Macbeth is an ambitious general who gives up his morals and his conscience in order to become the King of Scotland. He commits crimes and lies to others in order to get what he wants. In the end, he becomes a tyrant, losing all sense of feeling and doing anything he can to maintain his blood-stained power.
Provide an example of people today who exhibit similar behaviors and have similar ambitions as Macbeth (doesn't necessarily have to be murder).
In your response, you must
1) describe the person's or persons' situation(s)
2) intention behind person's or persons' actions
3) how his / her / their situation is like Macbeth's
4) critique these actions: Why do you think people are driven to such a state of mind? Do you think we've become a society of similar people (ambitious, power-hungry, competitive)?
Please put your name and your period at the end of the post.
You will receive...
...a 10/10 for a post that demonstrates effort, originality, and depth of thought.
...a 8/10 for a post that demonstrates mediocre effort, some originality, and some deeper explanation.
...a 6/10 for writing something that relates to the prompt, but appears to have been completed last minute.
Kevin Lee Period 1
ReplyDeleteFor this Blog, I chosed an old show called Ned Declassified School Survival Guide. In one of their episode was sort of similar to Macbeth. So it started with soon to be principal name Crubs, for right now he is a vice principal, but other teachers want the job. Crubs basically tricks them into a way to lose them around school and trap them. He uses lies, methods, and action to lose the wanna be principals. The reason why Crubs wants to be principal is because he wants to change the school to his wanting and how the school should run.
At my job, i was told a story by my boss, whom told me about a staff member they had before whom would do almost anything to get to power and acquire what he's always wanted, to hide this persons identity we are just going to all him, Fel. Fel was a real character. He used to be the main provider for the company of whom he worked for. He used to run the servers that the company would pay for and keep up for users world wide. He was already considered "a boss" but no entirely in full command. After a while he was added into council by the owners of the company. He was indeed happy, however news went around that other staff were not happy regardless. After that, things went a little chaotic within staff. Fel began to wrongly accuse people of abusing their powers against the people whom use our server. accusing them of D-DOSS'ing them and hacking their computers. Shortly one by one, Fel's plans were going smoothly. Until one person actually found out what was going on. This person brought it up to the server owners with intentions to kick Fel out of power and change the server technician and server possession. It did take a bit of time for this is happen, however, before it could happen he did the most illegal crime possible. This person deleted all server related files and hacked the entire system, to clear his tracks entirely and stay clean, at the cost of his job and respect and much much more. After this, the owners changed things for the better. They hired a new server provider and hire 10+ staff to keep each other in check constantly, and im one of the staff added to the team.
ReplyDeleteBryant Barahona
Period 1
1) There is this dance group called the Academy of Villains where they discipline their members when they mess up the routine or are of beat when competing and training.
ReplyDelete2) The group (AOV) wants to win dance competitions and get their name out there in the dance community.
3) MacBeth doesn't really want the power until he sees it as a possibility. AOV sees dance competitions as a way to get their name out and recognition. They both will also go to extremes in order to do so.
4) AOV members are very cocky with none of them being coincident. With that cockiness, they need something to their name and to brag about. With the titles of the dance competitions, they have what they need. There are a lot of people like this in our society. When someone receives a title or completed an achievement, some have this sense where they have to brag about it. When bragging, they feel superior to those they are bragging which makes them feel like they are better.
Brandon Mirador
Period 1
One person who did something like Macbeth is Adolf Hitler he when became the Führer of Germany he burned down the Reichstag and blamed the communist so the Natzis could gain power of Germany. After Hitler got power he went to get his goal to eliminate all the jews and create the perfect race the aryan’s. Macbeth is like Hitler when he got power he did anything to get more power when hitler was the Führer of Germany he then took it upon him to make his party win so he could then be the chancellor of germany then tried to take over all of Europe. The intention Behind Hitler’s action was to make the perfect race and to eliminate all the jews. When Hitler took power germany was in a hard spot so he had to blame someone and the jews were the minority so they got blamed. No I don't think people are like this any more because after Hitler people don't want to anything the same again.
ReplyDeleteJavier Chagolla
period 1
A person in history that could be considered another Macbeth would be Adolf Hitler. Hitler was the leader of the Nazi regime during World War II and he became Chancellor over Germany, basically having all the power for himself until the Allied forces came to forcefully take him out of power. For Hitler's situation, after World War I ended, everyone in Germany considered him a great political figure for wanting to help Germany out of its debts. As time went on, he gained more support and ended up becoming Chancellor of Germany. The intentions in the beginning were not that bad since of course, he wanted to be in power to benefit Germany. As he continuously got more power, in which he basically became an authoritarian, his visions for Germany became crazier and self-centered for wanting to kill innocent people for their race. His situation is like Macbeth's because in the beginning, Macbeth was a good soldier and character, just as Hitler, wanting to "help" Germany. As time went on, it is obvious Macbeth changed through selfish desires and ego, being bloodthirsty for the throne. Hitler did not stop for anything, just like Macbeth, to reach his goal, which was to create the perfect Aryan race. People are able to have a selfish and corrupt way of mind when others give them the chance to pursue those qualities; these corrupt people do not start this way unless there is an opportunity to be a bad person. I think we've always been a power-hungry society from the beginning, although this type of society has grown even more since technology has advanced; we have the chance to use this technology to our advantage. In a way, we can be power-driven since everyone wants to be successful even though sometimes it might take a little bit of greed or self-centeredness for things to be the way you want them to be.
