Blog Friday (November 5th)

Appearance vs. Reality:
         Machiavelli's outlook on this is relating back to his quote about how as long as you appear good, you don't necessarily have to be good. This means that as long as you do good things for your society and they see that you are doing good things, then it doesn't matter that you cheated as long as you get it done. In Macbeth this same idea carries though, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (1.1.10). This means that being  fair doesn't always result in a good way, but when you do bad things, it sometimes results in a good way, even if it wasn't fair. I know it is morally wrong to think this way but it is mainly how everyone in this world gets what they need to get done accomplished.

Gender Roles:
         In Macbeth the role of men and women is very different. The men are the head of the the house hold and are supposed to take charge while the women sit back and watch. In the play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is intrigued by the thought of becoming a queen. She decides Macbeth is too "softhearted" to get things done so she takes it upon herself and plots to kill King Duncan. She soon began to convince Macbeth to join in and kill Duncan himself. At first he refuses, but Lady Macbeth uses her seductive powers, along with the help of the three witches telling Macbeth the prophecy, to convince him into killing Duncan. Women from that time period were very respectable and were in charge of making the house presentable. Power is the main motivation for Lady Macbeth, it is causing her to do things she, or any woman from that time would never think of doing. "Only look up clear: to alter favour ever is to fear: leave all the rest to me" (1.5.70-72). In this quote, Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth to appear very courteous and comforting. She is telling the man of the house hold to pretend everything is normal while she takes care of the rest. By the end of act one scene five, gender roles have been shifted greatly.




Loyalty and Honor:
         Loyalty and honor plays a huge part in this play. A place where we see this most is in act two, scene one. Banquo and his son were out late one night when they uneasily heard Macbeth out and about. They were talking and when Banquo says, "I dreamt last night of the three Weird Sisters: to you they have showed some truth" (2.1.20-21), Macbeth responds, "I think not of them" (2.1.22). This is a key point in the play because it is where Macbeth lies to Banquo which is foreshadowing for more important things to come rather than little white lies. When Macbeth denies thinking of what the Weird Sisters were saying about the prophecy he is lying; secretly, that is the main drive for him to kill King Duncan. This part of the story signifies many important events to come along with many more loyalty betrayals.