Preview

Examples Of Role Reversal In Macbeth

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
792 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Role Reversal In Macbeth
As the texts proceed, we can see that the main protagonists undergo role reversal. It appears as if Macbeth is becoming very much like Lady Macbeth at the start of the play. He is no longer frightened to kill, the use of dramatic irony in Act 3 Scene 2, “Let your remembrance apply to Banquo. Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue”. The reader knows what Macbeth has just done, however, this suggests that Lady Macbeth does not know that he has planned to kill Banquo. This insinuates that Macbeth is no longer treating his wife as his equal, consequently crippling their relationship. On the other hand, Victor becomes like his creature, obsessed with the ideas of revenge and vengeance. In a way, Victor has become stronger as he refuses to …show more content…
The church teaches that there are seven deadly sins and pride is one of them. By going against the church and nature these characters had sealed their coffins. Both of these men were swallowed by their own pride and were too egotistic to admit it. Till his death, Victor did not regret trying to kill his creature, however, the creature had remorse for killing Victor’s family and ruining his life. Macbeth, cared only for himself, even when his wife died he was angry as to why she had to die at such an inconvenient time for him, “she should have died hereafter”. His obsession with power led him to get involved with witches, which ultimately secured his death. Since Shakespeare was writing this play for James I, the witches and the evil undertones throughout the play seemed fit, as this fascinated James. Shelley, on the other hand, was brought up knowing that how you treat a person can influence how that person treats you and society. This demonstrates how even though the creature was tormented and rejected from society, he still had the decency for apologizing to Victor, even though Victor had no remorse for him. It shows how ambition has made Victor into something inhuman, a monster even. Shelley discusses how we must be wary of science and the arrogance associated with knowledge. Victor Frankenstein illustrates exactly what happens when man tries to play God. Just because we have the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Foil Essay: Frankenstien

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Throughout the novel, The Monster is characterized as a sensitive being; he wants to be loved and resents the fact that he was rejected by Frankenstein. As he gains knowledge and begins to grow more intelligent, The Monster comes to the realization that Victor abandoned him, that he is unwanted. This frustrates him as he continually gets rejected by society. Although Victor seems to think very highly of himself, The Monster has a very low self-esteem, “I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on” (pg #), which stems from his rejection by both Victor and society as a whole. This character trait of The Monster makes the sort of selfishness of Victor, as it shows that, in his search for fame and glory, he was uncaring of the consequences. In creating The Monster, Victor’s intentions were not what they should have been; instead of trying to create life in order to make the world better, he was doing is for the sole purpose of becoming a God-like person. His God-complex is apparent in other parts of the novel as well, when he meets The Monster in the mountains and they have a conversation about Victor’s want to destroy The…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Composed during the Industrial Revolution at a time of increased scientific experimentation, Shelley warns and forebodes her enlightened society of the consequences which come about from playing god. She uses Victor Frankenstein as her platform, whose self-exalting line “many excellent natures would owe their being to me” represents a society engrossed with reanimation. Recurring mythical allusions to Prometheus, “how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge” portray Victor as a tragic hero; a noble character whose “fatal flaw” of blind ambition ultimately results in his own downfall and dehumanization, “swallowed up every habit of my nature”. In addition, Victor’s impulsive rejection of his grotesque creation, leads to the Monster’s rebellion (“vowed eternal hated and vengeance to all mankind”).…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shelley’s Gothic novel, Frankenstein, explores the complex nature of mankind by considering the consequences of an unrestricted pursuit of science. A rise in scientific experimentation with Galvanism during Shelley’s time is reflected through the protagonist Victor as he uses it to bestow life. Shelley portrays Victor and the Creature as complex beings, demonstrating both inhuman and human qualities. Despite this, the subsequent rejection by his creator and the De Lacy family drives the Creature to ‘eternal rejection and vengeance of mankind’. Victor’s initial response when meeting the creature, demonstrates his savage, cruel treatment and lack of responsibility towards his creation.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor and the monster share similar nature. Throughout the story, Victor Frankenstein and his creation share hatred towards one another. The two characters have the same objective that they are trying to achieve. They each not only value their learning through reading, but appreciate the natural world to help them cope, and have a craving for revenge when they feel it is necessary. While reading the story, the reader can see similarities between Frankenstein and the monster’s eagerness for knowledge, gratefulness for nature, and devotion for revenge.…

    • 1568 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who is to Blame William Shakespeare was a talented man, he wrote many plays including Macbeth. Macbeth is is a great story but, it takes Shakespeare a while to get to the rising action and the climax. Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Macbeth is about how these people want the crown so badly they kill people for it and if they are afraid someone is going to get in their way they kill that person too.…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Through the juxtaposition of Victor’s initial innate goodness and his later evil attempts to gain power from science, Shelley demonstrates the Romantic notion that individuals are born naturally good and later change. As Victor embarks on his endeavor to become a successful scientist, he demonstrates unadulterated intentions void of selfish desires while studying at the university, as he states, “Wealth [is] an inferior object…I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable” (Shelley 29). Here, Shelley exemplifies Victor’s pure intentions in that he aims to “banish disease” rather than succumbing to the desires of “wealth.” However, society taints Victor’s honest intentions through exposing him to the temptations of power, causing him to defy nature in an attempt to gain recognition. For example upon meeting Victor, Professor Waldman tells Victor, “Scientists [acquire] new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world” (Shelley 36). Through exposing Victor to the tantalization of “unlimited powers” the professor…

