Ambition is a desire for some type of achievement or desire, such as power, wealth, fame, or honour. A person who is ambitious is driven to succeed, and reach their goal. This sounds like a good character trait to have; you are always trying to do your best, and get what you want. But what lengths are you willing to go to in order to reach your goal?
SPOILER ALERT! If you are one of the eight people who care about the Transformers movies but have not yet seen the last film, read on with caution.
In Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Sentinel Prime, the previous leader of the Autobots, is charged with restoring his home planet of Cybertron, but in order to do so, must work with the treacherous Decepticons against humanity. He is ambitious, but is willing to betray even his closest friends and work with his enemies to achieve his goal. Similarly, Patrick Dempsey's character, Dylan, works with the Decepticons because they can provide him with technology which will continue to make him wealthy. He does not care that their goal is to enslave humanity; all he cares about is his ambition for wealth and power.
Macbeth states that he has "no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself / and falls on th'other" (I, vii, 25-27). He has ambition, he has desire, but he does not have the drive to achieve his destiny and become king. Then again, his wife seems to have that drive he lacks in spades.
For this post, think of another fictional character, historical figure, celebrity, or even something from your own experiences, where ambition was the reason for action. Explain what action or actions was or were taken, and what the results were. Did the ends justify the means? What lessons could Macbeth learn from your example of ambition? Please do not use Transformers: Dark of the Moon as your example. I did not like that film.
Please begin your post with your student number.
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ReplyDeleteAlexander the Great was a very ambitious person, and he achieved a lot in a short period of time. One of Alexander's goals was to conquer the world, and he managed to conquer most of what was known of the world at the time. He did this by being a great military leader and having unbeatable battle strategies. Alexander and his army did kill an abundance of people to achieve their goals, so it depends on what the morals of a person are to determine if the ends justified the means. For Alexander, they did. Hamlet can learn from Alexander the Great that one must never give up on what they want and that it takes great planning and timing to properly pursue ambition.
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ReplyDeleteA historical figure where ambition was the reason for action was Richard 111 (3rd). He was too far down the line to become king, so he made his odds favourable by killing everyone in his way, no matter who they were in his family, brothers, children, even his "wife". The result was that he temporarily king, everyone he trusted betrayed him, and he fled from a war and lost his kingdom. In the end, it wasn't worth being king temporarily by killing so many innocent lives. Macbeth could learn that not everything has to result in death, and that there are other ways to get what you want, or you can't always do things that you want.
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ReplyDeleteAnother fictional character that I think shows that he has more ambition than brains is Beni Gabor from the movie 'The Mummy'. Beni is technically always the bad guy throughout the whole movie, and his ambition is to get as much gold and money as possible, he doesn't think about what the concequences could be or what could happen to other people, money is all he thinks about. He even starts to work for the evil Mummy just because he has offered him what he wanted. Beni helps the Mummy kill people and in return gets what he wants, he has a lot of ambition, but at what cost? By the end of the movie, because of his amibition for the gold, that gets him killed in the end of the movie. I think that Macbeth could learn from my example about ambition that it's fine when you strive for something that means a lot to you, however, he shouldn't forget that there might be consequences to what he does, and he needs to think widely about how to get what he wants without hurting himself or anyone else in the process.
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ReplyDeleteAdolf Hitler wanted to restore Germany to its former greatness and to take over the rest of the world. In order to achieve this he started a war where many died. He even killed his own people to hide things he had done.
In the end, Hitler did not succeed and was stopped by the Allied powers although he committed suicide before they could kill him.
Macbeth can learn from this example that no matter how strong an ambition, one should not take it so far as to sacrifice too many - important - things.
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ReplyDeleteThis summer, there is a reboot of a famous superhero that was a very ambitious person. Peter Parker, also known as Spider-man. Originally a comic Sony decided to make it a movie, "The Amazing Spider-man". His desire is/was to find out more about his parents and their deaths, that's his ambition to discover what happened to his parents. He took many courses of action to attempt to recall his parents deaths. We have yet to find out if he succeeded and if he finds it worth it. Macbeth could learn to understand his purpose and see if it justifies the ramifications made it worth while.
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ReplyDeleteAn example of ambition would be me. Since I was in grade 5 and even up to this date, I only want one thing, and that one thing is to play basketball professionally. I know in order to accomplish that goal I must work hard, and that's what I do. I worked so hard that I lost contact with friends, and even some family members, but it's paying off. If Macbeth really wants to be king, and if he was ambitious about it, then he should work hard to be the king. Not kill him.
