Macbeth: Justice or Injustice

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Macbeth: Justice or Injustice Murder, deceit, and immorality are not a rare occurrence in the story of Macbeth; in fact they are the basis of the story. The three witches play with Macbeth’s mind and make him thirst for the throne, Lady Macbeth encourages her husband to murder King Duncan, and says Macbeth is a coward for his hesitation, to trick him into killing the King. And Macbeth not only murders King Duncan, but also Banquo, the Macduff family, and attempts to kill Fleance, son of Banquo. The question remains; is justice served where justice is due in this story? A lust for power already existed in Macbeth, but it was his encounter with the three witches on his return from battle that triggered his thirst for the throne, and subsequently the deaths of many, Macbeth among the deceased. The witches told Macbeth that he would become the Thane of Cawdor, and when he did, he became obsessed with the idea that he will become the King of Scotland; “prophecy” said so. With the encouragement of his wife, Macbeth murdered King Duncan, and Banquo, who was a comrade of Macbeth. Macbeth then orders the deaths of Macduff’s wife and children, because he fears that they stand a chance of taking the throne. Upon hearing of his families’ death, Macduff returns to Scotland to confront Macbeth, who is slain. The horrid acts performed by Macbeth were brought to justice through his death, and power was restored with the crowning of King Malcolm. Lady Macbeth was the driving force that kept pushing Macbeth to his terrible crimes. One crucial statement she made to her husband directly insulted Macbeth’s manhood, and manipulated him into committing heinous crimes, “What beast was't then, When you durst do it then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man..."(Shakespeare, 1.7, 47-49). In this statement Lady Macbeth resorted to

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