Macbeths Tragic Flaw - Essay Example

Macbeth's Tragic Flaw Essay

Ambition is a person's strong desire to achieve certain goals. Some people are madly focused on their ambition that they would do anything humanly possible to achieve them. Sadly, many end up making irrational decisions that soon prove costly to them as they end up in isolation. Macbeth, the protagonist in William Shakespeare's play, is an example of people whose gullibility had the worst of them. Macbeth allowed himself to be swayed by irrational decisions that Macbeth thought would lead him to his ambition. Interestingly, his downfall was attributed to this gullibility as he became overwhelmingly obsessed with the idea of achieving his goals. Things could have turned out to Macbeths benefit if only he managed his ambition.

Macbeth believed in many false prophecies and opinions that became the beginning of Macbeths isolation. For instance, he allowed his decisions to be influenced by a prophecy spoken by the witches. This couldn't have happened if Macbeth never allowed his gullibility to take over his actions. However, he too blinded by his ambition that he felt nothing wrong in seeking the prophetic intervention of these witches. Regardless, he could still have chosen not to believe in such a detrimental prophecy spoken by the prophets even after meeting them. However, Macbeths focus was on the end goal that he failed to pay attention to the processes that would safely get him there.

Macbeth also allowed himself to be influenced by Lady Macbeth, whose manipulation later proved futile, leading Macbeth on a path of isolation. Lady Macbeth managed to convince Macbeth to embrace her murder plan, not being aware of the eminent isolation that would befall him. Again, Macbeth was blinded by his ambition, failing to smell malice in all the influence he received from her. This gullibility later led to his downfall. Anyone would expect this gullibility to be the final blow that led to his downfall.

Interestingly, more destructive ideas were yet to come. Perhaps the final mistake committed by Macbeth was the decision to believe the three messages of the apparitions. All this gullibility gave Macbeth a false sense of security, which later led to Macbeths self-destruction. Macbeth went on to change from the celebrated leader; he was to a cruel king who cared less about Macbeths constituents leading to his isolation and downfall in the end.

Macbeth should not be faulted for his transformation. Everything that happened to Macbeth was due to the series of coincidences that occurred in his life. All he had was an ambition and dreams that were fueled by the consistent prophecy and lies that were peddled to him in his many encounters. Macbeth was too gullible that he didn't know how to handle all these weird and equally amazing prophecy that was spoken by others about his future ambition. While he could have had an ambition before, Macbeths encounter with the witches fueled this ambition even further, making it more zealous to achieve them at any cost. Perhaps, the greatest influence in all his troubles could be pointed at the prophesies declared by the witches. They took advantage of his gullibility by making him believe that he was the King of Scotland and the Thane of Cawdor. These predictions were too great to be ignored by a man like Macbeth.

Interestingly, Macbeth never took these predictions seriously. They felt like these predictions were baseless and almost unreliable. Regardless, Macbeth never forgot about these prophecies even after the encounter with the witches. He seemingly had them kept at the back of his mind, hopefully, to be retrieved later in case more evidence arose.

Macbeths ambition becomes unbearable when he is addressed as the Thane of Cawdor by Angus and Ross. These greetings make him believe that the prophecy by the witches might have been true. This is the justification he needed to fuel his gullibility before he could officially start believing in the prophecy. Sadly, his ambition takes a toll on him that he even disregards Banquo's warning against letting it all get to his head. But then he could have been justified to believe in the prophecy since he already received a confirmation from his encounter with Angus and Ross. Even a person with less ambition could have been convinced by such coincidence, a coincidence that you could meet people who would refer to you as the Thane of Cawdor just after the same prophecy is declared to you by witches. However, it was impossible to know whether whatever had been spoken of him supported his ambitions. Sadly, his gullibility made him believe that "Two truths are told" (1.3.140). He deeply believed in these as the truth about him, that his ambition to become a king was instantly flamed.

