"Can one desire too much of a good thing?". - (Act IV, Scene I), Shakespear's " As You Like It. "
In the short story, "The Charmer", Zachary holds his family captive by lightening he mood when need be. He uses his charisma to get away with whatever he does wrong, hether it be taking advantage of his mother's hard work in the kitchen or not paying rent while he still lives at home. Developing a quick sense of power, Zachary loses sight of what's important, even dismissing the opportunity to visit his deathly ill sister in the hospital. Perhaps he assumed she'd be alright and that he'd have time to visit her; time to be forgiven, time to make it up.He created his own reality, where he was God. He could do whatever it is that he wanted, and there would be no consequences. People in power don't generally start off having bad intentions, too much of anything can completely change a person for the worst. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, our tragic hero starts out a valiant warrior, fighting courageously for his King. A twist of fate thrusts Macbeth into an inevitable tragedy, where he's exposed to the idea of what he could be.His wife taunts and pushes him into murdering the man he once fought to protect. He becomes something he was once not. The thirst for power festers inside his soul until all that he is, revolves around his position and how he must protect it. In both pieces, Zachary and Macbeth create their own realities, although very different, they're born of the same source: power. Too much power. The thrill of having just a little bit, and comparing that little bit to the absence of it in your life. Like an addiction, Macbeth and Zachary have fallen captive to the pull of something they cannot resist. If both characters had developed a stronger sense of integrity, they could better defend themselves against the alure of what corrupts them both in their ends. Macbeth shows a slight burst of integrity when he denies his wife's plan the first time she suggests it. He feels that its wrong, and decides he cannot go against his beloved King. Although he denies Lady Macbeth in the beginning, his integrity crumbles when she attempts to persuade him again. Perhaps Macbeth, like Zachary, had a low sense of self worth. Had they developed self worth, they would have built stronger foundations for their integrity, and in turn, been able to nurture their power in a beneficial way. They both had hardly any integrity, which leads me to the conclusion that they both had low self worth, and in turn, could not resist corruption.
11/12/09
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