ReplyDeleteMicaiah Anderson P1
One person who did something like Macbeth was Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold was a bodybuilder who then became an actor and now is involved in politics. Arnold was featured in many magazines about how great his body was because of his health and fitness. Arnold was bodybuilding during a time when steroids had just came out and people were very curious of what they were. Studies show that people who did steroids were able to gain more muscles than those who did not use them. Steroids were made illegal, because of the bad side effects that it caused people to have, but no matter people still took them. People who took them were seen to be not as great as those who didn't. Arnold was one of those people who did not get caught and so people looked up to him as inspiration, and admiring how hard he worked. Later on, in 2005 Arnold Schwarzenegger admits that he is using steroids on ABC's New's, but also says that he doesn't have any regrets. He wanted to become someone big and in order for him to outstand the other people he decided to do steroids. Arnold relates to Macbeth, because even though he knows that it was a bad idea he still decided to go with it, because he wanted to become someone at the top, with no one above him. Macbeth and Arnold are in the same situation because they both were in a situation where they chose to do something bad. I feel like in a way our society is slowing beginning to turn in that direction. Many people are beginning to be desperate and so they are saying and using anything they can to get where they want to be. I think that people are driven to be like this because people want to become known by many and so they will do anything they can to get where they want.
ReplyDelete-Vanessa Abarca P.1
Kim Jong-un is the supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. He is the son of Kim Jong-il and the grandson of Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong Un is corrupt on many levels. He had set up concentration camps for people who oppose his beliefs. If a family member has committed a crime, his or her family will be sent to the camps too. He has also removed Korea’s telecommunications system and internet, removing communication between people. He has also brainwashed the public making them believe he is a god and he is worshipped like one. Kim Jong Un got his education in Switzerland, and because he knows what he is doing is wrong, it makes him more evil and corrupt. Kim Jong Un wants power over Korea, including South Korea. He is like Macbeth because he kills anyone he has doubts with and because he is greedy for power. People are driven to this state of mind because no one is trying to stop them. I believe that we’ve become a society where it is competitive and ambitious because everyone wants to go to college, get a job, and be financially stable.
ReplyDeleteJacky Tran Period 2
Bernie Madoff is a man similar to Macbeth in the way he rose up and stole power, and the way he spiraled out of control with greed after gaining that power. Bernie Madoff was once an American financier, who founded his own Wall Street firm and was its chairman. He hired other family members such as his niece, brother, an his two sons into his business as well. Madoff committed one of the largest Ponzi schemes in US history. Bernie Madoff took millions from client accounts and used it for his own pleasure, all while gaining "credibility" for the success of his business. When his clients money never resurfaced,suspicions rose. Madoff later confessed to his sons that his business was a scam and he had spent all the money. Madoff was arrested following his short lived rise to riches, and was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Just like Macbeth, Madoff was willing to rick the safety of his loved ones for the metaphorical "crown", and once he reached his goal his greed filled success did not last.
ReplyDeleteTerra Walls
Period 1
There’s a lot of people around the world that live their life differently. There’s also certain personality types that certain people acquire. There’s three important things that you need in life, which is Love, Money, and Health. If you were to chose two, which one would you choose? ( I would choose Love and Health) Wel… A person in the Philippines, Imelda Marco, is the wife of the Philippine president in the 1970’s. Her “greed” was discovered because she had a shoe collection every girl would want. She had plus 3,000 shoe, all the same size. Obviously, she chose money and health out of the three choices. If you were wondering how she got the money; it was from her husband who was president of the Philippines who was suspected to steal money from their people.
ReplyDeleteShe was so rich in money that she attempted to buy the Empire State Building in New York. She could afford it, but something happened with the banks and her because of their trust with her money. Y’know what also happened? Majority of her shoe collection was totaled by termites. Karma really got ahold of Imelda. It’s a clear sign that she should stop, but for some reason money really absorbed her.
Money or rich in something can make someone go crazy. It will change the way they will think and the way they behave. My mom once told me a story that a man was money laundering since he doesn’t want the bank to take it because tax or something, so he decided to put all of the money in a secret room in his house. He would visit the room once in a while, but one day, it was all gone. Someone stole it. He had a heart attack once he couldn’t find the money. So for that example, people can make rash decisions with large amount of money.
To rack up some points for this assignment, money is just a piece of paper. a simple paper that’s printed in a special way has turned a lot of people to monsters. What people don’t know is that money cannot buy everything. Money cannot buy love from your wife. Money cannot buy back what you did to people to get dirty money. Money cannot cure cancer(as of now). See. It’s not all about money. You can still live a perfect life without money. Yes, it’s better to live in a mansion then in a suburban house, but for me I would still be happy to live in any house.
-Christian Bui
Period 2
P.S.
Some of my information on Imelda are not in order. It might sound alittle weird since it's all jumbled up.
A person who has given up their morals and conscience in order to come into power is Vladimir Putin. Currently Russia is deploying armies around the Ukrainian border because they want Ukraine to be a part of Russia again. Putin, being president of Russia is the one giving all these orders. Vladimir Putin is willing to risk the lives of many in order to make Ukraine a part of his country, Russia. Putin is similar to Macbeth because they are both willing to risk others’ lives in order to accomplish what they want. People are driven to such a state of mind because people are both selfish and demand more power. Human beings are naturally competitive, which leads to the craving for power. I think that we have become similar, in a sense, of wanting to fulfil our own needs rather than fulfilling the needs of others.
ReplyDelete-Jennifer Sigmon, Period 1
I think Adolf Hitler is a lot like Macbeth. Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany and was the one who started the holocaust, killing of jews and other races, and the start of World War 2. He believed that the Aryans were the top race and everyone else was bellow him. Fortunately, he died by suicide in Berlin Germany. He is a lot like Macbeth because once he came to power, he would do anything to keep his reign. He would kill millions of innocent lives. Hitler has the most hatred towards the Jews. When Hitler came into power, he had to blame someone for the lost of World War 1 so he turned to the Jews His intentions was to wipe out all the Jews so he created concentration camps where he round up all the Jews and executed them all. Hitler kills people so that he can feel more powerful, but Macbeth kills to protect his power. In the end, both of them die so a lesson to be learn here is not to become a dictator or a mean tyrant
ReplyDeleteKhanh Nguyen, Period 2
For this blog entry, I’m choosing Fidel Castro. He suppressed his people’s freedom and ruined his country’s economy. He was driven by power and the ideal of Communism. He’s like Macbeth in that he limited his country’s freedom in what they can do and imprisoned, exiled, or executed anyone who disagreed with his authority. I think what drives dictators and tyrants like Castro and Macbeth to do what they do is all the power they’re given and how they manage to obtain the power, which they get by force or corruption. The fact that tyrants can get away with murder and obtain power is what drives them to attempt to keep their power at all cost, even if it ruins their country.