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ReplyDeleteClaudius is an ambitious and deceiving murderer, he secretly kills his own brother, King Hamlet, to steal his crown and his queen. While King Hamlet was sleeping in his garden, Claudius poured a deadly poison in his ear. With Hamlet’s death, Claudius took the throne and quickly married Queen Gertrude, his brother's widow. Claudius will stop at nothing to become king and be wed to his long love, Queen Gertrude. Even if it means killing his own brother.In the end Hamlet kills Claudius.I think Macbeth can learn to think carefully about his ambitions and to go about the best way of achieving his goal.
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ReplyDeleteFirstly, I would like to say I didn't see Transformers yet, and I don't like it either.
Secondly, when thinking of ambition driven goals, I think of Adolph Hitler, who tried to conquer the world for the sake of having power. However, much like Caesar, Mussolini, Chronus and many other power-hungry dictators, they had a gruesome fate. Macbeth should take these experiences and learn to accept his life and not disturb the natural way of things.
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ReplyDeleteIn the Simpsons movie, Homer decided to spill manure from his pig into the lake instead of taking it to a disposal centre. This was because he was in a hurry to go get free donuts from a donut shop that had exploded. As a result, the lake became extremely poisonous and the town had to be quarantined. In this case the ends did not justify the means. Macbeth can learn that doing something to get something he wants, may not be such a good idea.
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ReplyDeleteI thought of a movie with ambition for a long time and I came up with a good one. First I was thinking of Harry Potter but then I was like, nah, i used it too many times in my past. So, the movie that I chose is X-men Origins: Wolverine. Logan (The Wolverine) is ambitious to kill his brother Victor, because Victor killed Logan's wife (if you saw the movie you would know why), so Striker (he is the leader of a group of people with abilities) told Logan that he'll have unbreakable skeleton and could kiss victor more easily, Logan accepted the offer, got the skeleton, and went for Victor's head. I think Logan is pretty ambitious to kill Victor to go through such a dangerous experiment. Macbeth learned that he should do whatever he needs, to become a king .
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ReplyDeleteIn Marvel's 'Avengers' , the antagonist Loki tries to enslave the entire human race to achieve his ambition - to be a King. He betrayed his family and world (Asgard) and joined forces with an alien race in order to gain control over the human race. In the end however, Loki was defeated and lost everything he was fighting for.
Macbeth could learn that ambition is healthy, but can be dangerous. It all depends on how a person motivates themselves, and the methods they use to achieve their goals.
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ReplyDeleteIn the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and Voldemort (Tom Riddle) both have ambitions. Harry Potter's ambitions arise out of Voldemort's ambitions. Voldemort seeks to become the most powerful dark wizard there ever was - it is his ambition. However, to achieve his goals, he must murder many and commit a multitude of other unspeakable acts, ultimately resulting in the destruction of Harry Potter. Harry Potter's ambition is to stop Voldemort from achieving his desires and to destroy Voldemort. Harry Potter ends up [Spoiler Alert] destroying Voldemort and with that, Voldemort's ambition. The difference between these two is that Harry Potter's ambition is of good nature, while Voldemort's is not. Harry Potter succeeded because of this difference. The end for Voldemort did not at all justify his means - Harry Potter's end, however, did. What Macbeth can take from all this is that ambition is not an inherently corrupt concept. However, great ambitions are likely to end poorly unless your motives are pure.
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ReplyDeleteOne of the ambitious characters that I can think of is Peter Wiggin, from Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. In the series of books in "Ender's Shadow", which are more focused on Peter's actions on Earth, we can see how he is always trying and willing to do anything for reaching his goal. At first, his ambition is towards becoming powerful and showing others that he is just as good as Ender, if not better. However, later on in the story as Peter got to experience different events and encounter many different people, and also, after making some mistakes, his purpose changed. He was still ambitious to reach a certain goal, but his goal was no longer selfishly personal. He was willing to do anything to make the Earth a safe living space for everyone. So he stayed ambitious, but towards a positive goal. At the end, he was able to achieve his goal, and he also became well known for all the good deeds he had done during his life. If Macbeth were to learn anything from my example of Peter Wiggin, he should learn that it's good to be ambitious, but for a good cause; people should be driven towards helping others and making a safe living space for all species.
