With the witches’ prophecies mulling over in his mind, and knowing that he was not the successor of the throne, he knew he had to take matters into his own hands. With the support and persuasion of Lady Macbeth, he kills King Duncan and gains his kingship. When Banquo makes his vow to find out who killed Duncan, Macbeth knew he had to silence him. After Macbeth is named king, he seeks out hired murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. Macbeth does this because he is afraid that Banquo will get in the way of his new title and Fleance, because he is prophesied to be king.
Parris feared that Abigail’s increasingly questionable actions and the hints of witchcraft surrounding his daughter’s coma will threaten his reputation and force him from the pulpit. “Abigail, I have fought here three long years to bend these stiff-necked people to me, and now, just now when some good respect is rising for me in the parish, you compromise my very character.”(12) His pride makes him cover up the truth about what he saw in the woods. Parris could have said something about what the girls where doing so people would not have assumed that the girls’ sickness was due to witchcraft. John Proctor also wanted to keep his good name from being destroyed. Early in the play, he had a chance to put a stop to the girls’ accusations, but his desire to preserve his reputation keeps him from testifying against Abigail.
Reverend Hale, who enters Salem Naïve and convinced of his greatness in discerning spirits, realizes he has cause irreparable damage. In order to right one of his many wrongs, he wishes for Elizabeth Proctor to convince John Proctor to sign a false confession in order to save his life. John Proctor stated a quoted, “I speak my own sins. I cannot judge another. I have no tongue for it.” Proctor confesses to witchcraft yet refuses to incriminate others.
So, naturally, because man is a sinful creature, Macbeth sets out to destroy Banquo and his family, eliminating the possibility of Banquo’s descendants becoming kings. Macbeth never imagined that engaging in such murderous and traitorous acts would play an active role in ensuring that Banquo’s descendants became rulers, as well as Macbeth’s own downfall! Ultimately, prophecy may have prompted Macbeth to act, but one cannot blame prophecy for Macbeth’s evil deeds anymore than one can claim that guns kill people. Following that line of logic, Macbeth’s downfall was, therefore, caused by his own free will. The witches may have predicted Macbeth’s fate, yes.
“If you trafficked with spirits in the forest, I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it.” (Miller, 11) John Proctor, the protagonist, is under the manipulation of Abigail throughout the play, because he struggles between preserving his reputation or stopping Abigail’s mischief and saving his wife by exposing their secret affair. Proctor goes to great lengths to let it be known that the witch trials are a hoax, while keeping his reputation clean. Abigail’s ‘victim’ image protects her from being revealed until Proctor becomes more concerned with his personal integrity than his public reputation. “I have given you my soul; Leave me my name!” (Miller, 145) By admitting the truth he believes that he has gained redemption by confessing his sins instead of concealing them and for the public to believe he was a witch. “If you trafficked with spirits in the forest, I must know it now, for surely my
Although his wife, Elizabeth Proctor is nice enough that can forgive his sin, John Proctor has his mind set that he will not confess to anyone else, in fear of running his good name. The affair between John and Abigail causes the start of chaotic witchery and accusation. Abigail became very jealous of Elizabeth Proctor. John realizes there is only way to stop all the witch hysteria in Salem, and that would be to confess adultery. He knows what he should do, but he continues to deny, until his wife is put into jail.
He even recognized this, himself, earlier in his retelling: “I, not in deed, but in effect, was the true murderer” (113). Time and time again, Frankenstein justified his complete inaction regarding the safety of his family with statements like, “I thought of pursuing the devil, but it would have been in vain” (99), or when it came to saving Justine from her execution, “a declaration would have been considered as the ravings of a madman and would not have exculpated her who suffered through me” (103). Christopher LaGant English 208 (005)
Eventually he makes an attempt, through Mary Warren’s testimony, to name Abigail as a fraud without revealing crucial information about the affair. When this fails, he confesses calling Abigail a “whore”, he then realises that it’s too late and matters have gone too far, not even the truth can stop what Abigail has caused. John’s confession leads to his conviction as a witch. The only way John and his wife can live is if he signs a confession to adultery
Hamlets anger, which stems from his mother marrying Claudius, bears him serious thoughts of suicide. This results in an attempt at a religious and moral sin which shows a weakness in his character. Hamlet shows some moral sense when he decides not to kill himself due to religious beliefs, which is a paradox that leads to Hamlet’s downfall. His statement “thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain” (I.V.102-103) establishes his tragic decision to let nothing stand in the way of his vowed revenge assuring the death of Claudius, a longer life span and the immunity of punishment towards his mother. As act III begins, the reader sees Claudius’s plot against Hamlet progress.
Creon acts like he is above the gods by forbidding Polyneices to be buried and faces the consequences of his actions as his son and wife commit suicide. This theme of gods/religion versus the state is one that persists even today, given debates on subjects like abortion and gay marriage, a statement to the timelessness of this play. The last question the play revolves on whether or not Creon deserves the throne, which also ties in with the element of how the state is represented in the play. The state and Creon in this play seem to be