One of the main themes in Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is the concept of fate. Throughout the book, Will contemplates whether he’s destined to kill the man who killed his brother. An example of this occurs when Will explains the rules to Dani because she questioned him for having a gun. “So I explained them to her so she wouldn’t think less of me for following them. So that she knew I had purpose. And that this was about family. And had I known The Rules when we were kids I would’ve done the same thing for her” (Reynolds 141). Will had grown up in an environment where getting revenge on behalf of those close to you was normalized. Dani doesn’t understand Will’s way of thinking because she didn’t live long enough to see people close to her …show more content…
Some of which you don’t even realize. Because of this, fate can sometimes be completely out of your control. By the summer between my 7th and 8th grade years at Norwood, the question of which high schools I was going to apply to came up. At the time, I was in 2 clubs and had good grades, so I wasn’t stressed out about not getting into a school. After talking to my parents and getting recommendations from my teachers, I decided to apply to 3 schools. The schools I chose were Landon, Bullis, and St. Albans. For some reason, St. Albans really caught my eye when I visited so it became my first choice, followed by Landon then Bullis. In March of that year, I finally heard back from all 3 schools. I was accepted into Landon and Bullis which was awesome however I was waitlisted from St. Albans which later became a rejection. At first, I was bummed out because it was my first choice, but quickly came to terms with my reality and picked Landon. Only later did I realize that this was a blessing in disguise. Some of my friends who went there were telling me how they were overwhelmed with schoolwork and stressed out. Thinking back on it, St. Albans probably wouldn’t have been the best fit for …show more content…
Furthermore, the prophecies drive the way he thinks for the rest of the play, leading him to hire assassins to kill Banquo. Macbeth does this to try to stop the prophecies from coming true, however the way that they are written implies that they are inevitable. Another point in the play, when the concept of fate appears, is when MacBeth’s mind is racing, and he feels uneasy about killing Duncan. He begins to hallucinate and sees himself reaching for a dagger as if he’s going to kill Duncan: “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have not seen thee, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? I see thee yet in form as palpable as this which now I draw.” (Shakespeare 51-53) Macbeth is initially confident in his decision to kill Duncan because he believes it’s the only way for him to become king. Despite his desire for power, MacBeth begins to struggle internally with the moral consequences of following through on his plan. This is evident when he begins to see the dagger as a false creation from his mind because he’s struggling to process his intense mix of emotions. Furthermore, the term “fatal vision” implies a connection to his
After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140). Macbeth has just gained more power, and his immediate thought is of how to gain an even higher status as king. He imagines how to kill Duncan, and then is troubled by his thoughts, telling himself it is wrong. This inner struggle between Macbeth’s ambition and his hesitation to kill Duncan is the first sure sign of his mental deterioration. Although Macbeth does kill Duncan, he questions whether or not he should to do so, which is far different from how Macbeth feels about murder later in the play. Macbeth becomes king, and this power leads
Macbeth, too rapt within his own fear to maintain rational reasoning, becomes a pawn of his fear-born confusion, leaving his mind no other option than killing Duncan. Had the murder been caused by ambition, Macbeth would not have been so hesitant in his actions. He would have had a clear goal and could have seen a crown instead of the "air-drawn dagger" which was the "very painting of [his] fear" (III.iv.62-63). Therefore, Macbeth's regression is spurred by a fearful frenzy, not the over-ambitious plotting of a rational man.
By murdering the king, Macbeth’s state of mind plummets. He experiences hallucinations, which can be seen as products of his paranoia. On the night of Duncan’s death, Macbeth sights a floating dagger before him. Questioning his judgment, Macbeth asks, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?” (II, i, 33-34). It reveals Macbeth’s swaying resolve to go through with the plan to kill Duncan. He also tells the “sure and firm-set earth” to “hear not [his] steps” out of fear that the stones would tell the world what he is about to do. Moments after Duncan di...