ReplyDeleteMichael Velasquez
Period 1
A person in the 20th century who exhibits similar behaviors and similar ambitions as Macbeth is Joseph Stalin; a person who, like Macbeth, let his want for power allow him to commit murders to take over the Russian empire. Stalin did not follow the ideas of Marxism; which was what Stalin intended to follow at first; to make the whole world as one, but instead became a cruel dictator worse than Hitler. Stalin took advantage of the time when the Communist system was weak; that being when many people did not really know the beliefs of Communism well; allowing Stalin to lie to the people by stating what the beliefs of Communism are. Stalin’s situation is similar to Macbeth because both have seen the opportunity to rise to power and took that opportunity; which will drive people to commit such actions in any time period.
ReplyDeleteEmerson Chan
Period 2
A person in the 21st century who has similar behaviors and ambitions as Macbeth, is Jordan Belfort. Jordan Belfort is a stockbroker who scammed thousands of people in order to invest their money into penny stocks. The penny stocks had fake goals and were not real at all. Jordan Belfort was able to get 100 percent of the investment to himself. With this knowledge, Jordan started his own brokerage firm called Stratton Oakmont. With this, he was able to scam people of their money for his own use. However, law enforcement targeted his brokerage and Jordan Belfort was later arrested in 1998 and spent 22 months in jail. Jordan Belfort's situation is like Macbeth's because Jordan Belfort wanted to scam people and he did not care about the people he was scamming. Macbeth wanted power and he just killed anyone that was in his way. Greed has drove these two people into committing acts that hurts other people and only benefits themselves.
ReplyDelete-Lil B AKA Matthew Dela Cruz
Period 1
A person that very similar to what Macbeth does in his story is Adolf Hitler. At first, Hitler was telling Germany that he had the power to make everything better if they elected him. Since Germany just got out of WW1 at the time, they had no other choice but to believe what he was telling them. At first, he did some of the things he promised he would do. Once time went on, he started to change. The power that he had got into his head and made him do things that were very brutal just so that he could stay in power. This is very similar to Macbeth did in his story. Once Macbeth has killed King Duncan, he is not the same anymore. He is willing to do anything and everything he has to do in order to keep his crown. But at the end of everything, the person in power must fall, and that is exactly what happened to both Macbeth and Hitler.
ReplyDeleteJesse Rodriguez
Period 1
One person that can be comparable to Macbeth would be Richard Nixon. Richard Nixon was the 37th president of United States during the years 1969 up to 1974. He used to be a senator before elected as a president. During his campaign, several men that were connected to Nixon were caught because they attempted to barge in the Watergate complex and steal documents (also known as the Watergate Scandal where the men were ordered to go through the offices of the political opponents and people of whom Nixon was suspicious of) Nixon also abused his power by lying to his people in the United States, the illegal bombing in Laos and Cambodia and wiretaps on his opponents. Due to guilt, Nixon decided to resign from office.
ReplyDeleteRichard Nixon is similar to Macbeth in several ways. First off, both Macbeth and Nixon spent many years respected under their position before becoming king/president and both wanted more power. Macbeth was the Thane of Glamis while Nixon was the Congressman of United States. Both took advantage of how people viewed them. Nixon was elected as president because of his experience in office while Macbeth earned Thane of Cawdor. Once both of them reached their goal of earning the position they wanted, both tried to protect themselves from threats. Macbeth killed many people he thought were a threat to his throne. Nixon cheated his way to become president by spying on his opponents secrets and winning the election which was unfair. Nixon also lied and tried to cover-up his knowledge of the Watergate Scandal like how Macbeth tried to cover up the death of Banquo and King Duncan. In short, Nixon lied, cheated, and violated the law like Macbeth. Some people (not all) are driven to such a state of mind because they are self-centered, desperate, and greedy. I think we’ve become a society of similar people because humans are naturally competitive and since we now live in a society with advanced technology, many people often use it as an advantage to be successful.
-Camille Uril
Period 1
As much as I want to say that deep down, everyone is almost like Macbeth. We all want something that desire us from within. But it isn’t a specific group. So, an example that is similar to Macbeth would be the “famous” Adolf Hitler. Hitler has killed many Jews and almost took over Germany. As soon as he got the power from the parliament, he took advantage of that. Although he had promised them what they wanted, he still killed the innocent Jews. One of his goals was to make a “perfect” Germany. All blond with blue eyes. After World War I, Germany had lost. He was also aiming to restore Germany to it’s “rightful place”. He used propaganda, and strong words to gain confidence for the Germans. For what I think, people are selfish. With over confidence, we tend to act differently. Nowadays, society has become more self-center. Like, if we have a supporter, and everyone joins in with that person, then their confidence rises. I think that we are slowly turning towards the society of similar people. Perhaps, maybe we even know this is true, but we are just denying it.
ReplyDelete~Jeralyn Julian
Period Juan (1)
A person similar to Macbeth, would be Adolf Hilter , because his thirst of hunger lead him to power , which caused many devastating impacts on the world. Adolf Hilter became leader of the the government, when he was elected to become a chancellor. As Hilter gain power over time , the power began to corrupt him which made him crazy for killing people, because of their race/ religion such as the jews, At first, Hilter wanted to benefit his country, so that's what inspired him to run for a spot in the government.Macbeth, on the other hand was the same like this, after when he became king he started to feel all of that power and corruption through him just as hilter did. Both people were selfish, power hunger, and also corrupted. Hilter killed anyone who opposed him and disagreed with him , so everyone had to obey him or death was the punishment, just like Macbeth who's servants are forced to obey or face death. Both people were willing to do anything and everything they had to do just to stay in power, which led to mass murders. I believe society today has these perks, because everyone today in society are greedy in a way , and that can lead to even becoming more greedier, or hurting people in order to gain money or power.
