Macbeth Essay

        Many people trust in the outward appearances of others, and it is what causes the downfall of most. Through experiences, a lesson that people learn is that it is dangerous to trust others based on their appearances instead of who they truly are, and in the end, it is what can destroy a person. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, deceives innocent people to reach his goals and it leads them to the destruction of their own lives. He also ends up destroying himself after he is deceived by witches, who tell him truths that have a double meaning. The characters destroy themselves when they trust the appearances of their friends and of powerful people. As well, there are characters who manage to succeed by not trusting people based on appearances.

        Firstly, by trusting the outward appearance of friends, characters in the play end up being betrayed and murdered. For instance, King Duncan says that the original Thane of Cawdor “was a gentleman whom [he] built/an absolute trust”; however, he orders for him to be executed (1.4.l 13-14). This shows that trying to deceive others with a fake appearance will only result in one’s own demise because when the Thane of Cawdor pretends to be allies with Duncan, he is ordered to be executed after he is revealed to be a traitor. Also, Duncan trusts Macbeth (who later tries to kill him), as a cousin and believes that Macbeth is completely loyal to him. He says to Lady Macbeth that he “loves him highly and shall continue [his] graces towards him”, which shows that Duncan is able to trust Macbeth with his own life (1.6.l 30-31). Duncan destroys his own life by trusting Macbeth and believing that they are allies, and as a result, he is murdered. Furthermore, Banquo’s trust in Macbeth is so strong, that he is too blind to see that Macbeth is planning to harm him, which is what gets him killed later on. Banquo responds, “[a]y, my good lord”, when Macbeth asks him if he would be riding his horse (2.3.l 20). When he says this, it is evident that Banquo is not suspicious of Macbeth enough to think that Macbeth would try to murder him. Unfortunately, Banquo destroys himself by placing his faith in Macbeth. In conclusion, trusting people based on outward appearances can put one’s life in danger as there are many people who betray others.

        Secondly, trusting powerful people can be dangerous as their power may not necessarily be in one’s favour. Notably, Macbeth relies on the witches to ensure that he will later on be victorious, but he is tricked into thinking that he has nothing to worry about in the future, which allows him to let his guard down. The witches give him hints and say “the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” (4.1.l 79-80). Macbeth believes in what the witches say and is certain that Macduff was born from a woman, which is why he is deceived into believing that Macduff is not a threat to him. Unfortunately, Macduff is the one who ends up destroying him, and this fact proves that trusting powerful people can be dangerous no matter the circumstances. Macbeth trusts the words of the powerful witches, but they deceive him and he is defeated by Macduff. Also, Macbeth is told by the withes that “[he] shall never vanquish’d be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill hall come to him” (4.1.l 91-93). Macbeth replies, “that will never be”, showing that he is narrow-minded because he is unable to interpret the warnings in any other points of views but his own, which is what leads to his destruction (4.1.l 94). Furthermore, in the witches’ prophecies, Macbeth is told that he “shalt be king” after becoming the Thane of Cawdor (1.3.l 48-49). He is tricked into believing that he will become king, which shows that it is dangerous for one to trust powerful beings because he ends up killing the king, thinking that he can get away with it. However, since he is deceived by powerful people into making decisions, his own friends turn against him and he leads himself to his own downfall. In conclusion, trusting the words of powerful people can be dangerous because at first, the words that come out of their mouths may sound satisfying, but they might be planning to sabotage one’s life later.