After three witches prophesied that one day fate will make him king, Lady Macbeth urges him to kill the king in order to gain the crown. He does so, but once he killed King Duncan there were several more people that he had to kill in order to maintain the assurance of being king. After he has murderers kill Banquo, whose children are prophesied to be kings later, the ghost of Banquo visits him at his coronation banquet. “Which of you have done this? […] Thou canst not say I did it: never shake/Thy gory locks at me.” Macbeth cannot face the fact that Banquo has been murdered and does not want to be held responsible for his death. The more people that Macbeth kills, the more blood is on his hands, symbolizing guilt that cannot be washed away. After Macbeth succeeds in killing many people the three witches have three more prophecies for him. “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff, beware the thane of Fife.” This prophecy states that Macduff is out to get Macbeth and that he must be prepared. After this prophecy he orders that Lady Macduff and the children be murdered. “Be bloody, bold, and resolute: laugh to scorn the power of man; for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” This prophecy comforts Macbeth in that only someone who was removed from their mother’s body could kill him. “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
To begin with, Macbeth is an ambitious individual. After Macbeth becomes king, he expresses his desires and says, “To be thus, is nothing; / But to be safely thus” (3.1.51-52). Macbeth is ambitious to not only gain the position as king, but to also secure the throne to his blood line. With this, Macbeth develops insecure thoughts. When thinking about Banquo’s prophecies, Macbeth thinks to himself, “No son of mine succeeding. If’t be so, / For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; / For them the gracious Duncan have I murder’d; / Put rancours in the vessel of my peace / Only for them; and mine eternal jewel / Given to the common enemy of men, / To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!” (3.1.68-74). Macbeth worries that all his efforts will result in the benefit of Banquo, whose sons will succeed his throne. As well, Macbeth develops cruel thoughts. After meeting with the murderers to discuss Banquo, Macbeth says, “It is concluded: Banquo, thy soul’s flight, / If it find heaven, must find it out to-night” (3.1.157-158). Macbeth decides to murder Banquo to satisfy his ambition. In the end, Macbeth encounters tragedy. During the banquet, after the murderer tells Macbeth that Banquo has been killed, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost, and tells it, “Avaunt! And quit my sight! Let the earth hide / thee! / … Hence, horrible shadow! / Unreal mockery, hence!” (3.4.113-129). Macbeth is troubled by the sight of Banquo’s ghost and fears that it is back for revenge. On the whole, Macbeth’s irrational thoughts resulted in his tragic
Undoubtedly, the vision that Macbeth perceives suggests that Macbeth believes in this delusion because of his insanity. The judgment of Macbeth establishes an imbalance within his mind, which accounts for the mistakes he undertakes. Certainly, Macbeth’s invention of the dagger alters his thoughts and actions, revealing that figments can lead one to his or her downfall. Last of all, Macbeth’s outrage upon Banquo’s ghost exemplifies how he has transformed into an insane figure, just by the factor of ambition. At the banquet, the Ghost of Banquo confronts Macbeth before the nobility and he furiously breaks out into, “Avaunt!
Even though he was originally uncertain in respect to the scheme, his greed cut through his feelings of uneasiness, allowing his imagination to be used as a crutch and support him in this defining event. Furthermore, this increase in ambition impacted Macbeth’s character greatly within a short period of time and could possibly have influenced the appearance of the dagger. Lady Macbeth was a key factor in fueling her husband’s desire and caused him to quickly change his opinion towards killing Duncan, as shown in the quotation said by Macbeth, “I am settled, and bend up/Each corporal agent to this terrible feat./Away, and mock the time with fairest show:/False face must hide what false heart doth know” (1.7.89-92). He describes the deception that he will take part in, how every part of his body will be strained trying to reach his goal, almost in an obsessive manner. This emphasizes how determined he is at that moment to see the murder through, to kill his king so that he may rise in rank. All these emotions had been concentrated within one night, during one talk with his wife, and it has been projected into a dagger to help him cope. His character has been altered so drastically from a loyal, righteous man to one taken over by his fiery ambition to the point that his mind begins to see things that
However, Macbeth changes as he is told his prophecies, making him succumb to his ambitions and take fate into his own hands murdering Duncan in the process. These actions change his fate for the worst as he becomes paranoid, which even leads him to murder his best friend Banquo. This, however, doesn't satisfy his paranoia as he begins killing innocent women and children, not by his own hands however as he makes others do his dirty work. His free will in killing Duncan has led him to a fate of being an evil king by the end of the play, that ends up being killed by Macduff who fulfills the remaining prophecy because Macbeth murdered his family.
Macbeth feeling this way convinces a pair of men to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. By having Banquo and Fleance murdered, Macbeth believes that it will prevent Banquo's sons from becoming king. Macbeth also hires the murderers to kill Macduff's family. This demonstrates Macbeth's obsession because it indicates that Macbeth values his power over his friends. His obsession with power causes Macbeth to feel guilty and lose his sanity. Macbeth's guilt and loss of sanity is indicated in the hallucinations he experiences. His first hallucination occurs just before killing King Duncan. Macbeth sees "A dagger of the mind, a false creation" (act II, scene I, line 38).
Macbeth’s ambition to obtain power convinces him that it is his destiny to become King of Scotland, and that he should do anything to fulfill that destiny, even if it involves him committing tremendously immoral acts such as murder. After Macbeth realizes that the witches may actually speak the truth due to the second prophecy (Thane of Cawdor) becoming true, he begins to have an eerie and frightening thought of him killing his king and friend, Duncan, in order to ac...