ReplyDeleteJonathan HOng
Period: 1
For this blog, the person that I can going to chose is going to me Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler was born on April20, 1889 in the small Austrian town of Braunau to Alois Hitler. Hitler was the founder and leader of the Nazi Party and the most influential voice in his organization. Macbeth is just like Hitler because he got power to do anything to get more power when Hitler was the Fuhrer of Germany. Hitler was a powerful and spelling binding speaker who attracted a wide following of Germans desperate for a change in there life. He promised to them that disenchanted a better life and a new glorious Germany. The Party's rise to power was rapid. The Nazis vote was wining only 3 percent of the vote to the Reichstag in election 1924. During the voting the Nazis won 33 percent of the votes, more tan any other parties. In January 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor, the head of the German government, and many Germans believe that the had found a savior of their own nation. Once Hitler was released from prison, he decided to seize power constitutionally rather then by force of arms. Hitler yoke of Jews and Communists, and to create a new empire which would rule the world over 1,000 years. One of Hitler invention was to create a Concentration Camp to eliminate all the Jews and execute them all. Hitler killed people so that he could feel better and powerful after all he did to the innocent people in German.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Ventura
Period 2
Since I couldn't use Walter White I decided to use Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin like Macbeth was power hungry. Stalin killed anyone who could pose as a threat to him, Stalin had political opponents killed, like Macbeth who had Banquo killed except Joseph would sometimes have political opponents sent to jail. Joseph Stalin was practically the same as Macbeth although they both died differently.
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
Saul Cruz
Richard III was the brother of King Edward IV. Soon after his brother’s death, Richard III was named as the “Protector” of the king’s son and successor, Edward V. Though Edward V was the heir to the throne, King Edward IV also had a younger son named Richard. Richard III wanted the throne for himself. The only way for him to become king was if all sons and possible successors of King Edward IV were deceased. Richard III’s situation was much like the one Macbeth was in. They both craved for the power as king, and in order for them to reach their dream they must spill some blood to get there. In the end, they both did kill to gain power. Macbeth killed Duncan to get to the throne, and Richard III killed his two nephews, Edward V and his younger brother Richard. In cases like these where people will do anything (like murder) to get what they want, I feel like they are driven power-hungry by the power they already have. In some sense I believe they are “spoiled” in a way where all they can progress to in life is to be greedy and to continue to want more and more. In today’s society though we may not necessarily kill for power, people such as Richard Nixon have cheated and used dirty tricks to gain something they wanted. Everywhere in our modern world everything seems to be a competition now. Ranging from wanting to be a top student at school to get into a good college to companies trying to out sell their products then another company. I believe that our society is slowly becoming corrupt because one person’s bad judgement may affect another person’s life, and this continues on like a domino effect throughout the world.
ReplyDeleteTracy Ngo, Period 2
Josef Stalin was a corrupt leader of the USSR and he did many actions that are similar to Macbeth. Josef Stalin was one of the most feared leaders in the USSR because he would execute people that have done nothing or have interfered with him and his prevention of capitalism. He killed people that were "enemies of the people." This is similar to Macbeth's situation because Macbeth had to get rid of anyone who interfered with him being king. I think that these kind of people in our present day society is driven to be like this because they are thirsty for more power or money. All of us are becoming into these people because they desire these things like power and money and fame. People in our society would end ties with companions in order to be successful and to get what they want.
ReplyDeleteJason Dumag
Period 2
Augusto Pinochet was a dictator of Chile, between the 1973 and 1990's and was also the commander in chief of the Chilean Army. Pinochet is similar to Macbeth because both of them over overthrew the government and established their own type of government and made themselves as leader of this empire. Pinochet overthrew Allende's government, the original government who ran Chile. Pinochet's government was one of the most brutal in Chile's history. Like, Macbeth, Macbeth murdered his own cousin, king Duncan to obtain the title of, "King of Scotland." Thousands of Pinochet's opponents and other civilian were arrested and were never again to be seen, just like with the murder of Banquo.I think people gets their mind clouded with ambitious which makes them forget what's the most important thing is to be care for others and not trying to kill. Everyday people compete who is the better one and many things like academic of sports.
ReplyDeletePJ Edrosolo
Period 2
George W. Bush our 43rd president seems like a modern day Macbeth. He gained power no necessarily by killing but he won it unfairly. Al gore had received the majority of the votes but the Supreme court ruled that Bush won on a simple technically. He started out with good intentions also like Macbeth, for the first 3 seconds of the play. Bush created the No child left behind act, Medicare, signed into law the Patriot act as well which helps prevent terrorism. Just like Macbeth he was good in the beginning however he did turn into Evil Macbeth and in a way abused his power. The Iraq war seemed really more about gaining control of the oil that was over there rather than WMD's. Like Macbeth he was greedy for money or riches. He also left office leaving the US with a major debt, when previously we had a surplus. Similar to Macbeth when he ruined Scotland. He disallowed Same-sex marriage, which like Macbeth was taking certain peoples rights way. I don't think that people are essentially bad it's more like circumstances, outside influence and perspective on life that make people do bad things. Our society isn't how Macbeth is there are still good people out there somewhere all they have to do is speak up because evil is when the few good men do nothing.
ReplyDeleteAlberto Sanchez
Period 1
Adolf Hitler would be consider one of the Macbeths of this world, because of all the things he did and his strive for power. He was sent to prison after his first failed attempt for power, but that didn't stop him from trying again for power. Hitler wanted to make a society free from all other races and have only Germans, the "superior" race, in this society. He had help to get to power in Germany by the Nazi party which was similar to how Lady Macbeth helped get Macbeth into power. There will always be people like Adolf Hitler. Everybody is different and that will mean there will be bad people in this world as well as good people. Our society will always have these kinds of people including Hitler who will continue to thirst for power. Power is one of the most addictive drugs and it can drive people to do horrible things just like what Hitler did to all the Jews.
