Macbeth Novel Essay, Research Paper

Everyone who is mortal has at least one flaw. Some are more serious than others.

For example, some people have addictions to gambling, while other people can’t

remember to put the milk away after they use it. After a while though, a

person’s flaws come back to haunt them. The tragedy MacBeth is no exception to

this. In it, many of the character’s die. And the reason is that they have a

flaw, that would eventually lead to their downfall. Not every character is

deserving of his fate though. Some characters have a minor flaw, which shouldn’t

lead to their death. But other’s have a major flaw, which is would eventually

lead them to their death anyway. The first Thane of Cawdor, is killed by MacBeth

for trying to lead a revolution against England. His fatal flaw was that he was

according to Ross, "a disloyal traitor". The thane of Cawdor was

greedy, and wanted the throne of England for himself, and as a result was

murdered. But his murder wasn’t really disheartening, because the Thane of

Cawdor, deserved his fate. He was leading a battle, in which many lost their

lives, for the sake of greed, and deserved to die because of his flaw. Duncan

was the King of England, and was murdered by MacBeth. He was murdered, because

in order for MacBeth to fulfill his plan and become king, Duncan would have to

die. Duncan’s fatal flaw was that he was too trusting. For example, he thought

that none of his friends could really be enemies. If Duncan was more careful

about his safety at MacBeth’s castle, he may have had a chance to survive. But

Duncan’s flaw, wasn’t something so horrible that he should die. Most people need

to trust each other more, and just because one person did, he shouldn’t have to

die. MacBeth’s former best friend, Banquo was also killed by MacBeth. Banquo was

killed, because he knew too much about the murder of Duncan. But that was not

his fatal flaw. Banquo’s fatal flaw was that although he knew that MacBeth

killed Duncan, he really didn’t do anything about it. There were many

opportunities where Banquo could tell someone such as MacDuff what he thought

about the murders. But Banquo didn’t deserve death, just because he didn’t act

quickly in telling someone that MacBeth killed Duncan. Banquo knew that if he

said anything, no one would believe him, and he would be executed. Lady MacBeth

is MacBeth’s wife. She is his coconspirator in killing Duncan. Although she

helps MacBeth get the courage to commit the murder, she isn’t willing to do it

herself. She uses the excuse that Duncan looked too much like her father. Unlike

MacBeth though, it is harder for Lady MacBeth to live with the fact that she

helped cause the murder of the king. And in the end, it makes her so crazy that

she commits suicide. Whether or not Lady MacBeth deserved her fate is a tricky

question. Although she did encourage MacBeth to murder Duncan, she feels regret

for her action. Also, she realized what she did was wrong. But in my opinion,

she realized it a little too late, and Duncan was still dead so she did deserve

her fate. MacBeth was the focus of the entire play, and that’s why it was named

after him. All of the problems start when he murder’s Duncan. He commits the

murder because of his fatal flaw, he is too ambitious. If he wasn’t so ambitious

and determined to be king, then he would never have killed Duncan. And if

MacBeth didn’t kill Duncan none of the other characters would die. MacBeth

deserved his fate more than any other characters in the play. He did many things

wrong. First he killed Duncan, then he killed Banquo. After that, MacBeth killed

MacDuff’s family. And worst of all, MacBeth disturbed the balance of nature.

Also, MacBeth didn’t feel any remorse until he was faced with death. If MacBeth

just waited for his time, he would have been king, and have had a chance to

enjoy it. Every character that died in MacBeth had one fatal flaw. The first

Thane of Cawdor was a traitor. Duncan was too trusting. Banquo didn’t do

anything about the knowledge he had. Lady MacBeth helped plot the murder of

Duncan. And MacBeth, destroyed the natural order and harmony of nature. But not

all of the characters who died deserved to die because of their flaws. Duncan

shouldn’t have been punished for trusting someone, and Banquo would have said

something, but was waiting for the right time or some physical evidence. But if

MacBeth hadn’t been so ambitious, none of the problems that occurred would have.

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