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Macbeth character analysis
Character and character traits in macbeth
Character and character traits in macbeth
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Everyone knows the feeling. The nagging in the pit of your stomach that makes you rethink your actions. The feeling that makes you nervous, sweaty and scared. Guilt, an emotion that occurs when a person believes that they have violated a moral standard. Imagine a world without guilt. People would feel no remorse in anything they did, no conscience that monitored their actions. It is a powerful feeling that can both hold people back and push them towards action. This strong emotion is portrayed in several very popular pieces of literature. In the novel Macbeth, William Shakespeare shows how Macbeth’s guilt motivates him to make fatal decisions to try and hide his culpability, such as killing the king, killing Banquo and killing Macduff’s family. …show more content…
In act 5, before being hanged, Reverend Hale urges him to confess about performing witchcraft. However, he is strong minded and does not confess, because he would rather die being honest than live being a liar. He would rather have his good name and for people to think of him as a good man instead of ruining his family’s reputation. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” Act 4. Therefore, he dies peacefully, while winning the battle between him and himself and the battle between him and the society of Salem. His ability to face his guilt and stay strong mentally allowed him to overcome the trials and tribulations of the town and himself. Although both these characters face internal conflicts dealing with guilt, one comes out a hero and the other a
‘The Crucible’ is a great example of morally ambiguous characters. A plethora of characters with blurry ethics exist within the world of ‘The Crucible’, this makes it difficult to distinguish who is truly good and who is evil. Arthur Miller has a fantastic approach to how he displays his characters and their moral standpoints. Adultery, lying, and even the suspicion of witchcraft, within the community brings out the worst in the townspeople. John Proctor is an example of how thin the lines are drawn between a complete saint and a damned sinner.
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of persecutions of the alleged witches to determine their fate, which began February of 1692 and ended May of 1693. Mccarthyism is the false accusations of proving someone is “Unamerican”(communist), that began in the February 1950 and ended June 1954 . Miller wrote The Crucible to show his point of view of Mccarthyism; however, the text wasn’t based directly on the time period of McCarthyism, but in the time of Salem Witch Trials so it could be published. Though The Crucible is fiction, the allegorical character of John Proctor reflects the author in the following ways: Being falsely accused and how they reacted to the accusations. How both were offered bribes having to make an laborious decision. Why they did not accept the bribes they were granted.
Each character has a certain failing that they represent in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, more than anyone else. For Thomas Putnam his failing is how he would do anything to get vengeance on Francis Nurse. John Proctor failing is dishonesty to protect which undoubtedly cause his own down fall. Reverend Parris whose materialistic ways for money will end up with him having nothing. Putnam’s vengeance, Proctor’s dishonesty to protect, and Parris’ materialism all show a failing that will have consequences for someone in Salem.
Have you ever told a lie to protect yourself or someone you love? People lie for their own purposes. Some people lie for themselves or for their close one. They depend on the lies so much that they do not care that their lies might hurt others. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, almost all the characters lie for their own desires and to protect their own interests. Even though lies are forbidden in their religion, some people are blind to understand the punishment of lying. The concept of lying to save oneself is also evident in “Fear Was Reason For Lying About Shooting, Woman Says” by Mary Spicuzza. The article highlights how a woman hid the truth about witnessing a murder just for the sake of her own life. Another article, “The Truth
He transforms from being arrogant to humble. Hale studies for several years and acquires the knowledge on various legal procedures that make him feel, “of himself much as a young doctor on his first call. His painfully acquired armory of symptoms, catchwords, and diagnostic procedures are now to be put to use at last.” (Miller 36, Act I). His ultimate goal being in Salem is to eliminate the Devil and is sure of himself due to the amount of legal training he acquires. However, we see his confidence start to fade when he witnesses the court accusing and murdering good people without any tangible proof. At this point, Hale starts to show signs of doubting his work. He realizes at this point that he has sent innocent people to their deaths. After reevaluating his soul he shows up to the jail where many people accused of witchcraft are being held, hoping he could help save lives and redeem his abilities. The reason being that “Life, woman, life is God 's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may justify the taking of it.” (Miller 132, Act IV). He is no longer confident in his ability to prove people guilty for being a witch and is willing to help save people because he knows it is proper justice to help the prisoners. After realizing that he let the thought of his legal training get to his head, he becomes more humble.