ReplyDeleteSharanJeet Singh
Period 2
Patte Atkins-Grad of Tamarac, Florida, was voted for City Commissioner in 2013. She was forced to resign when the city found out she approved residential home developments, which was appointed by developers, Bruce Chait, and his son Shawn. The home developments include 700 houses and town house.
ReplyDeleteBruce and Shawn Chait wanted to build residential houses for a massive housing project, but they couldn't get the city to approve them, and turned to Atkins-Grad. Shawn Chait pretended to be interested in Atkins-Grad and charmed her, and she saw him as a nephew. Their conversations got to the point where Atkins-Grad told Shawn Chait to find a nice girl to marry. (Having a 40 year old male charming a 66 year old female, then the 66 year old talks about marriage with the 40 year old male?? She is probably suggesting something, or even wishing, deep down, she was that "nice girl" that could marry him.)
Bruce thought now, it was the perfect time to ask Atkins-Grad for a favor. Atkins-Grad approved his "favor", but the city did not. In fact, the city never knew about the approval or the housing plans. In exchange Bruce would give Atkins-Grad anything she desired, which was a special-order BMW 525i and a victory party for her election, rounding up to about $6300. Even though Patte Atkins-Grad never knew it was illegal, she now faces 8 1/2 - 15 years of in prison for eight felony charges and public corruption charges.
The Macbeth in this situation is not Atkins-Grad, the Chaits. Like Macbeth, the Chaits used others to get what they wanted. (Macbeth used the peasants to and murderers to help him). They didn't care the Atkins-Grad is now being sent to prison. (Macbeth only cared about winning the war, and not Lady Macbeth's death). However, the Chaits actions caused Atkins-Grad her position. Once Atkins-Grad was useless (her resignation), the Chaits didn't care.
Before this incident, Bruce has donated $25,000 the Transplant Foundation Inc., a South Florida charity who helps people in need of organ transplant, and now he wants his donations back. He donated the money so the Foundation could dedicate a room for his deceased parents. The Transplant Foundation Inc. used his donations to "build a 9,000-square-foot center where patients and their families could live during the months before and after complicated transplant surgeries" (McMahon).
The Chaits actions are selfish like Macbeth. They only care about getting what they want; they don't think ahead and don't care about the people who have contributed to their selfishness and deceitful lies. When people are at the peak of their success, they are many who will forget how they got there, who they were once before, and even who helped them. They are power-hungry, once they get it, they can't get enough of it, and they want it all. Perhaps this explains the poverty line in the Bay Area, how the rich are always thirsty for more, but never help the needy. Everyday, everyone is power-hungry and selfish; they are all striving for something, but they will never think of others. The wrong use of success, money, fame, and power can really change others.
McMahon, Paula. "Developer Chait Wants His Charitable Donation Back." Http://www.sun-sentinel.com/. SunSentinel, 13 Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
McMahon, Paula. "Tamarac Politician 'naïve' and Manipulated, Says Defense in Corruption Trial." Http://www.sun-sentinel.com/. SunSentinel, 4 Dec. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Alina Hui
Period 2
Within the 20th to the 21st century, there were many prime examples of people who were modern Macbeths throughout this time period. One of these people was Adolf Hitler. During his life, Hitler tried to gain power through multiple means. His first attempt to gain power was his a group of people called Nazis or National Socialist attempt at a coup against the German government who in the process burned down the Reichstag or the governmental parliamentary building. His attempt failed and resulted him to be sentenced to prison for a certain number of years. When he was released he tried another attempt to gain power my political and legal means in which he ran for prime minister. When he came into power, Hitler set up a governmental Regime similar to the one instituted by Benito Mussolini in Italy at the time which was similar to a dictatorship. Thereafter, he ordered the mass genocide of the Jewish people and declared that Germans were the "Aryan" race or superior people. Thus, his lust for power made him want to conquer the world when he said, "Germany today, The World, tommarow." Hitler's situation is similar to Macbeth due to his continued lust for power which led him to become ambitious, arrogant, and power-hungry, these were all of Macbeth's traits and Hitler's in which led to his downfall and death. In reality, there will always be a person who is a "Macbeth" due to a number of reasons and will become power-hungry or do things for their own gain. This selfishness, greed and lust will consume anyone if the person allows them to such as Macbeth or Hitler.
ReplyDeleteHieu Vo
DeletePer.2
Although Macbeth was a fictional character made up by William Shakespeare as a form of entertainment for the new King, the morals and characteristics of Macbeth have been alive in the leaders of the world for a very long time. In my opinion, the founder and CEO of Amazon can be considered as a "modern day Macbeth." Jeff Bezos's company Amazon has become one of the most popular companies for the fast delivery of a large variety of items across the country. Amazon first started like most businesses, in a garage. But once the company gained popularity the space expanded greatly. But it has come to the world's attention that the working conditions of these warehouses is far from being up to par. The workers work long hours with very little break time. With a supposed 30 minute lunch period they are forced to walk across the large factories, eat very fast, and return to work. Until these stories came up the head honcho had no intention of improving these conditions. This is why Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos should be considered a modern day Macbeth.
