Ambition is a human trait that pushes us to achieve a goal. So the question remains is the trait of ambition a good trait or bad trait when looked at through the eyes of human society? Pick one side and defend your reasoning as to why ambition is either good or bad. Make sure to cite examples that are found in our society and the play of Macbeth to support your answer.
If you have a last name that goes from A-L you will argue that ambition is a good trait.
If you have a last name that goes from M-z you will argue that ambition is a bad trait.
Remember ladies and gentlemen, I am looking for a discussion!
Have fun!
Ambition is a bad trait because it can lead one to do almost anything to achieve a goal. Also being Ambitious can lead one to become really overconfident. It relates to the story to Lady Macbeth who does whatever it takes get Macbeth to agree to kill Duncun. Ambition is also a type of greed, and can be related to a business man you wants more and more and more money and does whatever it takes to achieve this goal.
ReplyDeleteAlso ambition can be a downfall of a person, for example when a business man makes money he will greed to make more money and at one point there will be someone who is greeding as much as businessmen 1 and businessmen 2 will do anything to achieve his goal of making money and can be the reason of downfall of businessmen 1. This relates to Macbeth how he got the thane and now he wants to be the king and maybe next he'll greed for more.
ReplyDeleteI agree that in the buisness world there is alot of people who have great ambition and with that ambition they will do anything to get what they want. Big companies such as a Nike and other big american named brands use child labour and sweat shops to lessen there building cost so taht they can dominate the shoe world.
DeleteHere's my answer ambition has driven many people to do bad things. In the play Macbeth Lady Macbeth has great ambition for her husband. She influences her husband to commint murder. In society there have been many criminals who were ambitious to climb to the top position in their gang. One of the best known gangsters was Al Capone. He came from a backround of poverty and he ordered the elimination of many enemies so that he could have a lavish lifestyle for himself. Basically ambition is a focus on oneself and leaves out everyone else. Ambition is selfish and self centered when it turns negative as in this example.
DeleteAmbition is a trait that can either be used wisely, or can easily be taken down the wrong path. Ambition is the desire to achieve something, like power, wealth, success, etc. However too much ambition can make people dislike you. For example, a person who is attending college, is doing everything they possibly can to reach the top, disregarding whatever is in their way, therefore making peers feel uncomfortable or angry. If you take this simple example, and see how ambition can be used wrongly, you can easily relate this to Lady Macbeth in the play. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as strong, wise and bold woman who treats her husband, Macbeth, badly using manipulation to get her way. Once Lady Macbeth reads the letter Macbeth sent to her about the prophecy, Lady Macbeth begins to scheme inside her head. She developed a plan to murder the King, and showed the audience that she will let nothing, no man or thought stop her from doing this. By choosing paths that will create destruction and chaos, Lady Macbeth uses ambition in the wrong light.
ReplyDeleteI think your answer is well written and I agree with what your saying. Your first sentence about choosing the right or wrong path makes me think how we often come to a fork in the road when choosing which way to go. Ambition can be used in a positive or negative way. The positive way involves achieving ambitious goals through self improvement such as training or education to gain a higher position or more money or fame. Ambition taken down the wrong path always involves a shortcut to realize the goal. By shortcut I mean lying,cheating,stealing,or in the case of Macbeth murder. Lady Macbeth as you said chose the wrong path to achieve the goal. Macbeth wanted to follow the right path in his mind but was influenced by his wife.
DeleteI like you example of the collage student. I read an article before about how medical students have so much work on their shoulders that they forget everything else to work hard and get good grades. This includes not having a social life and gradually parting from loved ones, leaving them all alone. It is great to have the ambition of being an exceptional doctor after graduation, but that need great time management and a well thought out plan. I also like your statement “too much ambition can make people dislike you,” because it is very true. If you have the ambition for something, it should be well thought out and make sure you will not be affecting anyone negatively in the process.
DeleteAmbition is a bad trait because it can make you or break you. If you have a strong dream, and it gets crushed, then you would lose hope and think that nothing is ever going to go well for you. Also, ambition can go from being small things to larger requests. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is so focused on Macbeth killing the King. She will do whatever it takes for him to kill the King. Ambition with the wrong motivation can corrupt. If a person is doing anything they can to get money, fame, and glory. An example of this is any celebrity. Miley Cyrus in particular. She went from just wanting to be famous, to doing whatever she could to be famous.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what your saying and i think it is an interesting point you make about not achieving an ambitious goal. When we talk about ambition most of the time we think in terms of achieving the goal but what happens to a person when their goals are not achieved. This result comes from setting goals that are unrealistic in relation to the persons capabilities. In the play Macbeth the goal is realized. King Duncan is murdered. The example you`ve given of Miley Cyrus is a good one. She has continually transformed herself throughout her career. Instead of following a steady growth pattern she has now become a watered down and scattered personality with no defined character.
