Colin Peltier

Peltier 1

Ms. Starry
English 9 H
27 March 2016
Ambition Speech
Have you ever wanted to do something but you knew that it wasnt right? What about just
having the urge to do something to prove to people that you can do it? This is called ambition.
Ambition is the desire and determination to achieve success. Ambition can affect the human race
positively and negatively. For example, ambition can make you do something that is good while
other times it makes you do things that are bad. Ambition can affect the human race in a neutral
way, because ambition is a desire to do something. Ambition cant just affect you negatively it
has to affect you positively too because you cant have the desire to just do positive things.
There are many examples of ambition throughout Macbeth and A Separate Piece. In A
Separate

. In Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth want to kill King Duncan, so Macbeth

can take over the position as king. Both of these situations are good ambition, because in
Macbeth he wants something enough that he kills someone else to get what he wants. In A
Separate Piece

. They are also both negative because they both had to kill someone or take

their own life to pursue their ambition.

Ambition is what drove Macbeth to kill King Duncan, Gainst nature still! Thriftless
ambition, that wilt ravin up Thine own lives means! Then tis most like, the sovereignty will fall
upon Macbeth, (2.4.28) This quote was said by Ross and he is right about one thing, ambition is

Peltier 2
to blame for Duncans murder. Hes wrong about the most important part. Here he is accusing
Duncans kids of killing their own father when Macbeth is the one to watch out for. One of the
major themes is ambition, which in the end eventually leads to death. Ambition finds its most
powerful expression in the plays two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The
ambition of these main characters leads to greed, insanity, and their own death.
Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil
deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. There are three main factors that contribute
greatly to Macbeths ambition. The prophecies told to him by the witches, Lady Macbeth
influencing and manipulating Macbeths judgment, and Macbeths own ambition and greed to
become king are the three factors. Macbeths character degenerates from a noble man at the
beginning of the play to a violent individual at the end. With his wifes cajoling, and the three
witches foretelling of his future, Macbeth will stop at nothing to gain position as King of
Scotland.
The three witches and their prophecies are the first major influences on Macbeths
actions. Macbeth, Thane of Glamis is content with his position, until the three witches tell him he
will be Thane of Cawdor, and King of Scotland, All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of
Glamis / All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor / All hail, Macbeth that shalt be king
hereafter! (1.3.48-50). After hearing this from the witches, Macbeth and Banquo, his loyal
friend, find out that King Duncan has named Macbeth Thane of Cawdor. They then
contemplate about how the rest of the prophecy will come true. The witches also advise them
that Banquos son would be King one day. Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be none. So all
hail, Macbeth and Banquo! (1.3.67-68).

Peltier 3
Ambition can be helpful short term but can be bad long term. Short term ambition can be
very helpful to achieve something right then but it might not be worth it in the long run, , while
ambition can help you achieve a more prestigious education and corporate success, these may
not make you any happier in the long run (Hume 1). This means that if ambition is driving
someone to do something bad or that is stressful it may be better not to do it, because it can be
hard to deal with for a long period of time.
Ambition can overwhelm a person, As ambition inflates, so does self-absorption.
Everything else in life deflates (Samuelson 2). This means that when someone has much
ambition it is good because they have drive to achieve it, but it is bad because it can over take
them. If it is that important for one it will cause them to be so self-implied into it that they cancel
everything else in their life out.

Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Print.
Samuelson, Roert. "The Downside of Ambition.", 17 Oct. 2007. Web.
Hume, Tim Why Ambition Could Make You Rich, but Not Nappy. CNN. Cable News
Network, 9 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Mar.2016.