The Unladylike Lady in Macbeth :: Macbeth essays

The Unladylike Lady in Macbeth      Ã‚   William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth presents in the role of the leading lady an intimidating and selfish Lady Macbeth. Let us in this paper get to the bottom of her character.    L.C. Knights in the essay "Macbeth" describes the unnaturalness of Lady Macbeth's words and actions:    Thus the sense of the unnaturalness of evil is evoked not only be repeated explicit references ("nature's mischief," "nature seems dead," " 'Tis unnatural, even like the deed that's done," and so on) but by the expression of unnatural sentiments and an unnatural violence of tone in such things as Lady Macbeth's invocation of the "spirits" who will "unsex" her, and her affirmation that she would murder the babe at her breast if she had sworn to do it. (95)    Samuel Johnson in The Plays of Shakespeare underscores how ambition by the protagonists leads to detestation on the part of the readers:    The danger of ambition is well described; and I know not whether it may not be said in defence of some parts which now seem improbable, that, in Shakespeare's time, it was necessary to warn credulity against vain and illusive predictions. The passions are directed to their true end. Lady Macbeth is merely detested; and though the courage of Macbeth preserves some esteem, yet every reader rejoices at his fall. (133)    In "Macbeth as the Imitation of an Action" Francis Fergusson specifies the fears within Lady Macbeth:      I do not need to remind you of the great scenes preceding the murder, in which Macbeth and his Lady pull themselves together for their desperate effort. If you think over these scenes, you will notice that the Macbeths understand the action which begins here as a competition and a stunt, against reason and against nature. Lady Macbeth fears her husband's human nature, as well as her own female nature, and therefore she fears the light of reason and the common dayllight world. As for Macbeth, he knows from the first that he is engaged in an irrational stunt: "I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself / And falls on the other." In this sequence there is also the theme of outwitting or transcending time, an aspect of nature's order as we know it: catching up the consequences, jumping the life to come, and the like.

The Jade Peony–Sek-Lung Is a Marginal Character

A strong, intelligent, independent boy is what every traditional Chinese family wants. Unfortunately, Sek-Lung is not such an ideal child. In the novel, The Jade Peony, Sek-Lung is a marginal character. He is rejected by the dominant group, first being made to feel insignificant and second to feel uncomfortably visible. Sek-Lung is born in Canada, with a sick body, being considered inferior and unimportant. To begin with, he gains a reputation because of his brainlessness. Referring to his own feeling, â€Å"everyone knew [†¦] I was brainless† (Choy 145). For example, â€Å"I would say ‘Third Uncle’ instead of ‘Great Uncle’ † (Choy 145).That is because he is stuck between two cultures. In English, kinship terms are simple, but in Chinese, they are complicated, and Sek-Lung is so confused. Another reason is because he is not allowed to go to school due to a lung infection, and he cannot receive proper education, neither from English school nor Chinese school, which restricts his knowledge. Every time he uses improper Chinese, he is insulted by being called brainless. In addition, the lung infection makes him very weak, and he has to stay at home, while â€Å"everyone in the family is caught up with work and school† (Choy 186).In fact, â€Å"Kiam was fifteen and was getting all A’s at King Edward High; Jung was twelve and was learning how to box [†¦] at Hastings Gym† (Choy 148), and his sister can â€Å"read rapidly† (Choy 176). His siblings impress him so much with their amazing abilities. In contrast, Sek-Lung can do nothing, which makes him feel inferior. Furthermore, he recognizes that he is a burden in his family. He thinks, â€Å"I did everything to ruin their time with me, if they stayed around at all† (Choy 224). For instance, each family member needs to take turns to teach him.He notices that he is wasting their time, and actually they do not like spending time with him. In brief, Sek-Lung is brainless, not as good as his siblings, and he is treated as a waste. Sek-Lung, growing up in an unusual background, is made to stand out, because he is different from others. First, he is insecure, and he is afraid that he will not get along with other students. When he first goes to school, â€Å"Jung’s tough-guy reputation protected I from the school bullies† (Choy 174). A marginal character is always unconfident.Because of his weakness, brainlessness and different cultural background, he worries about getting into trouble. Second, Sek-Lung, spending all his childhood with Poh-Poh, is the only person who sees her ghost. For example, after Poh-Poh dies, every time the windows mysteriously close or make noises, Sek-Lung insists, â€Å"It’s Grandmama† (Choy 181), â€Å"[†¦] and everyone [glares] at [him]† (Choy 181). Poh-Poh is his closest family member, and he cannot get over her death. He believes that Poh-Poh’s soul will come back and protect him. However, in his family’s eyes, he is acting strange, and no one believes him.Besides, his family thinks he will shame their name. For example, sister Liang refuses to take him out because people will see or hear him. Similarly, â€Å"Chinatown people turned away, muttering behind my back† (Choy 178). He is not only noticeable in his family, but also well-known all over Chinatown. People think he may be crazy or he really sees a ghost, which shows that he is unlucky, and either point of view will make him be rejected by society, because no one likes abnormal persons at that period. To conclude, Sek-Lung becomes marginal by being treated as insignificant and distinctive.

United States Withdrawal From Vietnam Essay - 1142 Words

United States Withdrawal From Vietnam America went to war in Vietnam with an aim of destroying the Vietcong to protect South Vietnam from Communism. America was against communism and they wanted to stop the spread of it. They did not achieve what they set out to do as they had many boundaries in their way. Events both inside and outside of Vietnam led to the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam. I am going to be looking at the reasons as to why American troops were pulled out of Vietnam in 1973. There were a number of problems facing the US Forces when fighting the war in Vietnam. The Vietcong were fighting using guerrilla tactics: fighting on a small scale, taking independent, irregular†¦show more content†¦However they couldnt have been more wrong. North Vietnam were busy preparing an attack on their unaware opponents. The Tet offence turned out to be disastrous for North Vietnam as they hoped that the Vietnamese in South Vietnam would help them to get rid of the Americans. This did not happen and the Vietcong were struck hard when they lost 30,000 men. The consequences of the Tet offence were huge for American troops as the media got hold of footage of the Tet offence, which they broadcast in USA. The footage they showed portrayed American troops to be losing the war. Before the Tet offence took place, the American Public thought America was winning the war. So when they saw the footage of the Tet Offence their opinions changed. One of the consequences of the Tet Offence was that Public Opinion started to change. Because of the coverage of the Tet offence which was shown by the media, people in America started to believe that they were losing the war and many people then wanted American troops to leave Vietnam. I know that the Public opinion changed after the Tet Offence and to support my statement I have a quote. Giap had achieved one of his most important battlesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but the American people had been painfully aware of the war and its cost in lives. This is a quote from the Complete MilitaryShow MoreRelatedExploring the Reasons for United States Withdrawal from Vietnam1258 Words   |  6 PagesExploring the Reasons for United States Withdrawal from Vietnam America withdrew its last troops from Vietnam in 1973 but troop numbers were being reduced since 1969 after the election of President Nixon on a pledge of Peace with honour. Eight years earlier in 1965 president Johnson had committed the nation to war with general support from the population who had come to fear communism. 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