DeleteI totally agree with what you are saying. I really like how you explained it with “make you or break you.” It’s short and simple but it totally describes ambition. I also really like your example of Miley Cyrus. She did everything she could to be famous, and look how long that lasted. Where is she now? And she also has somewhat of a bad reputation with many scandals on the internet. She doesn’t seem to have any direct in like anymore. Your second sentence, “if you have a strong dream, and it gets crushed, then you would lose hope and think that nothing is ever going to go well for you,” is something I’m sure everyone can relate to whether it be a small thing or big thing. Such as getting bad on a test at school, or losing American Idol. So, I like what you said because it is very relatable.
DeleteI agree with you that your ambition can make you and break you. People sometimes have one goal in life and if that one goal fails then they have nothing to fall back to which may lead to depression.
DeleteI agree with you, Melissa. I understand what you are saying with celebrities, and how when they are first found they are famous and well-liked, but then it can quickly turn for some, to doing anything to become well-known again.
DeleteOn another note, I also agree with what you said about, Lady Macbeth, and I feel the same way. Lady Macbeth has done possibly everything to make sure the prophecy of Macbeth becoming King, happen and as soon as possible. Her ambition was so strong, that she never thought of the other paths or the consequences if these turned out bad. It's scary to think that with only Act Two done, what she is capable of so far, and with further reader, and bigger desires, what she will do to overcome them.
Ambition, Ambition is what pushes you to achieve a goal, any goal, its your will to succed. Ambition can be bad or good depending on what view one would have on a event. In the dark knight the joker has unexplainable ambition to secced in killling the batman this is bad. The ambition the joker has is to harm anyone that gets in his way. Also in Lord of the flies Jack's ambition is to eleminate his competion with ralph, any way possible. This again is bad ambition. its also shown in sports. Ive seen some games were the ambition of player will be to injure another player; an example would be the burtuzzi insitent in 2004. His ambition destroyed the career for a young NHL player that is now paralzyed from the waist down. Ambition is bad with bad means and thats how is see it
ReplyDeleteI really really like how you said that ambition is what pushes us to achieve goals. It's so true. When we have something that we're striving for, we feel more inclined to do it. If there is no push or determination, we aren't going to focus very hard.
DeleteI dont agree with you that Burtuzzi ambition was to destroy a person career rather get back at what was done to Naslund earlier. Naslund suffered a bunch of stiches that could have taken out his eye due to a blatent highsticking by Moore due to his ambition to hurt the Canucks team captain. I truly think that all people have good and bad ambitions inside them belive that Berts was not a bad ambition.
DeleteI don't agree that ambition is what makes people achieve their goals. I feel as though ambition is more so the hunger for something that one doesn't have. Motivation is what helps people achieve their goals. I do agree, however, that ambition is a negative trait. The downfall of many good people comes from them being too ambitious and not knowing their limits and societies limits.
Deletenigle , even if his ambition was to back up naslund thts not positive ambition , intent to injure is not a good thing. there was no good out come from wat he did , he was suspended and the othere guy cant walk anymore , so hows is tht a positive for anyone
DeleteMost people think that being ambitious and driven is a good thing, but I believe ambition is bad. Being ambitious is focused on the future, on what you want to achieve. It implies something’s wrong with what’s here right now. Ambition can bring you to change what you set out to do with hard work, determination and a clear destination, But ambition doesn’t help in the greater future in life. It closes your heart and it keeps you away from the present moment, which is not helpful. Ambition takes our focus away from what matters more in life.
ReplyDeleteMacbeth had the ambition to kill the king. He told Lady Macbeth about his plan, and from there on he pretty much ruined the rest of his life. There was no turning back. Even though he had changed his mind for a while, he still went on with it and now he has an enormous amount of guilt on his shoulders. Guilt that will only bring his life into misery and distress even though he thought he would be a happy king with Lady Macbeth by his side as his queen.
I really like how you said "It implies something's wrong with what's here right now". It's so true. If we are always focused to what is going to happen in the future, are we really caring about the present? The future isn't going to be prospering if you don't have a good past. I also like how you said "it closes your heart and it keeps you away from the present moment." As I said before, if you are so focused on making a good future, then your present isn't going to be very pleasing.
DeleteOne point that you said I found to be really interesting was that ambition applies that there is something wrong with what's here and now. It really made me think of how true that statement actually is. Ambition drives people to work harder for a better future. It gives people the endurance they need to achieve their goal. They always think of the future as being better and forget to live in the now and appreciate what they have. Usually, when one goal is achieved another one is made. Therefore, the future continously looks better and the present never seems to be enough.