Macbeth not only works hard to gain power, but his gullibility and ambition for it increase his desire to keep it. This ambition is too strong that he becomes too gullible towards his ambition. Anything that promises him longevity on the throne is taken as the right path to follow. No wonder he decides to kill Banquo, whose kinds, according to the prophecy, would become kings. To him, Banquo was a threat to his longevity on the throne as a king, which warranted for his immediate elimination. This decision proves his gullibility based on the influence the witches had on his decisions. This is only the beginning of Macbeths brutal reign. His next target is Duncan, a case that shows his soft and brutal side. His soft side is seen when he reconsiders the murder of Duncan, opting to spare his life. However, he becomes brutal under the influence of Lady Macbeth, who seemingly mocks him for thinking twice about killing the man. The gullibility of Macbeth was further revealed following Lady Macbeths persuasion and mockery. It feels like Lady Macbeth understands the character and nature of this king. Lady Macbeth appeals to his ego, as a man and a king, trying to convince him to proceed and execute Duncan. To Lady Macbeth, Macbeths failure to kill Duncan would only be taken to mean he was not man enough. The gullibility of Macbeth makes him believe all that Lady Macbeth says, which is why he proceeds to kill Duncan to fuel his ambition. The killing of Duncan is another issue that led to Macbeths gradual downfall.

Macbeths gullibility is further witnessed in his encounter with the three apparitions summoned by the witches on his visit to them. His thirst for more power made him not to see beyond the parables spoken through the apparitions. He opted to take each prophecy in its literal form. For instance, he decided to kill Macduff's household when he was told to be wary of him. To Macbeth, an elimination of Macbeths household would further remove all threats to Macbeths kingly power. This only added to his list of killings committed during his reign. Macbeth also took the second message from the apparitions literary, thinking that the apparitions meant he was safe from any harm. This made him brag of his ability to win against Malcolm's English led forces. Sadly, it only appealed to Macbeths ambition and gullibility as he would later realize after his downfall. He only ended up losing most of his soldiers to the enemy's side, leading to his drastic isolation, which made him weak to face any opposition. Macbeth was so obsessed with power that he got into a state of isolation as he believed all the other messages from the apparitions. Sadly, his ambition, fueled by his gullibility, made him interpret everything wrongly. He became too bold that he was even reluctant to fight MacDuff. Macbeth believed that no army could defeat him.

The final message from the apparitions could have been the final blow that led to his downfall. He literary overlooks the warnings within the message. According to him, the message meant that he was safe from the attack by any army. He thought that no other army was ready to fight him, even though he was slowly losing his soldiers to the enemy's side. As a result, everything took him by surprise when his weaker side was attacked and overtaken by the enemies. It is so dad that Macbeth only lost his guard by believing in everything that people told him. He failed to be keen on some of the details, like security, which he once paid attention to. All these show his gullibility, which made him drop his good virtues for ideas that initially seemed logical, but that later led to his downfall.

There is so much good that Macbeth could have done only if he was never this gullible. He could have been more analytical about people's statements. For instance, instead of talking the witches' statements by face value, he would have sought a deeper meaning before acting on them. Macbeth could have listened to Banquo's concerns more to avoid the isolation that befell him. Macbeth could have also avoided Lady Macbeths persuasiveness by being more decisive. Also, there was nothing wrong with listening to the apparitions. However, Macbeth could have sought a deeper understanding of whatever was spoken of him. Sadly, Macbeth lost his analytical side by falling to his gullibility and ambition. It almost felt like he was only ready to expose himself to statements that confirmed his desire for power. This explains why Macbeth became too egocentric, with increased gullibility when it came to the messages, prophesies, persuasions, and greetings received by him. It explains why Duncan and many other people had to die to give him a false sense of security, increasing Macbeths drastic isolation, and downfall. Unfortunately, this also explains how Macbeths gullibility towards his ambition led to his downfall. This is how you should handle a Macbeth's tragic flaw essay in regards to this character's ambition.