Both Macbeth and lady Macbeth experience periods of obsession for power during the play, which allows them to act on poor judgement. In the beginning of the story it is obvious that Macbeth is pleased with where he is in life. When he encounters the three sisters his mind is stable and he does not believe what they are saying “By Sinel 's death I know I am thane of Glamis; But how of Cawdor?” (Macbeth). It is not until the first part of the weird sisters’ prophecy comes true that Macbeth becomes consumed with the future. Although it is possible that Macbeth would take Duncans’ place in the later future, both him and his wife desire the throne in the near days to come. Lady Macbeth encourages her husband to murder Duncan, as this will allow them to quickly rise to power. Initially he has immense guilt simply thinking up such an idea. He is so disgusted by the plan that he has ghostly apparitions appear before him. He believes he sees a dagger in front of him as he contemplates killing his friend “Is this a dagger which I see before me, … A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?” Macbeth. This dagger represents the immense pain and guilt Macbeth will feel if he chooses to kill king Duncan. The dagger has blood on it, which represents the shame of betraying his king. The apparitions do nothing to deter Macbeth, and he chooses to murder King
Shakespeare depicts the corruptive power of ambition to the audience as the protagonist, Macbeth is led by his unchecked ambition despite acknowledging it. Macbeth's private ambitions are made clear to the audience through his asides and soliloquies. Macbeth who was initially faithful to Duncan and was aware of his ambition, couldn't control it and thus, made him become a murderous tyrant, obsessed with power and full of fear and insecurities. From the beginning of the play, Macbeth had ambitions. This was shown once the witches told Banquo and him the prophecies. Macbeth is left confused but it sparked his ambition. Banquo ponders aloud, 'the instruments of darkness tell us truths, (to) win us with honest trifles,' to then 'betrays in deepest consequence.' Banquo tries to metaphorically explain to Macbeth that the witches only told them some truth so that they could make Macbeth believe them. Unknowingly, Banquo foreshadows Macbeth's decision to betray Duncan and kill him. After this, Macbeth's corruptive ambition and thirst for power thrives. However, prior to Duncan's death, Macbeth was aware of his ambition but his morals didn't fit them. Thus, his initial decision to not kill King Duncan. He had clearly stated that he 'have no spur to prick the sides of my intent,' but it is 'only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself and falls on the other.' Macbeth metaphorically
Before the feelings of danger envelop Macbeth, he debates whether he should murder Duncan, “I am his kinsman and his subject. . . Who should against the murderer shut the door,/not bear the knife myself” (I.VII.13, 15-16). Some morality is present in Macbeth because he pictures himself as Duncan’s protector, not his nemesis. After Duncan’s murder, Macbeth immediately regrets his deed and therefore demonstrates that he still has some morality left. Hearing knocking, Macbeth miserably cries, “Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I wish thou/couldst” (II.II.94-95). Macbeth acknowledges his actions and proves that he can still tell right from wrong. Once Macbeth’s fears for safety begin, Macbeth’s views towards evil start changing. In a soliloquy, Macbeth expresses feelings of fear and injustice towards Banquo and his heirs: “Then, prophet-like, [the witches] hailed [Banquo] father to a line of kings./Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown. . .” (III.I.65-66). Because Banquo is destined to start a new dynasty of Scottish kings, Macbeth feels that his worthless crown is temporary and that he will soon be killed for his throne. Dwelling on evil ideas and losing all sense of morality, Macbeth exclaims, “From this moment,/the very firstlings of my heart shall be/the firstlings of my hand” (IV.I.166-168). Macbeth is unwilling to consider the righteousness of his ideas and decides to execute them immediately after he comes up with them. Fearing his safety, Macbeth loses all decency of his
The play identifies how Macbeth faced guilt after he killed his King, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable.” Macbeth is hallucinating a dagger in which was caused by the guilt he feels after killing King Duncan. Macbeth also states, “I’ll go no more.I am afraid to think what I have done. Look on ’t again I dare not…..What hands are here? Ha, they pluck out mine eyes.Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine….” Macbeth’s emotions are everywhere. After he killed King Duncan he immediately regretted it as he explains that no water, not even Neptune’s ocean can wash the blood and guilt off his hands. Macbeth not only faced guilt but he also losses his sanity. Macbeth hallucinates Banquo’s ghost making him scared and on edge, “[to the Ghost]. What man dare, I dare. Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, The armed rhinoceros, or th’ Hyrcan tiger; Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble. Or be alive again And dare me to the desert with thy sword. If
37) Macbeth is also worried he will never sleep again due to the crime which he committed. Macbeth, after he discusses the crime with Lady Macbeth, decides to go through with the conspiracy . He waits for the bell which will order him to murder Duncan, he starts to question his decision one final time. The focus of the invisible dagger soliloquy, is to show Macbeth's powerful imagination, the imagination that is mostly responsible for his mental breakdown, Although Macbeth knows that the dagger is an illusion, and suspects that it could be brought about by his ambition to become king, he allows the invisible dagger, to affect him greatly.