DeleteIsn't ambition the sole reason we have motives in life? Being ambitious gives people a hope for their future. I agree that ambition has its bad effects, but only if the ambition itself is a bad one. If a young child wants to be a singer and begs their parents for vocal lessons to achieve that dream, that ambition cannot be deemed bad. It is what gave the child hope for tommorow. Ambition does mean we can change our own fates but determining whether it is good or bad ambition will be based on what the ambition itself is.
DeleteYou all have a valid point in saying our present is important, but if one didnt have goals for the future then is there a point to life? I think dreaming and having goals are equally as important as focusing on the present. One can balance the other. Tavleen, I loved the points you made and have to agree with them, but I still maintain the fact that I dont think its important to have ambitions. Regardless of what your future will look like it doesnt hurt to want to achieve more than what you have. Its apathetic to sit back and be content with the norm.
Being ambitious tends to possess people to do mindless things that generally have negative outcomes and consequences. Ambition can lead to people acting before they think things through and even when they think about it, their ambition is what drives them. For example, at a candy store, someone may really want a chocolate bar but they don’t have enough money. In their mind, they know it’s wrong to just take it but ambition drives them to steal it. When someone really wants something, their ambition will drive their mind and instead of being a good person, they’ll do whatever it takes to get what they want. In Macbeth, “only vaulting ambition” was driving Macbeth to kill the king [I.vii 26-28]. After arguing with himself and listing all the reasons why he shouldn’t kill the king, ambition still drove him to do it. Now Macbeth is feeling the negative consequences and he regrets doing it and feels extremely guilty. When we act before we think, or when we do something we know is wrong, we generally end up regretting it after. Ambition is a negative trait because it can cause people to do bad things just to get what they want. Even though they have what they want, ambitious people tend to end up living their life in misery and regret because they lose many friends and opportunities by lying, cheating, stealing and backstabbing on the way to their own success.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand where you are coming from. You are basically saying that ambition blinds people and they end up regretting whatever their actions were. I am not sure if i agree with your example of the candy store though. You, being the author of that post, were able to manipulate that situation to suit your needs. You wanted to show someone who has an ambition to do something bad, and who knows it is bad. So you picked a situation where that person knows what they want is illegal and does it anyway. Have you considered the possibility of a person who has an ambition that they know is wrong so never acts on it? I have always though it would be cool to elaborately rob something like in the Oceans movies. I have the ambition, but I know it is wrong. In turn, I do not do it, because of that. You used an example of someone who DOES act on it. But how many other people may have walked through that store that day wanting chocolate but not having the money, who DID NOT steal any? Similarly, how many people would love to be king, but know killing the king would be wrong so do not act on it, unlike Macbeth? Once again, the number is probably greater than the two people who did act on it (Macbeth and Lady Macbeth). The point I am trying to make is that although you may be right about what you are saying, it is relatively very rare that ambition does that to people.
DeleteThat's true, the story was manipulated but it could very well happen and it was just an example of what ambition may drive people to do. But then again, if one is truly ambitious, they will act upon it. The other people may have wanted chocolate, but they didn't want it bad enough therefore they weren't really ambitious. If you're extremely ambitious, you'll go to the ends of the earth to get what you want. It's not really that rare, killing the king is just an extreme example. Ultimately, what possesses people to lie, cheat, steal and betray others? Ambition does because ambitious people will do anything for their own success.It's not rare seeing people cheat just so they can have good grades or backstab their friends because they want to be popular. Ambition can very well be seen as a good trait, but what about the things that person does for success? Are those things always good?
DeleteIf you choose to say "it is just an example" and that it could "very well happen", then that is a double edged sword. I could say to you that any of my examples are just examples. Or, I could say they they may also very well happen. Realistically, almost anything may very well happen if you take a point of view like that. I think what is important to consider here is what exactly we are discussing. We are discussing ambition. You tend to argue your point using many examples of what could RESULT from ambition. I think we need to stop and realize that although good or bad things may result from it, ambition does not change. Yes, bad things could result, but good or bad things could result from almost any trait if you think about it. So, is it good or is it bad? Well, is it better to be someone who has no ambition to do anything, or someone who is very ambitious in life? Is it better to sit around all day with no want or need to do anything or to wake up full of a sense of purpose and motivation? - Luke Fahrmann
DeleteYou could easily get by in life without ambition. Ambition is just a desire to achieve something but motivation and dedication is what gets you there and inspiration is what sparks the desire.
