Free Choice In Macbeth

Is one’s life dominated by fate or free will? Perhaps one’s future has been predetermined by some external force or perhaps one has the choice to pave their future. These ideas are further explored in the the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and the play Macbeth by Shakespeare. Things Fall Apart is about a man named Okonkwo’s struggle between the changes that arise with the arrival of white missionaries in the villages of his home in Nigeria, the conflicts that arise between the arrival of the white men and Okonkwo questions whether his tragic death was due to fate or free will. Macbeth is about protagonist Macbeth whose ambition drives him to kill the king of Scotland to become king. The consequences of killing the king lead to

It is easy to blame someone for what you do, but it is very hard to accept the consequences that this can unchained. Throughout human history, there has been a believe of a mythical force that some call god, others fate and others universal order. But all of the eras, humans have believed in a superior force; and they think that the reason they exist is to feel secure. Personally, I’m a catholic that believes in god, but I think god gave us humans the most precious gift, Decision. This Decision power making can be a humongous advantage or a problem depending of how you use it. The negative trait of a decision is the consequences you get for it. In Macbeth from Shakespeare, Macbeth is predicted by some witches that he will be king. Macbeth after

Fate vs Free Will is one of the most oft used literary techniques in writing. It is never more evident than in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. The major theme of the story Macbeth is whether or not the story is fueled by the free will of Macbeth, or by his fate. Are the events in Macbeth a result of his mentality and outlook on life, or were they going to happen no matter what? Almost every major event that takes place can be traced back to this question. It can be viewed in different ways, and most people have their own opinions. Dissecting this question is a part of what makes teaching Macbeth still have so much value to this day. But there is a clear answer to this question upon further dissection. The story of Macbeth is fueled by his free

   Destiny "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." (William Jennings Bryan) Are we in control of our own destiny, our own fate, or are our lives really already planned and mapped out for us? Does Macbeth willfully choose evil in order to achieve his "destiny"? Or, is his "destiny" doomed by the witches' prophecies? Macbeth may not have made any of his same choices, if the three Weird sisters hadn't come to him. In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, Macbeth is no pawn of fate. Although Macbeth was destined to become king, the path he chose to take to achieve his aspiration of obtaining the throne was of his own free

At this time, Gandhi began to seek employment as a lawyer in India. But his London education gave him little knowledge of Hindu and Indian law, making work very hard to find in India. He considered going to an Indian university, but at the time it was not economically feasible. Eventually he was able to find an opportunity to practice law that would bring him to Natal, South Africa in 1893.7

The idea of your decisions affecting others is evident when Macduff left for England and left behind his wife and child, and shortly after that they died at the hands of assassins.  Another idea that ties into that is if you don't trust your instincts about a person's motive then it will lead to murderous repercussions, this is evident when Banquo questions Macbeth's actions but does nothing about it and later is killed because he wasn't cautious enough. Shakespeare has made fate and free will a key theme through the events of the play, influencing many

In many stories fate is said to determine the paths that people lead in their lives. However, even though some events can seem like fate to the people experiencing them, these people always made their own decisions that led to them. Although some of the events in the tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare may lead readers to believe that fate determined many of Macbeth’s actions, the truth is that Macbeth made all of the decisions in the story through his own free will.

Throughout the story of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth acts in a much despised manner: he becomes a murderer and later, when king of Scotland, a tyrant. Many who have read or seen the play are left wondering how a man’s whole approach to life can change; how Macbeth turned from the hero whom all adored, to the tyrant who was hated and ended up a lone man, fighting for his life.

The initial mistake of Macbeth is adhering to the witches and what they prophesied. The temptation and desire of becoming

Yet after his encounter with the witches, his mind was going back and forth trying to figure out how he should act upon the prophecy of becoming king! It was by then that the idea of fate had been planted into his head, and with such good title to come with it, why wouldn’t he want to believe his ‘fate’? Something that I found very interesting about the witches was that looking closely at line 24-25 when one of the witches says, "Though his bark cannot be lost, yet it shall be tempest-tossed." From what I seemed to understand, these lines seemed to really show the limitations to the witches’ powers, because they were basically saying that they could only make life rough for the clueless captain, but they could not kill him. I think that this is really important to all the people who thought that the witches had ‘written out’ Macbeth’s fate because in the same way as the previous stated scene they can tempt Macbeth with predictions about his future, but they cannot make him choose evil. Meaning that in this scene, one of the conflicts is obviously fate vs. free will! All the witches really did was find a way of stirring up evil, by tempting Macbeth into choosing to opt for evil instead of good. “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir.” (Act 1. Scene iii. Line 10). Here, Macbeth seems content to leave his future to "chance." If "chance" will have

Everything changed when Macbeth decided to commit his first murder against Duncan. Malcolm and Donalbain decided to flee Scotland and go to different countries. Although they were not forced by anyone to leave the country, leaving was their free will: What should be spoken here, Where our fate, Hid in an auger-hole, may rush and seize us? Let’s away.

Throughout the play, Shakespeare prompts the audience is contemplate whether Macbeth’s decisions were fated or of free will. One prime example is in Act 2, Scene 1, when Macbeth sees the dagger that eventually become a premonition to Duncan’s murder. Although the witches spoke of a prophecy that Macbeth will become king, they never specify the specific details of the process. It is Macbeth himself, not the witches, who come to the conclusion that in order for him to become king, it is necessary to kill Duncan. It is highly likely that Macbeth became obsessed with the act of murder that his mind started creating false hallucinations.

Human beings are unique in the world because humans have the power to tell between right and wrong. Some believe that this is simply a special instinct while others believe that it is divine creator that gave to man what is known as conscience. In the tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare develops the idea that when an individual makes a choice that is against his conscience, he and the larger community will suffer the consequences of his choice. Shakespeare uses three main characters: Lady Macbeth, Macduff and Macbeth to illustrate the importance of following the human conscience.

In the play “Macbeth”, William Shakespeare uses belief in the existence and power of witches to create and influence the audience’s understanding of the play. Our initial impression of Macbeth is one of a brave and capable warrior, however once we see his interaction with the three “evil sisters” (Shakespeare, 1996) we realises that his physical audacity is coupled by an intense amount of ambition and self doubt. It is believed that the witches are the motive behind this ambition which eventually leads to his tragedy, however strong diverging arguments are in existence. The intensity of Macbeth’s tragedy is dependent on whether or not the witches are “professed to be able to control the naïve, innocent Macbeth” or whether he is to blame

Gandhi had plans to study medicine but his father and family pushed him towards a career in law, wanting him to become a government minister. After attending university in England and an unsuccessful stint in India he signed a 1-year contract to work in India. As a young lawyer working in South Africa a pivotal event happened to Gandhi that changed his life forever. Until then Gandhi was known to have smoked, ate meat, and womanized in his youth. While riding on a train in his first few days in South Africa he was kicked out of the first class cart because Indians were unable to right in that section. This event of racial injustice shaped Gandhi and helped him