Comparison of Temptation in Macbeth and A Simple Plan

1599 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character development recitatif

William Shakespeare once stated, “Temptation is the fire that brings up the scum of the heart.”(William Shakespeare) Although slightly bleak, many works of art have this similar idea. Through this, similarities are found concerning aspects of each work. Differences occur in the protagonist’s own personal journey on the path of temptation. Undeniably, this parallel is found within William Shakespeare’s own infamous play, Macbeth and the two-time Oscar- winning film, A Simple Plan. Macbeth is fighting for the honor of kingship even though he is not liable to inherit the crown and only becomes acquainted with the idea through a prophecy of three witches. Hank Mitchell, the protagonist of the movie, is presented with 4.4 million dollars in an abandoned plane that he and his friends are first to find. The journeys of both Hank and Macbeth follow a similar plotline that deal with character changes, conflicts confronted and a tragic outcome which seem to root from the pull of temptation.

The personality changes of Hank and Macbeth seem to be largely similar and follow a certain course from beginning to end. Seemingly, Hank and Macbeth appear to be noble and respected within their community. Macbeth is even titled as a nobleman fighting in war for his King, Duncan. He fights along his companion, Banquo, and together they are able to defeat their allies and earn much respect from the other citizens. Hank starts out as approaching fatherhood and works for an insurance company. Many people within his community know him, such as the local sheriff Carl, for taking care of his younger and less successful brother, Jacob. Primarily, Hank and Macbeth hold strong values to do the right thing while being an average man.

Towards the unraveling of ...

... middle of paper ...

...cbeth devises his own simplistic plan to become King, while Hank devises a strategy to have the money remain a secret. Highly motivated and indulged for different reasons, Hank and Macbeth find themselves on killing sprees and eventually reach their goal just to have it easily taken away, mostly due to ignorance. It is quite grim to wonder if all humans were presented with a temptation as appealing as power or money, how much it could turn the most noble of humans to diabolical and greedy as seen within the tragedies of Hank Mitchell and Macbeth.

Works Cited

"William Shakespeare - Temptation Is the Fire That Brings up the Scum of the Heart. | Famous Quotes." 1,400,000 Famous Quotes | Lovely Quotes | Inspirational Quotes & Sayings - Friendship & Life Quotes - | Proverbs - Famous Movie Quotes! Web. 13 Dec. 2010. .

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Macbeth and A Simple Plan

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    Macbeth and “A Simple Plan” are both unique stories with different plots however; these two sources have a common topic of greed. In addition, the stories both portray the theme in similar situations. They both have a greedy family, murders and an ambition for power. To achieve this ambition, they show greediness when they are revealed to power, support cruel deeds and commit multiple murders of love ones.

    Read More

  • Macbeth vs A Simple Plan

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...m Lady Macbeth’s manipulation. In “A Simple Plan”, Hank was the person who would have never thought about doing anything wrong. He even told Lou that the American Dream is hard earned, and not stolen. Further into the movie, Hank suffocated Dwight without any second thoughts. He then disposed of the body as if it was an accident. This massive change in his behaviour came from the devious housewife Sarah. Both kind hearted and pure gentlemen was turned into cold blooded murdered by their beloved wives.

    Read More

  • Quotes Of Ambition In Macbeth

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people seek power, even if it will bring undesirous actions. In some cases, individuals bring their own destruction when they want more than they need. People’s greed can lose their sanity and allow them to do scandalous actions they would have never done. As a courageous warrior greedy for power, Macbeth allows his ambition take over and assassins his friends and family. Ambition harms more than it can benefit when powers with greed. In the Elizabethan play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare shows through the usage of blood that greedy ambition creates a guilty conscience to the mind and vengeance from the past.

    Read More

  • Ambition in Macbeth

    1798 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the play of “Macbeth”, Shakespeare gradually and effectively deepens our understanding of the themes and most importantly the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The main theme of Macbeth is ambition, and how it compels the main characters to pursue it. The antagonists of the play are the three witches, who symbolise the theme appearance and reality. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relation is an irony throughout the play, as most of their relation is based on greed and power. This is different from most of Shakespeare’s other plays, which are mostly based on romance and trust. There is also guilt that leads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to the final consequences of the play. As the progresses, the constant changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are exposed.