ReplyDelete-Megan O'Brien Period 2
http://www.salon.com/2014/02/23/worse_than_wal_mart_amazons_sick_brutality_and_secret_history_of_ruthlessly_intimidating_workers/
Suharto, president of Indonesia from 1967-1998 started of as veteran in war and later got an office position to help Indonesia resist against the Dutch and Chinese takeovers. He then later took position of president and helped Indonesia recover from the international economic crisis. Through Suharto, western investments were made which lead to stability within the country. However as Suharto continued to stay in position as president, he slowly took more and more advantage of the power he held and he enriched his family through the power that he has. He took in money from the government and charities that Indonesia was receiving. He enriched himself, his family, and his friends through his power as president. As Suharto took in more and more money, Indonesia’s economy collapsed in 1997. Suharto probably saw the immense amount of money and power that he had and he wanted more. He wanted his family and friends to live a great life without having any worries of money. He believes that since he is president he can provide everything for his love ones. This in a sense is similar to Macbeth because both Suharto and Macbeth started as a military officer but later on gained officer position. They both had power and started to become more greedy with the power they had. I think Suharto just became selfish and greedy with power. Many reasons bring people to a stats of greed. The main reason is that they want a good life, for themselves and others. Our society is slowly started to head in that direction, for example the rich are still getting richer but the poor is still getting poorer. The rich is staying greedy and taking up all the money leaving the poor people to suffer.
ReplyDeleteTatsuya Ishikawa
Per.2
Bernard Madoff is a guy who has made money using a Ponzi scheme for his own benefits. He made investors give him large sums of money, and he kept on doing that until his sons told the police that their father was doing the scheme. Bernard is like Macbeth because he does things only for himself and not help others. I think that Bernard was driven to make a Ponzi scheme because he wasn’t happy with the money he had and wanted a way to get larger and larger profits. This had such a disastrous effect on his son Mark that he committed suicide because of what his father did. Humans are very competitive and this whole ordeal show that each person has the capability for bad choices.
ReplyDeleteRuben Glapa
Period 2
Ferdinand Marcos was the 10th President of the Philippines from December 30, 1965 - February 25, 1985. Even though he was regarded great by some, his reign was filled with corruption, greed, martial law, and he reigned with absolute power. While reflecting on Marcos's actions I realized that he was more of a modern Macbeth than I thought. For example, he ordered the assassination of his political opponent Benigno Aquino so that he couldn't run in the next election. Fortunately, the people of the Philippines started a revolution and elected Aquino's wife. But I digress, Ferdinand Marcos tried to reform the nation's economy, improve infrastructure, and improve the government. Although ironically, he hoarded massive amounts of money for himself and his absolute power only lead to his downfall. Another reason why he's like Macbeth is because he built his image as being tough so that the people would fear him. He also ordered martial law and it lasted for 11 years. I think people become what they are because of the experiences that they go through. Their perception of being great and helpful might not seem like it to the people that they intend on supporting and might be the opposite, which is harmful. As time developed, I think people became over-confident of themselves and do whatever it takes to be in power. The trait of being a leader and ambitious is hidden in everyone and it just takes a little spark for it to actually develop.
ReplyDeleteJoshua Lucero
Period 2
It was some-what hard to choose a person since a lot of corrupt dictators were mentioned already (like Hitler and Stalin), so I chose a couple, Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos. This couple were the President and wife of the Philippines in the 1970's until they were accused embezzlement within the United States court. With Ferdinand dead in Hawaii, Imelda was found innocent of the charges. Later, the Philippines government found frozen bank accounts in Switzerland under the names of Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos, in which the government was awarded $650 million.
ReplyDeleteJeremy Rimando
Period 2
Donald Trump was an American business magnate, and is one of the best known real-estate entrepreneurs in the United States. Sadly, his money and fame as cheaply invested from his family. In 1946, Trump's inheritance as kid was estimated from $40-200 million. His inheritance was so high because of his father, Fred Trump. During the Great Depression, Fred was allowed to rebuild his business of real-estate and starting building homes in Brooklyn for $6000 each. Ever since, Fred Trump has been successful with his organization. Donald them became president of his father's housing organization. However, in 1990, Donald had discovered their company was in debt by $5 billion. He did not do any harsh, but because his father was in the rigt occupation at the right time, Donald was able to inherit his father's success and is now living a luxurious life. Some people think this is unfair because Donald did work hard, but because of his father's success it was easy to obtain that large amount of money.
ReplyDeleteO'Neall Calica
Period 2
For this Blog post, even though there are numerous other power hungry people in history, I have decided to compare the infamous Macbeth to George W. Bush. One key point of Bush’s similarities to Macbeth is how his greed for power caused him to have people believe that the election in 2001, was rigged because the republican party was supposed to have more votes than the democrats due to estimates. As a result, people believe that foul play took place so that Bush was elected and became president; relating to the tasks of Macbeth’s killings in order he secured his kingship. Another important powerthirst trait of bush is how he cut off 35 countries from military aid across the world because they did not sign a forced peace treaty banning nuclear weapons; relating to Macbeth’s dominance as king because the people around him are too scared to attack him, but do his every whim to not be attacked or even killed. He also gave billions of dollars to rich american citizens to support his cause and power throughout his 2 terms; this is used to ensure his power in the U.S. so that the elites do not have an urge to revolt because of the bribe. Yet during the 9-11 attack, there are some conspiracy theories that suggest that for him to assert his power in the U.S., he himself caused the twin tower attack to give him full power to military aggression. As a result, he has been known for the Iraqi and Afghan War, the staple points of his career because they seemed to make him look like a great president. Also on a side note, to hide this theory’s evidence of the act, he supposedly paid security to not be present on some floors, cameras were shut off in certain areas, and there were evidence of bomb like objects being placed throughout some of the floors. By the way, the bombs were used because the twin towers were designed to be able to take a hit of a plane; therefore, the bomb and second plane helped finish the job. Overall, I believe that people come to this point in their lives because they feel that they have limitless power once they receive a sliver, and as a result, their power hungry minds kick in and begin to rip their morals apart and the evil intentions and desires take over. The lesson of the story is that, once someone gets power of authority, some become corrupt dictators over night.
ReplyDeleteShayaan Mokhtarzad
Period 1
The Somoza family are people who seized control of the Nicaraguan government as a family dictatorship from 1936 to 1979. The U.S. supported the Somoza family and controlled Nicaragua, but stopped supporting the family because they used their positions to enrich themselves. Macbeth somewhat did the same thing because he wanted to be king, for the power and money. When something didn't go right for Macbeth he fixed the situation with murder, for example he plotted to kill Banquo and Fleance. In the Somoza family, if opposition rose the Somoza family would use murder or torture to silence just like Macbeth. The family was driven to this because they want power and money exactly like Macbeth. After 43 years of ruling Nicaragua, the Somoza family is overthrown by the Sandinista National Liberation Front and ended their communist regimes.