To start, Reverend Hale experiences extreme guilt for helping with the witch trials. When Hale returns to Salem, he explains his guilt by saying, “There is blood on my head! Can you not see the blood on my head!!” (131). Hale is saying that he feels he is the cause of all the deaths in Salem. He is taking blame for them and is showing how remorseful he is. Second, Hale realizes that what he has been doing is wrong. He explains to Elizabeth that he is no longer with the court by saying, “I come of my own, Goody Proctor. I would save your husband’s life, for if he is taken I count myself his murderer” (131). Hale is finally owning up to his actions and seeing where he was mistaken. He is making up for his mistakes by trying to convince the accused to confess so they will not get hanged. Last, Hale comes back to work for the people to finally get his redemption. Hale tells Danforth, “I come to do the Devil’s work. I come to counsel the Christians they should belie themselves” (131). Hale is able to regain his goodness when he helps the accused witches fight for their lives and confess to a crime they did not commit. He is able to walk away a better man, as he is able to help some people live longer, instead of signing their death warrants. In conclusion, Hale comes to his senses late, but he is still able to free himself of his guilt by working for the
In the play the “The Crucible”, by Arthur Miller there are many examples of weakness, courage and truth. As we read the play and watch it, we can see there is more weakness than courage, and more lies than truth. With John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor there are things proctor has done to mess their relationship up, and make it cold instead of warm and loving. Abigail Williams also is making lies about seeing the devil, and she is making her father feel as if she is innocent, when she isn’t. This play poses more lies than truth, which makes us understand we should not lie, it draws unnecessary attention.
Shakespeare? Guilt is defined as the fact or state of having offended someone or something. Guilt may cause a person to have trouble sleeping and difficulty in relationships with others. The effects of guilt tie into Macbeth with the theme of night
Many characters in The Crucible fall under the trap of lying, if not to other people, then to themselves. The Crucible is a fictional retelling of events in history, surrounding the Salem witch trials. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during 1692 and 1693. Additionally, Miller wrote the play as an allegory to mccarthyism, which is the practice of making accusations without evidence. In the play, Arthur Miller develops the theme of lies and deceit by showing Abigail lying for her own benefit, John Proctor committing adultery, and Elizabeth lying to protect her husband.
Because he is forced to accept that his beliefs have been messed with and realizes that he has sent people to their deaths, he loses faith in the law and questions his faith in God. Arthur Miller put many events into the story and tells about Hale’s mindset. In the middle of Act I, Hale comes and what he is called by the townspeople “The truth seeker”. Hale is called upon to determine what sort of witchcraft is going on. Hale arrives admired by the people who wants him to calm this nonsense of witchcraft down. He understands he being led toward the conclusion of witchcraft by the town’s wrong doings. He also begins to see a weakness in the position of the townspeople of Salem and tries to not let common things be the support for his
crime or not, O.J. has shown no signs of guilt. This can be interpreted as
They say “Honesty is the best policy”, but that isn’t necessarily true especially for those who lived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Honesty may have been a good trait for someone to have, but during the witch trials people rethought that. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller portrayed many people as good puritans. Always loyal and honest throughout their lives, and avoiding any sins that they possibly could. But there were people who had to sin to save their lives or even to save their reputation. Abigail Williams was just an young girl who turned to lying in order to save herself during the Salem Witch Trials. At the same time, Elizabeth Proctor was not agreeing with the witch business that she was accused of. You could tell lies during this time, and no one would think that you were turning too sins because the entire town was becoming obsessed about all those accused of possible witchcraft. While some were being accused, others were avoiding the truth when confessing. Like when Abigail never confessed to drinking blood when she was with Tituba and Betty. In The Crucible, Honesty was portrayed
The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller. In the town of Salem, the people’s obsession of trying to provide justice only caused injustice against the accused. The law of Salem was guilty until proven innocent. Their government was also a theocracy, and their obsession with religion also caused the injustice.
The Salem Witch Trials, Who is Really Guilty? After all of the witch trials in 1692 concluded, a total of 20 people were hanged, all because of people craving attention and personal gain. There are three people depicted in Arthur Miller's The Crucible that are most responsible for this and they are, Abigail Williams, Judge Danforth, and Thomas Putnam. Abigail Williams is mostly responsible for the Salem witch trials because she was the first person to start accusing innocent people of witchcraft.
A crucible refers to a harsh test, and in The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, each person is challenged in a severe test of his or her character or morals. Many more people fail than pass, but three notable characters stand out. Reverend John Hale, Elizabeth Proctor, and John Proctor all significantly change over the course of the play.