DeleteI can totally understand your points. A major character trait of Macbeth is a good consciousness. Though after he has a long inner conflict with himself and only list one reason why he should kill the king, he even decides to not kill him. Though the second Lady Macbeth tells him to keep on their plan he jumps on it. This shows that even though he may be a “good person” his ambition when given even the slightest opportunity will jump on it. This is one of the major dangers of ambition, it is so easy to go back onto it, even after you have dismissed it.
DeleteYeah! Exactly! No matter how good of a person Macbeth seemed to be, ambition will bring his downfall therefore making it a negative trait. Lady Macbeth is already not too nice of a person and her ambition makes her worse.
Delete"You could easily get by in life without ambition. " - Personally, I think life would be pretty boring and pointless without ambition. Why are you writing on this blog post? Probably because you have the ambition to get a good grade, and then a good report card, and then a good job, and thus a good, stable life. Like I have said before, ambition is what fuels other traits like dedication, motivation, and inspiration.
DeleteI understand the point where you say that ambition can go either way, for good or for bad. If we are relating this trait to life, then I would say that you can't live life worrying about every bad thing that COULD happen to you. You can't worry about all the rare occasions of when "bad" overrules.
There are many things in life that are questionably good or bad. For ambition, yes, there is a possibility of it being good or bad, but both of us could list thousands of examples defending our point. We can accept and recognize the happy/good things in life, or sulk in the rare occasions of the bad. You choose.
I'm writing on this blog because i have the responsibility to do my homework. Ambition doesn't necessarily fuel those traits.The dictionary definition of Ambition is 'an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment'. Ambition separates a society. Say there is a leader, taking money from everyone and taxing people, the leader is ambitious. The citizens have to give them money, and how would that be good? How would a define distinction be a good thing? Isn't the image an ideal society supposed to be equality?
DeleteWhy doesn't ambition fuel those traits?
DeleteIn your example, your talking about equal rights, not ambition. Don't you think all those citizens have ambitions to become a higher rank than just an average middle/bottom class citizen?
Ambition is an immensely vital trait to humanity. It is in many ways one of the only ways that our world has come advanced so brilliantly over it's existence. To begin with, there are a great many difficult tasks that are very necessary, in order for our world to exist and develop. If the world was void of ambition then none of these tasks would be completed as no one would have the ambition. Now, you may think I am getting ambition confused with motivation. But, motivation is a reason to act in a certain way, whereas ambition is a desire to achieve something. There are a great many inventions out there which have benefited mankind extraordinarily that were not fuelled by motivation, but ambition. In the case of Macbeth, I implore you to take a step back and consider the "big picture". It is true that Macbeth has an ambition to kill the king to attain that role for himself. I do not disagree that this is not a good thing. But, it does not end up working and Macbeth ends up dead. In other words, society has seen someone who let his darkest desires grab hold of him. They have seen how terrible it was, and how it never even worked out for him. That is the positive of it; society now knows that they must not let such emotions gain control. Human beings learn best from their mistakes. If a baby touches a hot pan and burns their hand, they will no longer touch it. If a young man or woman decides not to study for a test and in turn receives a failing mark, they learn that they must study for the test. Macbeth is almost the same situation, but on a grander scale. It is very unlikely that people will try to murder the king again. If one thinks too narrowly, then it does seem as though ambition is bad for Macbeth. One must think about all other possibilities.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you say however my position is that there are many people who are ambitious but don't have the education or skills to achieve wealth and power in an honest way that is acceptable to society. These people might be called underdogs or poverty striken but they still have powerful feelings of wanting a better life including money and all the things that it can buy. In this situation working at a minimum wage job will never get them what they want. They don't have a strong moral structure and are surrounded by criminals so they drift into the life of crime. Being highly motivated they take the shortcut to gain wealth by way of criminal activities. Without ambition they could have remained in the minimum wage job and been satisfied with that.
DeleteYour point is a good one, and is definitely valid. But, only for a small group of people. In our world today, if you do not have very much money but have the ambition to be in a better place in society, it definitely is not impossible to do so legally. You are assuming that the only possible way to do it is by illegal behaviours. I strongly disagree. If someone has ambition, they are far more likely to work long enough at a minimum wage job to get enough money to take a night course or something in order to further their education which leads to jobs. If they are someone who has little ambition, they are going to consider doing all those things and probably go "that is way too much work, I'm lazy!" and therefore will take the much easier route out, which is a life of crime and illegal behavior.
