Yi-Hsuan Rei

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Ambition in Literatures from Different Eras

Ambition is a topic commonly found in tragic literatures of different eras.

From the classical Shakespeare tragedy, Macbeth, to a modern tragic play, Fences,
ambition has been explored for many times in various ways. Throughout the long
timeline of history, writers from different ages have discussed ambition from
different perspectives. Both Macbeth and Fences talk about tragedy resulted from
ambition; however, Macbeths ambition comes from the people around him, while
the ambition in Fences comes from the main character, Troy, himself. This difference
also contributes to the different effects they have on the audience.
The difference in characterization plays an important part in where the
ambition comes from in these plays. Macbeth is generally good and once considered
as a hero figure in the society he lives in. However, he does not have a strong
opinion about what he supposes to do. The outside forces decide which way he
should go. Throughout the play, Macbeth keeps demonstrating behaviors that
indicate his easily influenced personality. He once makes up his mind that he is not
going to kill Duncan and tells Lady Macbeth, his wife, that they will proceed no
further in this business. (Shakespeare 1.6) However he is soon convinced by his
wife and decides to obey the order she gives him. Another example is after the
witches tell him about his future; their words take over his mind and make him to
ignore the warning given by Banquo. Macbeths ambition originates from the
witches and his wife. Without them, he probably would not demonstrate ambition of
becoming the king in his life. On the other hand, Troy from Fences lives in a society
that is racist against black people. He has to be determined about his decisions
sometimes in order to survive, which results in his somewhat stubborn personality.
In the play, Troy shows evidences that he thinks himself as the dominator of the
family. He asks his wife, Rose, to go back in the house and let him and Bono, his

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friend, finish the talk. (Wilson 6) The way he orders her around shows that he
believes he is the authority in the family. He also becomes mad when his son, Cory,
challenges his power in the family. He yells at Cory, saying that he is going to wear
his pants and take over his house. (Wilson 85-86) He is afraid that he will lose his
influences and control over the family. He rarely listens to other peoples opinion,
which is the reason why he has his ambition without outside influences.
With such distinct personalities and origins of ambition, it is not hard to see
that the characters deal with ambitions differently. Macbeth, who has a follower
kind of personality, handles his ambition by relying on the advices given by others.
He goes to the weird sisters and asks for other prophecies regarding his fate.
(Shakespeare 3.4) Troy, however, deals with ambition differently. Since he comes up
with his own ambition, he tries to justify his actions regardless what other people
think. In fact, he even rejects other peoples opinion. He refuses to help Cory
achieve his football dream, and he justifies his action by saying he got sense
enough not to let his boy get hurt playing no sports when his wife tries to change
his mind. (Wilson 39) He believes that everything he does is a way for him to
protect his family. However, he fails to realize that he is also hurting people with
such ambition.
The different attitude towards ambition creates different voices in the
endings. Although both plays end as a tragedy and the main characters died, the
message and feeling the audience received are very different. In Macbeth, the
audience experiences the rise and fall of Macbeth. The fact that it ends in a way
similar to the beginning creates an uncertainty under the surface of people being
happy and celebratory. It is more like a warning to the audience regarding how they
should behave when they are in the higher position in the society. Fences ends in a
more casual and relief tones. It gives the audience a feeling that Troys family is

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going to move on and have a peaceful and hopeful life after his death. Instead of
giving advice to audience, like Macbeth does, it shares a story that could happen to
many people in the society. Instead of telling something that only occurs in certain
social class, the author choses to focus on the ambition that can be found in
peoples daily life in the society.
Both Macbeth and Fences discuss about tragedy comes from ambition. But
the difference in characterization leads to the different origins of ambition.
Furthermore, the different ambitions in these plays create different effects on the
audience. The literatures from early era focus more on ambition comes from the
influence of evil, and they give advice to people on their future actions. The authors
of modern era choose to approach this topic from a more everyday life perspective.
Even though writers from eras explore this common topic of ambition, the changes
in perspectives within the society allows each of them to take on this topic uniquely.

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Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth: FOLGER Shakespeare Library. New York: Washington
Square, 1992. Print.
Wilson, August. Fences: A Play. New York: New American Library, 1986. Print.