M2504’s Weblog

Assignment I

In Act IV, many characters begin to change allegiances. Most of them can be divided into camps of “good” and “evil” participants in the ongoing moral struggle.

Divide the following characters into “good” (3) and “evil” (3): Macbeth, Macduff, The Witches, Malcolm, Ross, The Murderers.
Good: Malcolm, Ross, Macduff
Evil: Macbeth, The Witchesm The Murderers

Write a brief description of each character, describing them and explaining why you believe the character is good or evil.
I believe Malcolm, Ross, and Macduff are good because they fight for the right things. Like Macduff, he fights against Macbeth, who selfishly made it to be king.

Macbeth is evil because he thinks only in himself not caring what he does as long as he becomes king. The Witches are evil because the lead Macbeth to the wrong doings and The Murderers are evil too because they agree to kill innocent people selfishly too.

Is there any hope that Macbeth can win his former supporters back to his side? Explain.
Maybe he could win them back to his side if he admits his wrong doings and stops acting only to benefit himself. If he tries to go the right way, even if it seems too late, he might have his former supporters back on his side again.

Think of a person from contemporary life or from another piece of literature who reminds you of Macbeth. Write a response showing how this person and Macbeth are similar. Refer to specific examples of their actions, thoughts, and values.
A similar person to Macbeth could be one of the philosophers we are studing in world history class. One of his famous sayings is “the end justifies the means” which means that everything is possible and everything is valid to get to the result wanted.

1.  Imagine that some day you will have a child. Write a letter of advice for that child to open when he or she reaches the age you are right now. Tell the child about the way kids in your school or other groups treated each other at this age, and how you hope he/she will treat people.

Dear son,

This letter I’m writing to you is something I think you should have in mind, I hope it makes you analize your actions and to make good decisions with the help of it. I’ve seen how people are judged and put aside for stupid things, like different clothes, ways of thinking, music, color of the skin and physical appereances. I ought to tell you this is no joke, no one likes to be excluded nor judged just because he or she is different in some ways. People at my school tend to be very shallow and almost everyone appreciates you only if you can fit in the “standards” they have made up on their minds. I see people sitting all by their selves at recess, eating alone or reading a book. Some are judged for being super nerdy, they are poked and the whole class make fun of them all the time. A group of kids always sit at the same table and you can see the whole school talking about them on their backs, how weird they are, dress, think and how unacceptable theit music is, still they do not change their ways. I would like you to take the time to look inside every person you meet and to really take the time to try to understand what they think and why they are like they are, and if you won’t take the time to do that, it would be a wise decision not to poke or talk about them on their backs if you don’t know them. Accept all the different points of view you find along the way and try not to put aside the ones that are different to you.

Michelle.

2.  How is the issue of respect portrayed on television or in the movies? Watch a movie or TV show and write about how the characters interacted with each other. In what ways did they treat each other with respect or disrespect? (Give some specific examples.) Do you approve of the way they treated each other? Did you feel different toward characters who treated others with respect than those who didn’t? Which did you like better? Why?

3.  Are some kids ridiculed at your school? Why? What do they get picked on about (height, weight, appearance, disability, accent, skin color, etc.)? Exactly how are they picked on? How do you think these kids feel about this? How do you feel about it? How does that kind of behavior affect the climate in your school?

Some kids are riduculed at school for different things. Some girls are labbled as whores, others as geeks, some boys are labbeled as dorks and others as inmature, and, in my opinion, no one is never good enough in school for some kids. I’ve seen how they pick on the same girl a lot because of her looks. She obviously does not like it, not even a bit. This things make people feel bad and I’ve seen her cry over this. I do not approve the idea of judging because of the looks, there’s more to people than just the looks. This creates awkwardness at school and a bunch of negative feelings that she is experiencing just because she is a little bit different.

4.  Have you ever been made fun of for something that you couldn’t change? Can you give some examples? How did (do) you deal with it? How did it make you feel?

Everyone has been made fun off for things they could not change. I’ve been made fun off for being tall, something I can obviously not change and does not affect me. I’ve been labeled as odd too and  

5.  In what ways do you treat people with respect? Are there any ways in which you don’t?
I try to treat people the way I would like them to treat me. I guess sometimes I forget to treat people with respect and I tend to make abussive jokes, but they are meaningless.

6.  Have you ever seen anybody mistreated for being different. Describe the incident. How did it make you feel? What would it take to prevent things like this from happening again?
I have seen people been mistreated for being different at school. I didn’t felt anything for them but I think this is wrong because we all have different ways of thinking and doing things, as well as different ways of dealing with people. Something that could be done to prevent things like this from happening again could be teach everyone at school that not everyone has the same thing some people have and that not everyone likes the same things or think the same ways and that even though we do not like these differences we should respect them and do not make fun of them.

If you had knowledge of YOUR future now, how would your actions be affected? Would you attempt to control or change what is fated? Do you think it is wise to know the future?

If I had knowledge of my future I would do my best to try not to change the actions I make and the desisions I take so that fate would take its course and it would be a lot more interesting to see and experience how things and actions make things happen, but at the same time I would make a different action in some situations just to see if the end result or situation would be the same and if I really have control of my fate.