DeleteAmbition is neither good or bad its what your ambition is directed towards that determines whether it is good or bad. However I believe that ambition is mostly bad because if your ambition is strong enough you will do what ever it takes. Many people in history defiently had great ambitions but with that ambition the did many bad things. Examples of that in history are people like Stalin, Hitler (which we talked about in class). In the book Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have great ambition for themsleves to become mighty and powerful, but with that strong ambition that they had they did what ever it took to get there. Also ambition can be a very bad thing because many times the ambition that people have can leave out morals. Things such as rascism and sexism can come into play when someone has a strong ambition towards a goal. That is why when you have a ambition you must always have to think about all who might be affected and if your ambition will benefit everyone around you.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you are saying. I like how used the example of what we talked about in class. Take Adolf Hitler for example. He was an excellent speaker, a man of power, and he knew how to get what he wanted, but his ambition was sidetracked. He could have done wonderful things in the world with his talents, but instead, he chose a different path. His ambition drove him to insanity, and everyone he associated himself with.
Deletei disagree, actions that are used from ambition can definitely be bad, but ambition as a trait, as itself, is good. without any kind of drive or motivation, how could anyone be able to achieve anything without that drive?
DeleteI believe ambition is a good trait because of all the amazing things people achieve due to their ambition. Since ambition is the drive to complete a goal without it no one would ever achieve anything which means society as a whole wouldn't be able to advance. In this play though ambition is bad, but only because thats how it was written. At the same time you have to think about the fact that if Shakespeare didn't have ambition then we wouldn't even have a play to be discussing right now. Also think about yourself, you have ambition but that doesn't mean you want to kill people like macbeth. If you think about it just posting your ideas and commenting on this blog each week shows that you have ambition to do well in this class. So in my opinion ambition definitely a good trait.
ReplyDeleteI like your point about Shakespeare, if he didn't have any ambition there would be no Macbeth or Romeo And Juliet.
DeleteI also agree with how you say ambition doesn't just make someone wanna kill people, if anyone was to make that assumption, they would be completely wrong.
-Kevin Lomas
ambition is a necessary trait for all humans whether it be for good or bad reasons it is used by people everyday who are trying to get what they want. for example one must have the want to get a job by trying and having the want to get that job or one must train everyday and always be practicing on the ice if one wants to make the NHL which takes sacrifice and ambition. In the play macbeth, macbeth himself used ambition to win the war that king was more than happy to hear about.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree that training and practicing every day takes ambition. I believe it takes dedication. If one is dedicated, they can get anywhere they want because they're putting in time and effort.
DeleteIf you didnt have ambition to go to the nhl then you would practice and train everyday therefore it takes ambition to train and practice everyday...........
DeleteI agree with Nigel. To practice and train everyday definitley requires a great amount of dedication. However, ambition is the fuel of that dedication. Without ambition, there would be no reason for dedication.
Deleteambition fuels your ability to achieve goals , whether you need dedication to train everyday , or the motivation to get up for school ambition fuels those traits. like they are all connected and the power source is ambition
DeleteAmbition doesn't fuel your ability to achieve goals. Desire will help you achieve your goals but that however is not the same thing as ambition. Ambition is the desire to surpass others...
Deletedesire according to the dictionary means you long for or wish you had one thing, one can have the desire to be just like their favouite hockey player but for one to get there it take ambition to motivate yourself to train and practice to become that much better.
DeleteAmbition: A strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.
DeleteDesire: to wish or long for; crave; want.
So according to the dictionary, and what you just said, to have ambition is to have an earnest desire... So by saying that they have desire but no ambition sort of contradicts.
Also, ambition is in no way just the desire to surpass others. Surpassing others can be an ambitious goal, for example, if you wanted to get a higher mark than your friend in school. However, ambition encompasses a lot more than just surpassing others.
The dictionary definition also states that it requires hardwork, meaning that you dont just start working hard for no reason. There has to be some motive behind it.
PS: No hard feelings for the heated posts, just have to defend a point for the sake of the assignment.
Ambition is what pushes one to achieve a goal. It is what separates Type A and Type B people. Type A, being the ones who lead, and Type B, being the ones who follow. Leaders are a keystone when it comes to anything in our world: evolution, revolution, invention, the list goes on. Without ambition, our life today would be drastically different, and not in a good way. Ambition is what drives people to work so hard, to achieve their goals, and later to benefit from the results of their hard work. For example, succeeding in school is a great parallel. Spending 6 hours a day, 5 days a week in classroom learning, and doing numerous assignments, can sometimes seem not too appealing. However, it is the people who dedicate that time to working their hardest, that deserve the reward; the reward of having a good, stable job. Those people are the people with ambition; the doctors, lawyers, inventors, businessmen, etc. In Macbeth, he has a different type of ambition. Macbeth's ambition is accompanied with greed, the greed of wanting to be the king, or his "black and deep desires (I.iv)." Macbeths ambition brings up a point, "Ambition can bring the worst out of people!" It is true, that nothing in the world is completely perfect, however, when it comes to ambition, it is for sure that the trait is much more beneficial than harmful in the world.