ReplyDeleteDanica Faye Zarate
Period 1
In my opinion, President Barack Obama would be considered to have similar traits as Macbeth. The President’s situations are that he has many people “calling him out” and denying a lot of the things he does, much like Macbeth. In the book, Macbeth had been constantly been called out for his actions by Macduff. Yet in the case of the President, he is constantly being called out by certain American groups and other countries for his actions and words. Though as well in the book, Macbeth had gone to the throne because of the desires that he and his wife had. For the President, he may have gone into office because of the great political power that he would soon gain or because of the vast wealth he would be getting from presidency or the “throne” as from Macbeth. I think that the reason why people are driven to such a state of mind is because of the constant need for power that every human has. Everyone has a need for power in this society, and only are content with what they deem as a high enough position. For Obama, presidency might be the ultimate goal. However, I do not think that we have become a society of similar people because not everyone wants the same position of power as the next, everyone wants something different or they may not have the necessary traits to pursue it.
ReplyDeleteAutum Curry
Period 1
Politicians and gerrymandering
ReplyDeleteIn politics, gerrymandering is basically the act of drawing district lines in such a way that it unfairly gives a given party an advantage through a given district. A good video explaining the basics of gerrymandering can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mky11UJb9AY
While I realize I may be cutting corners letting someone else explain gerrymandering, the prompt is asking about the people behind it, so I just feel it’s easier to get that out of the way. As for my actual answer to the prompt:
As the video somewhat briefly goes over, politicians want ‘safe’ paths into power, which ideally meant manipulation in such a way that it will always favor them. In this case, through the just explained gerrymandering. Obviously, this is just their way to obtain or maintain power over the government. While a bit of a stretch, a similar case comes to mind with Macbeth, as after being prompted by the witches, he and his wife execute a plan to manipulate everyone into thinking they were innocent as King Duncan was murdered, and thus favor Macbeth. Similar to politicians aiming to obtain or maintain their own power, Macbeth was out for the crown, the seemingly ultimate symbol of power within the kingdom. The situation with politicians is extremely similar to Macbeth from that point forward. Be it further gerrymandering to influence further elections, to Macbeth’s order to murder Banquo and Fleance to secure his own crown, these further acts of manipulation through public yet ‘behind the scenes’ work seem to nearly mirror each other in both cause and goal. From what I see, the real reason why people are driven to this state of mind is security. Why play fair when you can guarantee your seat in power when no one’s looking? It’s actually an extremely common for people to try to find cheap paths to their goal. A very small scale example of this is anyone who has ever played a video game and used a guide made by someone else has committed a similar act here, as they relied on a safe path to get to their goal instead of, in this case, playing the game themselves. In fact, just today, I noticed a really similar case in my math class during our test. It was an open note test, so naturally, everyone tried referring to their notes to help them get to their answer. What really caught my attention however was how everyone was so intent on their notes. The short explanation is that, from all the rummaging to everyone switching between their notes in an apparent hurry to a whole lot of people suddenly rushing near the end of the test, it seemed extremely apparent that everyone was trying to find the patterns to the answers of the test like as if it’s written out in their notes plainly and obviously. Instead of taking the quiz head on, they were so overly reliant on these notes that like the politician’s gerrymandering or Macbeth’s manipulation, they were clearly just aiming for the ‘safest’ way to reach their goal; answering the questions and passing the test.
The reality is that this sort of behaviour isn’t just found with those vying for power or mythical Macbeth’s actions, but is deeply ingrained in some of the more menial things we find in our everyday lives. This is also what makes this sort of behaviour so dangerous. From an outsider looking in, gerrymandering is clearly a poor abuse, but would you say those that far too overly relied on their notes during a math test were at fault too? Especially when it comes to this behaviour, there is such a blurred line between what’s right and wrong and ‘not right’ and ‘not wrong’ that it’s nearly impossible to pinpoint, and thus it’s way too easily allowed to run to such extremes as gerrymandering just to create a ‘safe’ path. In my opinion, it is extremely well ingrained into our society due to most of us having the inability to call it out until after the fact, and that’s the sort of thing that allows it to get out of hand enough for people like politicians to start challenging some of the misdeeds of Macbeth.
David Konaka
Period 2
An example of a modern day Macbeth would probably be former president Richard Nixon. Although this is not a recent incident, it is still a very controversial one. President Nixon served a very successful first term. He was a strong and powerful leader and was respected by many. However, he became quite overrun with ambition when he ran for second term. He began to care more for his personal political gain rather than his country. In fact, he was part of what was known as the Watergate Scandal. In short, him and some followers were caught in a hotel room searching information about all of Nixon's threats. Nixon wanted to get rid of anyone that stood in his way of presidency. Of course Nixon tried to deny the fact that he was involved in the situation in order to save his reputation. This whole controversy widely affected how people viewed him, and eventually ended with him being the first and only president to resign in office. This all comes down and relates to Macbeth. Macbeth, already powerful, decides to kill King Duncan in order to receive even more power. Influenced by his wife, he becomes a ruthless dictator that no longer cares about his country. He kills anyone that could be seen as a threat to his spot on the throne. He even kills his best friend. All these actions eventually end up with him getting what he deserves, decapitation and humiliation. Both these characters are wrong in their doings because they did things behind their country's backs in order to get what they wanted. They did not think much of their people or their country. Instead, their vaulting ambition led them to do actions that ultimately costed them their seat. After Nixon resigned, executive policies were changed to prevent such actions. In the words of Kanye West, "No one man should have all that power."