I guess I would not try or attempt to change or control what it is already fated, because, from my point of view it would be useless to try to change it. Fate is fate and it can not be changed, and it would be a loss of time and energy, and it would probably only tangle the whole situation and make things harder and it would be kind of a forced, unhappy fate.

I do not think is wise to know the future because in some ways it make you loose the whole sense of living. Experiences would no longer be as intresting and exiting because we would already know what is going to happen. Knowing the future would make life boring and in some ways I think we would find ways of entertaining ourselves so it would be interesting to see the things we would develope just to pass the time having a good moment.

Macbeth’s character is not purely evil, but in Act II he overcomes his reservations long enough to kill King Duncan and two of the king’s grooms. Afterward, Macbeth reveals his inner state. Search Act II for quotations that disclose Macbeth’s feelings about the murders. Write the quotations and explain each quote’s meaning in your own words.

Describe Macbeth’s general state of mind after the murders.
He seems to be going crazy and does not know what to do with the weapons he used. The guilt is killingi him as well as Lady Macbeth but then he overcomes that stage and starts to feel powerful.

What do you think Macbeth should do to gain control of his feelings?
He should accept the consequences of what he did and he should not continue doing or forcing fate to make him king.

Find definitions for the words:
augment: to make larger; enlarge in size, number, strength, or extent.
His salary is augmented by a small extra amount.
prate: to talk excessively and pointlessly; babble.
They prated on about the whole thing at school until I was about to scream.
steeped: to soak in liquid in order to cleanse, soften, or extract a given property from.
knell: the sound made by a bell rung slowly, especially for a death or a funeral.
The knell made us remember that she was really gone forever.
mad: mentally disturbed; insane; demented.
Sarah got mad when she found out what her friends were saying about her.
infirm: feeble or weak in body or health.
multitudinous: forming multitude or great number; existing, occuring, or present in great numbers.
entomb: to place in a tomb.
The mummies were entombed decades ago.
rough: having a coarse or uneven surface.
They were traveling through a rough road.
sacrilegious pertaining to or involving sacrilege
They were making sacrilegious practices on the basement.

Write events, dialogue and thoughts that reflect the changes in Macbeth in Act I.
“By Sinel’s death I know I am Thane of Glamis; But how of Cawdor?”
“Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor: The greates is behind.”
“My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man that function Is smothered in surmise, and nothing is but what is not”
“If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly. If th’ assassination could trammel up the consequence, and catch with his surcease, success; that but his blow might be the be-all and the end-all–here, but here, upon this bank and shoal of time,we¡d jump the life to come.”
“First as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then as his host, who should against his murderer shot the door, not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan hath bore his faculties so meek, hath been so clear in his great office, that his virtues will plead like angels trumpet-tongued against the deem damnation of his taking-off, and pity like a naked newborn babe”

Write attributes of his good side (The Good Macbeth) and attributes of his evil side (The Evil Macbeth).
The Good Macbeth: He is loyal to the king. A caring man who does the right thing and does everything for love and honor.
The Evil Macbeth: Becomes unloyal to the king and even falls in the temptation of killing the king. He wants to be the king no matter what. He becomes a murderer and is willing to do whatever it takes to reach success, not caring for the actions he is making, only for the end result.

Write events, thoughts, or dialogue that are neutral or ambiguous.
Macbeth and LadyMacbeth: “The rest is labort , which is not used for you ill be myself the harbinger and make joyful the hearing of my wife with your aproach so humbly take my leave.” 

Do you think Macbeth would have changed if the witches had not appeared? Explain.
In my opinion, all of Macbeth actions, after speaking to the witches are influences by the fact that they predicted he would be king. This seemed to make an idea or dream he really wanted to accomplish no matter what. If Macbeth would have never met the witches, he would have probably never changed.

Do you think most people are as susceptible to temptation as Macbeth? Explain why or why not.
It depends on were temptation comes from. We can feel susceptible to it if the predictions, like in Macbeth’s case, come from someone who might have the possibility of knowing better than us, and using that possibility to make us fall for that temptation. But on the other hand, we are not susceptible to temptation if we are clever, smart, and use our brain. In my opinion, weak and insecure people are the ones that are susceptible to temptation, if you have strong beliefs and a selfsteem nothing can make you go the wrong way.

There is nothing worst than the fear of losing a loved one.

Any powerful feeling or emotion is a way of feeling passion for life. Feelings are what, I think, mostly create an atmosphere around us. They way we make our desitions, the positive actions we take, and the attitudes we choose are the ones that make us live our life with enthusiasm or pesimism, it depends in how we choose to live. My passion on life are the moments that make me smile, cry, laugh, scream, or even the ones that make me feel useless. Those are the ones that always leave me something to learn about. I try to make the right desitions at the time and to live my life to the limit, without tresspassing whatever I believe in. I live my life at the moment, trying not to think about the bad things that happened yesterday, and keeping the good times, if I can, until forever. My friends, my family, parties, music, art, everything I see myself through is something to take advantage of for a good time and to live life without regrets, trying to remember the things that made me cry and learn and never forgetting the ones that make me laugh and live.