greater good of the realm of Westeros, and for the greediest and most power-hungry reasons of selfishness.
An example of betrayal for the greater good in the series is told in the book “A Storm of Swords” by Ser Jaime Lannister. He tells Brienne of Tarth about when he was part of the Kingsguard many years ago in King’s Landing during the reign of the “Mad King” King Aerys II Targaryen. When Jaime was serving as a member of the Kingsguard, he heard the Mad King give orders to burn King’s Landing, along with all of its inhabitants, to the ground to spite the rebellion led against him by Robert Baratheon, Eddard Stark and Jon Arryn. The Mad Kin...
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...f Swords). He was referring to the fortresses along The Wall that the Night’s held. If Jon had not lied, the Wildling’s would have invaded the civilized lands of Westeros and killed everyone in their paths for a thousand miles until they would have reached an army that could stop them.
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Martial betrayal forms a central basis for the relations between the main characters of Abigail, John Proctor, and Elizabeth Proctor. John betrayed his wife by cheating with Abigail, and throughout the course of the play, he attempts to redeem himself. This brings up an interesting topic of whether cheating can ever be justified. Elizabeth feels partially responsible because she was cold to him, and she believes that it was her coldness that led her husband to betray her. However is there ever an excuse for cheating? Can cheating on one’s spouse be justified if one’s spouse is not loving and well treating of their spouse? Martial betrayal still is relevant today, it is a human flaw that will not simply just disappear from our society. Even prominent figures such as Bill Clinton have been accused of such actions and society still contains several such cases of adultery.
Ellison, Ralph. "Battle Royal." Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, and drama. 9th ed and Interactive ed. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005. 555-566.
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It is here that one begins to see the theme of revenge and the idea that power can cause corruption. A family is supposed to be loyal and trusting of each other without any doubts; or so it was thought. Shakespeare uses Claudius’ betrayal of late King Hamlet to disprove the notion that family is always loyal. Claudius’ jealousy of his own brother and his desire to be the most powerful in Denmark corrupted him. It led him to betray his own family, a bond that is supposed to be unbreakable, and all the while feeling no guilt while acting as if he had not committed the crime. In addition to this, Claudius also takes late King Hamlet’s wife. Hamlet is enraged by the crime and adultery committed by his supposed family and feels he must seek justice for his father by taking out revenge on Claudius and therefore betraying him. Subsequently, the play becomes a slippery slope of events stemming from betrayal and revenge. The betrayal of one character became the revenge and betrayal of many others as seen when Horatio says, “… violent and unnatural acts, terrible accidents, casual murders, deaths caused by trickery and by threat, and finally murderous plans that backfired on their perpetrators,” showing that each act committed by the characters were returned back to them. This can be supported through the deaths of Claudius, Laertes, and Hamlet as these were just a
Destruction of a family member may be gruesome. Although betraying a family member is deceitful. When there is false affection towards others, the truth will become noticed. To many, family is a top priority, to keep safe and loved by others, with no secrets among none. This may be possible for some, but in the Shakespearean play, Hamlet, this is not so. One thing that is more common in the entire play is betrayal from different family members, especially the Uncle. But, in a way that Hamlet discovered the truth was unorthodox. With Hamlet, the King of Denmark, finding out who killed his father was like being stabbed in the back because it felt unreal to know that your own blood can kill a loved one, just to be crowned king. The process of Hamlet killing his Uncle was
YORK, LORRAINE. "Wars, The (1977)." Oxford Companion To Canadian Literature (1997): 1168. Literary Reference Center. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
The Odyssey by Homer is a very good example of fidelity and infidelity. The odyssey is a tail of love, courage, and hope. It focuses on "a man of twists and turns." Odysseus is a man whom gets lost at sea because of Poseidon, the god of the sea, he tries to get back to his wife and son in Ithaca. But he is put through so much trouble to get there.
Another example of the betrayal of a friend occurs not too long after. While Vladek and his family are hiding in the attic bunker in the ghetto, they are forced to go out in search of food at night. One night while they are scavenging they find a stranger who wanders into their house. The stranger tells them that he has a wife and a baby that he needs to find food for and he only wandered into the house to rest for a moment. The refugees take pity on him and allow him to stay with them for a short while, despite their gut feeling...
The biggest evidence showing the embodiment of betrayal and dishonesty within Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is when Hamlet accuses ...
Revenge almost always has the makings of an intriguing and tragic story. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a perfect example of how revenge unfolds and what it unveils. The play tells the story of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark. Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, marries his mother soon after his father’s death. Hamlet greatly disapproves of the hasty marriage and suspects foul play. His suspicions are confirmed when the ghost of his father appears and tells him that Claudius murdered him. Hamlet’s father asks him to take revenge upon Claudius, and soon everything takes a drastic change. The courses of revenge throughout Hamlet surround each character with corruption, obsession, and fatality.
Ellison, Ralph. "Battle Royal." Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ST. Martin's, 2012. 1494-505. Print.