Macbeth Essays (1058 words) - Characters In Macbeth, Free Essays

Macbeth Essays (1058 words) - Characters In Macbeth, Free Essays Macbeth English 11 Honors Paper on MacBeth Due Feb 22nd The tragedy of MacBeth is a story of courage and honor. It gives an interesting mix of love, Machiavellianism, and has a good storyline. MacBeth is a loyal subject to his king, Duncan, but goes terribly wrong when he listens to 3 witches that tell him he will rule someday. MacBeth wishes to get to power quickly with the help of his wife, Lady MacBeth, he kills Duncan, and everyone else in his way. He takes his throne but is soon overturned by his former subordinates. In MacBeth, Shakespeare creates characters who parallel other characters either through their words and actions, or through similarities in characters lives. Each character in the story has a double, through either their similarities, or through their differences. Each character also has something about them that makes them unique. MacBeth and Lady MacBeth are the epitome of an interesting parallelization. At the beginning of the story, the two characters are complete opposites. MacBeth takes the feminine role, while Lady MacBeth is masculine: Lady MacBeth Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood, Stop up th access and passage to remorse That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between Th affectand it! Come to my womans breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murdring minis- Ters, Wherever in your sightless substances You wait on natures mischief! Come thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife not see the wound it makes, Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To Cry hold, Hold! (I,v,41-54) Lady MacBeth basically states here that she wants the gods to make her a man. She wants to kill Duncan herself. On the other hand when MacBeth hears of Lady MacBeths seriousness in her actions he comes back with: MacBeth We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honored me as of late, and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon. (I,vi,31-34) Nearing the end of the story, Lady MacBeth and MacBeth switch roles. Lady MacBeth becomes feminine and MacBeth becomes masculine. Lady MacBeth becomes week and pitiful while MacBeth, carrys out his plans to help him remain king: Lady MacBeth Out damned spot! Out I say! One: two: why, then tis time to do t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our powr to accompt? Yet who would have though the old man to have had so much blood in him? (V,I, 36-41) MacBeth is now fully masculine and trying to keep the kingdom together. When Lady MacBeth commits suicide near the end of the story, he pushes it off and continues with his plan to remain king: MacBeth She should have died hereafter; there would have been a time for such a word. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Lifes but a walking shadow, a poor player That strits and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing. (V,v, 17-28) The second pair is also interesting. This pair deals with time frames during the story (i.e. MacBeth from the Beginning, Macduff throughout). MacBeth from the beginning of the story is the loyal thane of Glamis. He protects the king and is awarded a second territory called Cawdor. The king trusted him, and MacBeth was a loyal servant. Then, he met the three witches, which pumped prophecies or, seeds of evil into his head. These prophecies are very tempting but are ultimately destructive. Macduff on the other hand, is faithful and loyal to Duncan and his heir Malcolm. MacDuff knew what MacBeth was plotting and he went to Malcolm to help him stop MacBeth: Malcolm Let us seek out some desolate shade, and There Weep our bosoms empty. MacDuff Let us rather Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men Bestride our down-falln birthdam. Each new morn New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds As if

UN Human Development Index (HDI)

UN Human Development Index (HDI) The Human Development Index (commonly abbreviated HDI) is a summary of human development around the world and implies whether a country is developed, still developing, or underdeveloped based on factors such as life expectancy, education, literacy, gross domestic product per capita. The results of the HDI are published in the Human Development Report, which is commissioned by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and is written by scholars, those who study world development and members of the Human Development Report Office of the UNDP. According to the UNDP, human development is â€Å"about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests. People are the real wealth of nations. Development is thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value.† Human Development Index Background The main motivation for the Human Development Report itself was a focus on only real income per capita as the basis for a country’s development and prosperity. The UNDP claimed that economic prosperity as shown with real income per capita was not the only factor in measuring human development because these numbers do not necessarily mean a country’s people as a whole are better off. Thus, the first Human Development Report used the HDI and examined such concepts as health and life expectancy, education, and work and leisure time. The Human Development Index Today The second dimension measured in the HDI is a country’s overall knowledge level as measured by the adult literacy rate combined with the gross enrollment ratios of students in primary school through the university level. The third and final dimension in the HDI is a country’s standard of living. Those with higher standards of living rank higher than those with lower standards of living. This dimension is measured with the gross domestic product per capita in purchasing power parity terms, based on United States dollars. In order to accurately calculate each of these dimensions for the HDI, a separate index is calculated for each of them based on the raw data gathered during studies. The raw data is then put into a formula with minimum and maximum values to create an index. The HDI for each country is then calculated as an average of the three indices which include the life expectancy index, the gross enrollment index, and the gross domestic product. 2011 Human Development Report 2011 Human Development report 1) Norway2) Australia3) United States4) Netherlands5) Germany The category of â€Å"Very High Human Development includes places like Bahrain, Israel, Estonia, and Poland. Countries with â€Å"High Human Development† are next and include Armenia, the Ukraine, and Azerbaijan. There is a category called Medium Human Development which includes Jordan, Honduras, and South Africa. Finally, countries with â€Å"Low Human Development† include such places as Togo, Malawi, and Benin. Criticisms of the Human Development Index Despite these criticisms, the HDI continues to be used today and is important because it consistently draws the attention of governments, corporations, and international organizations to portions of development which focus on aspects other than income like health and education. To learn more about the Human Development Index, visit the United Nations Development Program website.