ReplyDeleteBrandon Roberts
Period 1
I say that Kim Jong-un the supreme leader of North Korea is one the people that committed things like Macbeth. As an example that Kim Jong-un is like Macbeth would be that Kim Jong-un had made secret prison camps where people are starved to death and etc. Secret prison camps is where people that opposes Kim's belief, goes against him and etc end up on. Kim had also forced women to undergo abortions and young mothers to kill their newborn babies. Just before the end of 2013 Kim Jong's uncle was executed because he was purged for "acts of treachery". I say that Kim Jong-un is like Macbeth because I think that He wants to be in power forever and wants it to stay that way so Kim is willing to do any means necessary to make it stay that way even if it means killing/ executing his own family like what he did to his uncle.
ReplyDeleteJhassper Quiray
Period 2
I think Adolf Hitler is like Macbeth. Adolf rose to power politically and he seemed like a good person. I think Hitler thought he was doing the right thing. He tried to purify the world by getting rid of Jews. He had the opportunity to be a good leader but he was corrupt. He waged war and got cocky like Macbeth. Macbeth could have gotten power and not went corrupt. Hitler thought he was doing the world a favor. I think in the end, Macbeth and Hitler realize they were doing wrong but couldn't turn back. Hitler thought he was unstoppable which eventually led to his inevitable doom just like Macbeth. I think people of today aren't as driven to have power to the means of killing someone but I do think people will do absurd things to get power.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Wong
Period 2
For this topic, I chose to write about one of the most infamous people in all of Figure Skating, Tonya Harding. Tonya Harding was a American Figure Skating champion who is known for being involved in conspiring Nancy Kerrigan’s (who at that time was her rival) leg injury during the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. Her known motives into committing the crime was so that she could win the Championships to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team for Figure Skating. Having said this, her situation is similar to Macbeth’s because she was willing to take out her opponents to win the medal and gain the position in the olympic team, similar to how Macbeth was willing to kill his friend Banquo to eliminate all threats to his throne. She was probably driven by her ambition to succeed like many people in this world. We all want to achieve an ambition of ours but some of us take this to a new extreme, putting everything on the line just to succeed. Sure, its a given that not all of us in our society is like this but we all have those drives that makes us power-hungry in some way or another.
ReplyDeleteKeene C. Lim
Period 2
Adolf Hitler seems to be a popular topic on this post, and in an attempt to offer some variety, I will not be writing about him. However, I will be mentioning another man that advocated for communism. Ho Chi Minh was a ruthless communist leader based in Northern Vietnam. He began his climb into the government by defeating the French forces and kicking them out of Vietnam, a deed that many were grateful for. He then established a communist government with the intention of making everyone equal. However, that is how all communist leaders start out, with a wish to have a society that benefits all. As with every case of communism witnessed thus far, it ended badly. The communist government soon became corrupt, benefiting no one but the upper class. Macbeth starting out the same way, but ended in such a way that made his people hate him. The citizens of Vietnam soon fled the country, much like Macbeth's people.
ReplyDeleteCara Nguyen
Period 2
Macbeth portrays the evil seeded ambition where his good morals have been blurred between the lines just so he can justify his evil actions to achieve what he wants. People would usually think of famous dictators or selfish, corrupt people who manipulated other people for their own gains. However, there are Macbeths everywhere even at our own school. There's stories of students cheating finals or even AP testings. There's this idea that grades define your self worth and because of that people are willing to do whatever to get or maintain that status. Good grades equal good college, good college equals good job, and good job equals good life. Cheating has become, I would say, the norm in high school. However, it isn't far to the other students who actually earn their grades honestly. This relates to Macbeth because, yes he was reluctant at first to commit a murder, but as the play went on her just kept doing it. The same goes with cheating; once you did it once there's nothing stopping you from doing it again. The cheaters would go to extremes sometimes to keep their labeled grade, same goes with Macbeth. There's multiple reasons to cheat, but mainly its for the the one's personal gain. He/she doesn't care whether it would affect other people. I do think we have become a society of cheater and just monsters who are willing to do whatever to get what we want. The world today is way more dangerous and deceiving as it was decades ago.
ReplyDeleteAudrey Marzan
Period 1
For this topic, i will choose to talk about...humans. We as a species face it, are a very selfish race. We kinda have to be in order to sustain personal needs, everyone is selfish, just some people are more than others. Corporations and businesses use deception and false advertising to manipulate buying to give them money, not all, but many. There are people out there that steal, ruin lives, and destroy in order to get money ot personal gain. Also, a lot of charity organizations don't do it for free, people wont do things financially unless they get something out of it, charity organizations need to get the money to advertise somehow. Being selfish in my eyes, in not a bad thing, it can be if it goes too far, thats what separates people like macbeth from the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteAlex Barbaran
period 1
Bernie Madoff is a fine example of a “modern-day Macbeth” in the sense that he gained power through deception and corruption. Madoff founded his own investment firm on Wall Street, hiring his own family members to run the business alongside him. Investors entrusted him with billions of dollars, all of which he defrauded and used to supply his own desire. This ponzi scheme has been labeled the largest financial fraud known in U.S. History, forfeiting a sum of approximately $17.2 billion dollars. The effect that this scheme had on those around him were dire to say the least. The investors lost their money, and a loss was seen even in Madoff’s own family. Bernard Madoff’s oldest son, Mark Madoff committed suicide on the 2nd anniversary of his father’s arrest as a result of having to live with the knowledge that his father was responsible for the loss of several hopeful investors’ life savings. Madoff risked the integrity of his family’s name in the hopes of achieving money and power through unethical means. As a result, he, along with the investors, lost all their money, Madoff lost his freedom, credibility, and son. Corruption is largely part of our society, whether we chose to acknowledge it or not. Even actions as simple as cheating or deception are in likeness with Macbeth’s traits, and at times it seems appropriate for the situation as in our modern society the stress of success is prominent. Throughout history we will continue to see characters like Macbeth in our everyday life.
ReplyDeleteJaelene Sahlberg
Period 1