ReplyDeleteI agree that ambition is one of the biggest reasons that people get far in life. If we didn't have motivation or a drive to do something well then it would always end up looking like we really didn't care. I think that when you have ambition to do something, your ambition pushes you to do whatever your doing to the best of your ability and thats why I think ambition is a good trait in general. I agree that having ambition to do the wrong thing can be harmful but usually ambition is based around something that you are pasionate about
DeleteAmbition can make or break a person. Argueably, it can be a good or bad thing. Ambition pushes a person to success, or destruction. Never both. However, a majoity of the time, is usually leads to destruction. Take MacBeth into consideration. One man was so powerful. He had everything he needed. He had a great repuation, tons of respect, and he was in the perfect posiiton of power. But, once he got the ambition to kill the king, there was no stopping him. He had a motive, and he could not be stoped. It brought out the worst in MacBeth. He had the ability to be respected and looked up to by everyone, and instead, his morals/virtues and his character is crumbling. Clearly, this example shows how such ambition brings out he worst in people.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you about ambition having to ability to destroy someone and like your example of Macbeth. He had all the things he needed in his life, but once the opportunity arouse for greater power, his ambition took hold of him and consumed him. Ambition can be one of the most deadly traits of a human being, as it causes us to stop at nothing to uphold what we desire let that be good or bad. Shakespeare clearly writes the evils of what ambition can do to a respectable, honourable, and a well rounded person. How it can grasp anyone and everyone.
DeleteI like how you used Macbeth as an example instead of Lady Macbeth. I think Macbeth has a great ambition, but yet as we see he is timid of it. He wants the outcome and his hold, but is unsure of how he feels in ways to get it. Ultimately, we know that Macbeth takes the darker of the paths and follows his wife's lead.
DeleteI am curious to see that, now since they have murdered the King, if they will come together on more even terms, and do greater crimes, almost fueling each other. Or if power will go to Macbeth's head, and he will push away his wife and take the lead himself, and chose a path for himself.
Jasmine, I like how you said ambition can lead to destruction because it most definitely can if not dealt with in a proper way. Power can get to peoples heads and make them do things they’d regret. I think this topic is closely related to what we were discussing in class; tragic heroes are presented at such a high level only so that their fall is much greater. Shakespeare might have used ambition as a bad trait to make his flawless protagonist crumble faster than he would have otherwise.
DeleteMegan, I really like how you brought that up because that’s actually a really good question. Personally I think they would come together for more evil because I still don’t think Macbeth can think for himself. Lady Macbeth has the ability to actually push her husband out of the picture because she is crazy. But if Macbeth does choose a path for himself, the story would have taken quite an interesting turn.
Ambition is a trait that pushes us to be better at things that we try to do. Ambition can iether be used in a positive way or a negative way. But overall i think ambition is a good thing because otherwise knowone would ever be really exeptional at anything. For example, with any sport if you want to become a professional at that sport you have to have ambition which makes you keep trying. Its a good thing because otherwise people wouldn't have any drive to be better at a sport, get a higher mark on a test, or even just do anything to the best of their abilities. All in all, i think that if we didn't have ambition, the world would be a prety boring place.
ReplyDeleteI feel like when it comes to sports, it's not ambition that gets famous athletes to where they are, it's motivation and dedication. When young kids see their heros do something, it inspires them to get better. Ambition is almost like greed. Greed isn't considered a good trait for a human. Hitler was an ambitious leader, he was greedy for power and most definitely committed the worst crimes possible to get it. In his case ambition lead to war and millions of innocent people dying. I wouldn't consider that a good thing at all.
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DeleteAgain, with motivation and dedication, there is ambition. If a child had no dreams/no interest/no goals to becoming an NHL hockey star, where would they get their motivation and dedication from?
DeleteThey'd get it from inspiration
DeleteInspiration from WHO? If nobody had any ambition, there would be nobody to inspire others!
DeleteI agree with Ryland in that motivation, dedication and ambition go hand in hand. Nekita, I see what you are saying about how someone gets inspired by an athlete, but inspiration is what comes originaly. Inspiration is not what gets you up in the morning to go train everyday for a sport, thats ambition and dedication. I believe that motivation and dedication can't exist without ambition giving them those things.
