Macbeth

A Person's

In society the acts of cruelty and kindness can lead to determine a person's fate in life. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, each character's flaws and the way they act help to increase their downfall in life. The characters of the play, the first Thane of Cawdor, King Duncan, Banquo, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth all contain flaws which to a certain degree help cause their downfall. Each character had a fate and whether it was fair or not, some of the characters deserved that and some did not.

Throughout Macbeth the main characters had problems and yet the King had the worst fate; death. King Duncan was a very powerful King and did not deserve to die the way he did. Duncan died by murder. King Duncan had one problem, he could not see the other side of people, and he always trusted his men so much, that they could get the better of him. "He was a gentlemen on whom I built/ An absolute trust" (1.4.14), this means that he could not read a person's mind by looking at his face; he says he trusted Cawdor completely. This shows how gullible Duncan can be. "O worthiest cousin" (1.4.15), in this quote, Duncan is referring to Macbeth as his worthiest kinsman. Although Duncan has trust for Macbeth it leads to his death. Duncan went to Macbeth's castle to stay the night and then Macbeth and Lady Macbeth helped to commit a murderous crime, they killed the King so Macbeth could become King, and then follow what the witches provoked. In this case Duncan was in the wrong place at the wrong time, he did not deserve to die. Duncan's fate relied on his trustworthiness of his friendship.

One of Macbeth's best friends and companion by his side was Banquo. Banquo witnesses the witches' prophecies, which could have ultimately leaded to his death. Banquo was a trustworthy guy and yet like Duncan could not help but trust all his friends. However Banquo could also see the dark sides of his friends. "Against the undivulged pretense I fight/ Of treasonous malice" (2.3.127). This means that Banquo plans to fight against the plot to commit this murder. The quote shows how Banquo sees how the death of the King was a Murder and how he is suspicious of his surroundings. When Banquo says to Macbeth, "Thou played'st most foully for't" (3.1.3), he means that Macbeth played foully or cheated to get to the spot he is now, as King. Banquo has a problem, which is that he cannot keep his mouth shut; because he does not know when