    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Victor’s rejection and abandonment of the creature and many other people’s subsequent rejection of the creature, based on appearance, reminds the reader of how society (both in Shelley’s era and in the modern day), can and do reject those who are different and Shelley cultivates more sympathy from the reader this way. Frankenstein has had love and support from family all his life, by showing us Frankenstein’s childhood and then showing us his acts toward the creature readers are positioned to think of how callous, selfish and awful Frankenstein is as he rejects the creature and does not deem him worthy. Frankenstein tells the readers of his charmed childhood and because of this the reader thinks he’s a decent man, you also admire how he loves…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Macbeth” a text written by William Shakespeare set in 11th century that follows a Scottish thane and his rise to the throne as a result of many cases of manipulation.According to the natural order which was the law of the times a king was chosen by god and the title should not be allowed to be obtained by want for it.The first instance of manipulation in the text comes from the witches when they announce that he will soon become king as well as thane of Cawdor.”All hail,Macbeth,hail thee,Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”.When Macbeth is named “Thane of Cawdor” shortly after a seed is planted in Macbeth's mind that it may be possible for the throne to become his.He soon realizes that he would need to…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both Shelley and Scott scrutinise the importance of humanity’s sense of morality from the perspectives of their relative social and historical contexts and through this, criticise man’s lack of morality due to ambition. In “Frankenstein” the birth of the Creature alludes to the creation of Man, the Creature reaching for Victor’s embrace, inversely mimicking God reaching out to Adam. Instead, Victor’s attitude is reactionary and domineering as he ostracises the Creature and labels him “daemon,” completely disregarding the value of patriarchal responsibility prevalent in Shelley’s era. Contrastingly, the Creature’s equitable nature is portrayed through his employment of logos, “Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you” and is ultimately humanised as he utilises the biblical parallelism of Paradise Lost: “I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel.” Here, the Creature’s rational statement is juxtaposed with Victor’s use of pest imagery “Begone! Vile insect,” whereby the Creature’s developed sense of morality in comparison to Victor’s tyrannical behaviour reflects Shelley’s concerns of morality deficient humans. Thus, Shelley uses the Creature to comment upon the effects of over-ambition in humans lacking morality.…

    • 1145 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Murder is an act that is hated by all cultures, including the culture Mary Shelley lived in when she wrote Frankenstein. However, Shelley frames the violence the monster commits in a way that allows the reader to sympathize with the monster. This monster murders three people and causes the death of three others, but the reader retains sympathy for this monster due to Victor Frankenstein’s fault in the matter, his isolation due to society’s prejudice, and the fact that he begins his life inherently innocent, and repeatedly shows that he’s not just bad, but there’s also a good side to him.…

    • 101 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    As his mind is clouded with anger, Frankenstein decides, through thoughts about Elizabeth and consideration for his own possible death, “not to fall before [his] enemy without a bitter struggle” (121). Although Victor reflects on the sorrow his “beloved Elizabeth” may experience if he dies, he is still completely determined to, at least, try to fight if ever face to face with his creation (121). Shelly implies that Victor disregards the consequences of a “bitter struggle” because his thoughts still display his persistent desire for vengeance, to not “fall before [his] enemy.” Muddled with vengeful thoughts, individuals are prepared to withstand any afflictions that may follow the attempts to exact their lust for retribution. This indifference to consequence shows the lack of rational thought within individuals that seek to exact revenge, a clear warning from Mary Shelley. As he kneels in the graveyard, following Elizabeth’s murder, Victor “swear[s] to pursue the demon, who cause[s his] misery, until he or [Victor] shall perish in mortal conflict”(145). With the death of his fiancee, best friend, and younger brother, Victor Frankenstein declares his only purpose for existence is to seek vengeance until death. The lust for retribution ignites intense emotion which proves to be in direct correlation with mental instability. Similarly, the monster’s hatred for all things, including Frankenstein, intensifies his lust for revenge and as a result, leaves him a victim of irrational, detrimental thought. The monster “for the first time” experiences “the feelings of revenge and hatred” and he “[does] not strive to control them, but allow[s]..[his] mind” to focus on “injury and death” (95-97). The search for vengeance sparks within the monster, and without hesitation, the monster allows the feelings of rage to take control, and his mind’s focus turns…

    • 1071 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Betraying and non trusting people have been around since the dawn of time. Have you ever told on your best friend that trusted you? In Macbeth and in now times it's still the same. Macbeth killed King Duncan and in real life your closest friends snitch on you, and try to get you locked up. The reasons why people betrayal other people is for personal gain and to be a snake.…

    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sympathy In Frankenstein

    • 2094 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The speech, effect on others, and thoughts of Frankenstein and his creation are powerful tools in their characterisations, and allow the reader to sustain their sympathies for the two. Throughout the novel, we are introduced to the idea that there is a distinction between “Victor” and “Frankenstein,” Victor being the ‘good’ side of him. This is done through the contrast in Frankenstein at the beginning of the novel and after he has reanimated his creation. An example of this is when Victor leaves for university and Frankenstein returns home.…

    • 2094 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein, many themes are presented throughout the story. However, through the impact of historical events during the 19th century, Victor’s relationship with the monster, and the influence of Victor’s mother, causes both Victor and his monster to grow hatred between each other. Therefore, the idea of revenge is the most prominent theme in the book.…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All the tragedy, murder, and despair in Frankenstein occurs because of a lack of connection to either family or people in general. The true evil in Frankenstein is not Victor or FM, but isolation and solitude. When Victor becomes lost in his studies he removes himself from human society, and therefore loses sight of his responsibilities and the consequences of his actions. FM becomes vengeful not because he’s evil, but because his isolation creates overwhelming hate and anger towards Victor. It becomes clear that both FM and Victor see isolation from family and society as a worst possible outcome, and the cause of hatred, violence, and revenge. Mary Shelley demonstrates how through the themes of solitude and friendship, solitude corrupts and friendship rejuvenates, but, ultimately, nature drives all beings into solitude.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays