Abby Miner

Period 1
Mrs. Clark
English 10H

THE DANGER OF PRIDE

Bear Grylls once said, A man's pride can be his downfall, and he needs to learn when to
turn to others for support and guidance. Grylls believes pride is fragile. It must be contained, as
it may eventually take control of men and their actions. In our society, there have been countless
times when people have let pride take over their lives. One of these examples is in the play
Macbeth by William Shakespeare. In the play, Shakespeare demonstrates this idea by showing
two characters: Macbeth and Macduff. They are both men with noble power and authority. When
pride gets into Macbeths nature, it takes over his actions and results in bad decisions, whereas
Macduff focuses on others around him and uses his influence for good. Therefore, because of
their choices, Macbeth and Macduff differ with regard to their views of manhood and their
murderous thoughts.
Macbeth and Macduff differ in their ideas of what a man should be. Macbeth believes
men must not show weakness. If they do, they are considered unmanly and cowardly. This is
shown when Macbeth is under attack against the rebels and fighting for his own life. He soon
receives the news that Lady Macbeth is dead. Instead of grieving over her death, he complains
about the timing of the incident by saying, she should have died hereafter/There would have
been a time for such a word (V, v, 20-21). When someone dies that was closely associated to

someone else, they will usually take the time to stop and take a moment of sadness, of reflection.
Despite this, Macbeths lack of emotion towards his wifes death shows that he believes men do
not show weakness because men must not be weak. By saying this, he also portrays that he was
using Lady Macbeth as a tool just to chase his ambitions. He did not sincerely care for her wellbeing. In contrast to Macbeths qualities, Macduff feels men should embrace the fact that men
can show weakness. This belief is noted when he discovers that Lady Macduff and the rest of his
family have been killed. He expresses that he cannot but remember such things were/that were
most precious to me (IV, iii, 263-264). Compared to Macbeth, who thinks showing emotion
is unmanly, Macduff believes that men can be saddened by the loss of a loved one. He
establishes the fact that he loved and cared for his family, unlike Macbeth. As a final point,
Macbeths emotions are skewed as we compare him to Macduff, who believes men can show
their faults and weaknesses, ultimately making Macbeth look like less of a man.
Macbeth and Macduff have contrasting views of their murderous thoughts. Although they
are both murderers, Macduff is very specific with regards to the people he kills. Macbeth will kill
anyone in order to get what he wants. Macbeth believes murdering for the sake of attaining
ambitious goals is justified. His belief is shown when Scotland is ill and wounded under
Macbeths rule. He is so ambitious and ruthless that he says, even till destruction sicken, answer
me/to what I ask you (IV, i, 63-64). It is morally wrong to cause this much destruction, but
Macbeth will do anything, or kill anyone and cause as much destruction as is needed, just to get
what he is after. Furthermore, as Macbeth becomes increasingly ambitious, the amount of
destruction in Scotland rises. In contrast, Macduff desires to stay loyal to the country and not
cause any unnecessary problems. He desires to make the right choices. This idea is demonstrated
after Macduffs family has been murdered because of Macbeth. As a result, Malcolm convinces

Macduff to kill Macbeth by saying, be this the whetstone of your sword; let grief convert to
anger/blunt not the heart; enrage it (IV,iii, 268-269). Unlike Macbeth, who will kill anyone,
Macduff has a motivation to kill Macbeth. Macbeth has done much damage and caused much
pain towards Macduff, thus, Macduff is compelled to get his revenge on Macbeth. In this way,
Macduff reveals that he requires a reason to kill another human, and will not murder just to
achieve ambitious desires. Macduff gives appropriate, distinct reasons as to why he does the
things that he does. Macbeth executes whomever he feels, while Macduff is precise in his
decisions. This demonstrates that Macbeth is very brutal in his actions and shows little or no
remorse.
Macbeth and Macduff differ with regard to their views of manhood and their murderous
thoughts.With these things considered, some critics might argue that Macbeth was the reason
Scotland was able to win the war at the beginning of the play. When Macduff was captured
during the same war, Macbeth was able to attain the victory because of his fighting skills and
abilities. Without him, Scotland would have been defeated. However, even if Macbeth did
initially bring Scotland to victory, and Macduff was captured, how the two of them handle their
pride throughout the rest of the play is what determines their future. As Macbeth receives the
reward of Thane of Cawdor after the war, he continues to seek more authority, causing him to be
caught up in pride. Contradictory to this, as the play moves along, Macduff makes just choices
and becomes a better leader for Scotland as he remains loyal to his country. In society today, if
people are not able to control their egos and their ambitions, it will be the cause of their ultimate
downfall. If we are not careful with the things we do, our choices will consume us.