Macbeth is the main character in the book "Macbeth" written by Shakespeare. In the book Macbeth was a "brave warrior who became a cruel murderer"(Henry). Macbeth starts off by being a protagonist but as the story goes along, he turns into the antagonist of the story. He starts by being rational but his influences and his ambition make him irrational.
A trait that defines Macbeth is his ambitious. Ambition takes over the way he thinks and his actions. In the beginning of the book three witches are waiting for Macbeth. Macbeth finds them and they tell him that they predict that he will become king, thane of Cawdor and Banquo’s descendants will become kings (Shakespeare 7). These predictions create ambition in Macbeth. He wants to gain …show more content…
This plus his ambition pushes him to take actions that then fills him with guilt. Macbeth is manipulated in the beginning by the three witches and his wife, Lady Macbeth throughout the whole story. The three witches awaken Macbeth’s ambition for becoming king. In the book, an announcement is made about Malcolm, they are told that Malcolm is going to be heir to the throne, “Prince of Cumberland” (Macbeth 8). This makes Macbeth feel like he is now an obstacle for him and is thinking of killing him. At this point of the book, Macbeth’s ambition is starting to overcome him. Macbeth writes a letter to Lady Macbeth letting her know of the predictions that the three witches have made (Shakespeare 11). Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to murder King Duncan. While he was planning the murder, he knew it was wrong but the manipulation that came from Lady Macbeth made him do it (Hacht). Since Macbeth has a powerful mind, after the murder he was filled with remorse and guilt, instead of being brave like in the beginning of the book, he is now scared and paranoid (Hacht). He started off as a brave fighter that turned into a criminal because of ambition, and the way that he is easily influenced and …show more content…
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