DeleteAmbition gives you the concentration and drive you need to accomplish your goal. Generally, it sounds like a good thing but that very ambition can lead to many negative consequences as well. Ones ambition can become so strong that they are willing to do any task in order to achieve it. Sometimes hurting yourself or others along the way. It makes individuals become so focused, that it blinds them to the events around them. In the play Macbeth, Macbeth's ambition to become king becomes so strong that he becomes willing to commit murder in order to maintain it. Quickly, his ambition blinds him to his horrible crimes. His desires were so strong that when he decided not to kill Duncan only a little persuasion from Lady Macbeth was necessary in order to change his mind again.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it causes one to get wrapped in the dreams of the future that they forget to live in the now. An example of this are people who are always working to get ahead in their career. All they can see is the future and are overtaken by the wonders it can offer. Along the way they forget to enjoy what's around them and what they have. They also create a distance between themselves and loved ones. If a balance isn't maintained, the outcome can lead to a isolated life.
Ambition is a good trait because it pushes humanity further and over the edge. Some of the greatest advancements in medicine and science have been due to peoples ambition.Take for example, Bill Gates. Nobody could have know who Bill Gates was if he didn't buy the source program which he used to start IBM, it was his ambition that pushed him to further himself and bring technology to the lower income people. In "Macbeth", Macbeth uses his ambition to become the better warrior, gaining the kings utmost trust and title of than of glamis. Ambition can lead to positive outcomes and can prove to a worthy trait.
ReplyDelete-Kevin Lomas
i completely agree, ambition is what drives us all, and i also agree that ambition does bring positive outcomes, it's almost as if without ambition, nothing would be achieved.
DeleteI like your idea about bill gates and how his ambition has made such a massive impact on our (and many other peoples) lives everyday. And it goes without saying i definitely agree that ambition brings positive outcomes.
DeleteAmbition though in times can be good, it can also be awful. In class we talk about Lady Macbeth and how her character is “crazy” but in reality Lady Macbeth is an extremely ambitious person. She strives for the outcome of Macbeth becoming king of Scotland and will do anything to get at that. This blinding ambition can be extremely dangerous. Through out history there are numerous accounts of such crazy and ultimate ambition. You can look at any dictator currently or previously and see that because of their ambition to rule over people with ultimate power, has lead to an unhealthy state in a place, and world. Ambition can be blinding to a person, and make the person do anything to get at where that want to be, this can cause hurt and harm to others around and them and to themselves.
ReplyDeleteI like your examples of dictators and agree with your argument. There are so many countries suffering right now because of their leaders. I think if you link ambition with power, as most leaders and as Lady Macbeth did, it will cause one to do very terrible things. If you think about human ambition, most humans want power and will do whatever they can to get it.
DeleteMichelle, I completely agree with your point as well. Lady Macbeth is without a doubt, an ambitious person. I liked how you said ambition was dangerous, because it truly is. Ambition brings about greed and human beings go crazy at the thought of wanting more than they need. There is good and bad ambition depending on how it is dealt with but when humans will go to the end of the earth to get what they want,it can be concluded that that kind of ambition is bad. Because at times like that humans disregard the negative effects their actions can have on anyone, all they care for is themselves. With this in mind, I also think addressing the topic of tyrant rulers throughout the world was another great point.
DeleteAmbition can be a good trait because it actually motivates people to do things. Without ambitious people, this world would be completely dull. In fact, many of the world's greatest minds brought them to where they are today because of ambition such as Oprah. She is extremely passionate and dedicated in what she does for society and people for the better. She is capable to get what she wants with such discipline. We can compare this with MacBeth from Shakespeare's Macbeth because he is also dedicated and strong-willed in what he does. It seems that if he puts his mind into something with concentration, he can achieve it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point on ambition acting as a motivator for people to do things but I do not necessarily believe it is a good trait. For instance, your example on Macbeth being strong-willed and dedicated to achieve what he wants is true but his ambition lead to horrible deeds. It lead to the murder of the king for his own selfish desires. Amibition is defined as the desire for success and achievement. That desire can get the better of people and they can become willing to do anything for their success. As for Oprah, I do believe it was her ambition that brought her so much success. However, when it comes helping the society it is due to her dedication, passion, and motivation. And those traits are different from ambition.
DeleteAmbition is a trait that as previously mentioned can either be good or bad. It can elevate a person’s life or ruin it, depending on how a person treats their ambitions. I believe too much ambition can be bad; too much of anything is bad. When there is something extreme to one end, there will be an equally opposing force to balance it. Ambition as a bad trait can be closely related to greed. There’s the aspect of aiming high but then wanting more than what you really need, can be ambition gone wrong. Greed brings about several other ugly traits such as anger and envy. Rulers such as Saddam Hussein had anything and everything they could ask for, but greed overtook them and they went about creating chaos. There was ambition in Saddam Hussein to have more wealth and more land, when he didn’t really require it. With relation to Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, the whole concept of bad ambition is closely related to the actions of the protagonist, Macbeth himself. Macbeth is rich, is of an honourable family and title, liked by everyone, great at fighting and many more things. On top of all of this, greed overtakes him and he wants Duncan’s throne. In reality, he doesn’t need to be king; he just wants to be because ambition overtakes him. That desire was planted in him when the weird sisters talked of the prophecy and only intensified when Lady Macbeth kept urging him to kill Duncan to get what he wants.
ReplyDeleteAmbition is a good trait, it's what drives people to go out and do the good things. It can be used for good reasons and for bad. But the good over throws the bad. When your ambition pushes you too do bad, you'll normally see all the bad results, effects and reasons why it's a bad decision. When ambition pushes you towards doing good you see all the good outcomes, how all the effects will be good and help you, for the right reasons. Which makes ambition a good trait, helping people do good things. It's what helps people go get good grades, work hard, get a job, get money, raise a family, make sure they're safe and happy. Without ambition people wouldn't be motivated to go out and do anything. It's good to be ambitious as long as you know the difference between what is wrong and right. Sometimes, people get carried away and tend to hurt the people around them just so they can achieve that goal, when they don't know their limits. It's always going to be a positive trait when it pushes you to success and helping you achieve your goals. This is shown in Macbeth, Macbeth is a very ambitious man, he uses his ambition to achieve his goals and dreams which for him is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with how you state ambition is what drives us to reach our goals. I also enjoy your statement on how "without ambition people wouldn't be motivated to go out and do anything". I think you really hit the nail on the head. I also like how you acknowledge that it can also be a bad trait and cause damage.
Delete-Kevin Lomas
I don't think ambition is what necessarily drives a person to accomplish our goals. Once a person decides they want to do something, that is ambition, but it involves tons of motivation and decication. Anyone can say that they would like to do something, but the real hard work part of it is carrying out those goals. For example, I bet half the people in the play MacBeth would like to be King, just like MacBeth, but MacBeth had the motivation to make a move, and despite what happens to him at the end, he still went for his goals, and that's really motivation and dedication.
DeleteAmbition is a human trait that pushes us to achieve a goal, but sometimes ambition can be a bad trait. It can cause people to do things that they would never do, in order to achieve something that they really want. For example, in the play Macbeth, the reason for the murder of the King was Macbeth's ambition. Macbeth realized he couldn't get the crown by himself, so his ambition caused him to think of Killing the King. Another example is Henry Flagler. He was the person who built Palm Beach, Florida. Henry ambition was to get some land in Palm Beach to build his estate on. There was people already living on the land, so he threw them a big party in another part of Palm Beach. When nobody was there, Flagler's people burned down all the homes these people lived in and the people had no homes to go back to. Flagler was so rich they could not fight him. In the end they moved and he got to build his estate.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about how ambition drived Macbeth to kill the king for the crown. But I also believe the witches played a big roll on puting that thought into his head that he would be king one day and Lady Macbeth pushed him as well.
ReplyDeleteI thought the part on Henry Flagler was interesting because he resorted to something different to get what he wanted and that's kind of what Macbeth did.
i agree with colton that macbeth at the start of the play has no intent on even hurting the king but the witches got the idea into his mind that he is one day going to become king which made him want to be king that much more. At this point macbeth still has no desire to kill duncan but with a combination of his wife calling him a coward for not wanting to do it and the words from the witches drove hims good ambition away and made him have the want to just kill duncan already and wear the crown.
Deletein the play Macbeth, Ambition is constantly used, as it is what drives Macbeth into doing such actions to gain power. Ambition is generally a good trait to ones self, it provides motive, a drive, and it can push people beyond their limits. such as when Macbeth was thinking about killing Duncan, at first he was scared of the thought of killing him, but as his ambition grew, so did his intentions. he came to the point where he completely ignored is subconscious and his ambition took over. Although many see this as bad, the trait itself is good because of how it affects ones decisions and actions.
ReplyDeleteI get what your saying about ambition as a whole being a good trait and that it can be both positive and negative, and It sounds to me like you have the same kind of idea as me about how ambition is only bad in the play because that was how it was written.
DeleteMany people called me ambitious. Honestly i am an Asian girl. First I ve been in the US since I was 18. I didn't know English, I study hard at High school, stay after school until night. I told people that I wanna study accounting at university and stand on the 1st place in high school. Then my friends called me ambitious. I think it's nothing wrong for people have a dream. I worked hard, I didn't have vacation w/ amily and hung out w/ them. Everyone have a dream, but they don't dare to try it, to achieve their goal so they won't be success. That s what I think. I'm not success but at least I try my best to make my dream came true.
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