    Read More

  • The Roles of Greed and Pride in Shakespeare's Macbeth

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because of the witches’ prophecies, Lady Macbeth’s ambition and Macbeth’s greed, Macbeth diverges from his values and principles, corrupting him and ultimately leading to his downfall. Because of their greed and pride, the characters in the Tragedy of Macbeth end up not only losing everything that was important to them, but also the path on life they had tried so hard to stay on. Greed and pride shatters the fate that one would have had, whether fate is defined as where one would want to end up, or as where one will end up at.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Play Comparison

    807 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Shakespeare’s acclaimed tragedy, Macbeth, sometimes referred to as its euphemism ‘The Scottish Play’, is often thought of as one of his strangest and darkest plays due to its bleakness and interest in supernatural forces. However, there have been many films which have aimed to clarify the text to create meaning for students. Shanil Panchal discusses the 2005 BBC ShakespeaRe-Told film of the same name (directed by Mark Brozel), which successfully clarifies this unusual Shakespearean play through altering themes, the setting, and characters auspiciously creating meaning for students studying the play.

    Read More

  • Macbeth and His Mental Deterioration

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play centred around opposing forces trying to gain power in the succession for the throne of Scotland. Macbeth, in the beginning, is known to be a noble and strong willed man, who is ready to fight for his country. However, one may see that Macbeth has a darker side to him, he is power hungry and blood thirsty, and will not stop until he has secured his spot as King of Scotland. Though Macbeth may be a tyrant, he is very nave, gullible, and vulnerable.

    Read More

  • Ambition, Greed, Power, and Wealth in Shakespeare's Macbeth

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare illustrates how greed for power and wealth can result in the destruction of oneself as well as others.  The play's central character, Macbeth is not happy as a high-ranking thane - leading him to assassinate Duncan to become King, while unknowingly dooming himself.  Throughout the play many examples are evident of Macbeth's unquenchable thirst for power.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: The Mysterious Third Murderer

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Shakespeare's play Macbeth is a five-act drama that shows a clear example of how pride, greed, and power can alter a man's actions and personality. The taste of power blinds the story's main character, Macbeth. Sparked by Lady Macbeth, he becomes heartless and cruel as he kills anyone who is a threat to his power due to his paranoia of losing the throne. This fear ironically leads to his downfall and loss of the throne. The theme of the story is deceit and evil and how they affect a man's decisions.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Temptation In Macbeth

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    Temptation has a long history from the Garden of Eden to Shakespeare's play Macbeth: it even runs into the present and effects the lives of many teens and adults when they drink or drive or do something dumb riding dirt bikes and atvs in this present day in time. Most teenagers have a story like tempted doing idiotic things like party, drink, and drag racing. Luckily, most teens survive these relatively small infractions. Macbeth, on the other hand, he gave into a serious temptation that cost him his life. That's why shakespeare is still relevant today and temptation can cost a person siverly.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Theme Of Ambition

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    The consequences of murder and power are continuously shown as the tragedy proceeds. With a longing for power, his wife’s manipulative and convincing words help Macbeth endure assurance in his rule yet weaken any rational thoughts he had held prior to his crowning. His own desire for control soon ruled him out as a tyrant. Macbeth’s ambition, however, shows that although one attempts to rid those in their way of prosperity, there will always be potential threats to the throne; in this case, leading to the downfall of Macbeth.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: The Evolution of Corruption

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    Perhaps the most fundamental theme of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the inherent corruptibility of even a seemingly good man when ambition turns to greed, and Macbeth himself exemplifies this concept throughout the play. While at the outset he is seen to be loyal to his king, generally considered trustworthy, and displaying numerous other laudable qualities, Macbeth ultimately succumbs to the influence of those around him and becomes unequivocally evil, setting aside all his previously held morals and coming to be driven only by his lust for power. This transition is brought about by a wide variety of factors and plays an integral role in the development of the plot. In his tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare employs

    Read More

  • Corruption of Unchecked Ambition in Shakespeare's Macbeth

    1294 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Corrupting Power of Unchecked Ambition The main theme of Macbeth - the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints - finds its most powerful expression in the play's two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play, he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness.

    Read More

  • Temptation Of Evil In Macbeth

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    As is known to all, the three witches are the most wicked and dreadful characters in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. They play upon Macbeth, and manipulate his ambition of being the king. By their supernatural abilities, they cause Macbeth to kill many innocent lives and kill himself eventually. Through presenting the debut of the witches, portraying the physical appearance of the witches and describing the major scene of the witches, the play itself and 2010 Rupert Goold film adaptation convey the terror of witches and the temptation of evil by different elements.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Ambition In Macbeth

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, Macbeth directly focuses on the universal and powerful themes of ambition and insanity. These themes are considered most confronting for audiences due to their unanimous relevance. Throughout the play audiences are encouraged to see that ambition should only be achieved through ability or good fortune, otherwise it will be the cause of disaster; in this case the cost of ambition was life.

    Read More

More about Comparison of Temptation in Macbeth and A Simple Plan

Open Document