Adversity In Macbeth

A person’s character is developed by the surroundings around them as well as their experiences. The Roman poet Horace quotes “…Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents in which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant…” I agree with the Roman poet, Horace, in that adversity has a way of waking talent from slumber. Adversity can encourage people in ways success and wealth cannot, as there is a benefit in the hardship. In Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, as well as Macbeth, by Shakespeare, adversity has developed the characters. From my observation, I strongly agree that experiences, such as hardship and danger, shape a person.
In the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, many characters must adjust to the face of adversity to better their

life’s and careers. The author, Rebecca Skloot, describes many of the characters person life experiences and the hardships they faced. The Lacks family had to experience many hardships, yet one major one. The family found out that people were making money off Henrietta’s cells without their knowledge. The family felt betrayed and refused to talk to anyone about the HeLa cells. They had to overcome adversity, which shaped them to the people they are today. When Rebecca came along the family didn’t want to talk to her but, overcame the fear and danger they thought they saw in her. Overall, she helped them learn, gave them new experiences in labs and at conferences, which they missed for so long. Henrietta’s family, especially Deborah, was shaped by the hardships the family encountered, in ways of betray, death, and being less fortunate. Not only Deborah was shaped by her mother as well as her cells, her brothers learned about her, as well as Henrietta’s husband, David. By the end of the book, Skloot tells the families story of fear and betray which by the end is replaced with knowledge about Henrietta as well as the family being shaped by the experiences and adversity they faced.
In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, the character Macbeth is constantly handing adversity, which at times results in various dilemmas as a result of his tragic flaw.

Macbeth’s provocative or violent actions on the challenges placed before him cause him to build an effect of downfall and dismay throughout the play. Originally, Macbeth handles his challenges in different ways and manners and is constantly changing his procedure. From handling situations carefully to not caring, Macbeth and his violence resulted in guilt and selfishness which he had to overcome. By the end of the play, Macbeth had become a selfish, greedy king and the challenges as well as experiences he encountered shaped him into who he is. He was shaped by the guilt of killing Banquo and Duncan, just to become powerful and a king. For example, in Act 3 Scene 4, Macbeth faces adversity when his mind creates a ghost of Banquo, who he just found out was killed. In Macbeth, the uprising of adversity was often handled in various manners. By dealing with his own challenges, Macbeth transforms his handling of adversity from being cautious to thoughtless, which reflected his character and the transformation he portrayed throughout the

play.
From my personal experiences, I feel hardship and adversity does shape a person. I understand that hardship or challenges can make you work harder. For example, my grandma was diagnosed with cancer, and she battled every single day. Although, she was scared, as we all were, the challenge of getting a back to normal life has make her work harder to battle the cancer. With her illness, she has been shaped into a determined and stronger person. On a different note, I feel kids who are spoiled never learn challenges for the real world. For example, I know kids who have parents who hire cleaners to clean there room and the house, do the laundry and wash the dishes. These kids never face adversity, and when the real time comes for them to move out, they have a harder time to adjust to the life. Also, people who experience more hardships can be pushed to have a great life and more success overall. To me, adversity is a major factor in people’s character and lifestyle.
Everyone will face adversity in their lifetime, granted small or large decisions or hardships; it will never be the same for one to another. Although you may not realize it, everyone’s character is shaped on adversity, and there personal experiences from day to day. In the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and in Macbeth, the characters were pushed by hardship and shaped by adversity. Although challenges or hard days may not be fun in the moment, looking back there will be an outcome and experience, whether good or bad, to learn from, and to shape who you are. I agree with Horace’s quote on adversity and how it shapes people to who they are.