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ReplyDeleteA great example of someone who let their ambition be the reason for their action is a singer named Ronnie Radke from a band called Falling in Reverse. He was always very ambitious to become famous, but for a while he let drugs and negative influences around him steer him into the wrong direction. After being sent to jail he realized what he was doing was wrong and got back on his horse. He really wanted to earn a lot of money and fame and to become sober. Right now he is reaching his goal in his genre of music and is becoming increasingly popular, he also doesn't do anymore drugs and has become a role model for many people. The lesson that Macbeth can learn from this example is that he should have the drive to reach what he believes is his destiny, and there maybe some obstacles in his way, but he should overcome them and become what he is meant to become.
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ReplyDeleteIn the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" Christopher Gardner is determined to be successful. First he spent all his family's money on bone density scanners because he thinks he can sell them and make money.He ends up broke and his wife leaves him. He eventually gets an intership to become a stockbroker at a top firm, but he is unpaid.He takes this positon because he is ambitious. Most people would know they have to take the lower paying job so they could earn a living right now to take care of his son. With no income he gets evicted and he and his son become homeless. Through it all he still tries to be a good father but puts his young son through terrible times. They have to sleep in shelters and even in the bathroom of a subway station. They hardly have any food.Finally he makes it and evetually becomes a stock broker and a wealthy man. Macbeth could learn from this that if you are determined and willing to do anything you have a good chance of succeeding. However in this process you may have to hurt some of the people around you.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough Macbeth is prophesied to be king, I believe that he is unworthy of such a title even though he demonstrated many leader-like qualities and traits. He is a loyal and heroic warrior who greatly exemplified bravery and devotion to his nation when constantly fighting for Scotland. Macbeth was also very enthusiastic about becoming king and a leader among others. Such devotion to his role as a king means that people will not only answer openly to a leader who is passionate and dedicated to their well being, but also follow and acknowledge the person. Macbeth’s confidence is also a trait that is highly valuable as a leader must be able to lead others and set a direction. However, although many of Macbeth’s qualities resemble a leader, he lacks patience and other skills necessary to be a political figure, and is more suited to be on the battlefield. Macbeth’s solution to a problem is often by violence; however, a king must be able to resolve an issue using non violent methods that best benefits the nation.
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ReplyDeleteAdolph Hitler was a megalomaniac. He urged to have power and control over the world, and was willing to go to great lengths to achieve his desire of bringing Germany and himself to superiority. His great ambition led to the mass destruction of millions of lives through vigorous murder and annihilation in a crime against humanity. Fortunately, as many parts of the world joined to put Hitler to a stop, he was unable to conquer his goal, and put an end to his own life. Like Macbeth, Hitler attempted to dominate and gain control through killing others, subsequently leading to be the reason of his own death, something Macbeth could take into consideration and learn.
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ReplyDeleteIn the cartoon "Pokemon", Ash Ketchum started his journey to become a pokemon master. In doing so, he is catching many other types of pokemon and battles many people for the ambition of becoming a master. Overall, he was unable to become a pokemon master because there are many pokemon he cannot capture and too many trainers who he cannot defeat. From this example, Macbeth can learn that relying on ambition alone will not help someone achieve their goal.
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ReplyDeleteThere is a series called the Immortal Series and the main character is Ever. In the fourth book she uses dark magic to unbind herself from this guy Roman who she is not in love with. What she didn't know is that spell actually bonded Ever and that guy closer together. She was ambitious and tried to do everything herself, she never realized she needed the help of her friends and family. She tried so hard to fix her wrongs but she failed miserably. She alone went to fix her mistakes and in doing so she created bigger problems that she could no longer face alone. Though in the end she accepted that she did a wrong thing and she finally gave in to the help that was offered. Macbeth can learn to accept his mistakes, though he may not see it as mistakes he must reflect back on what he did. he could have asked for help and talked about what the witches meant when they said he was going to be king of Scotland, instead of taking drastic measures and killing the king and everyone else that got in his way.
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ReplyDeleteI feel that Batman is drivine to fight crime through his ambition to get revenge against criminals for his parents death. The results for his actions are that his methods of fight crime are violent and merciless. The ends did justify the means because he caught many criminals and stopped many other, would-be murders.
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ReplyDeleteThe Goose Girl (2003), Selia, Lady in waiting of princess of Kindenree, Andori Kiladra Talianna Isilee. Selia was the most trusted lady-in-waiting and only friend with Anidori, but she tried to kill the princess, Anidori, to become a princess while way to go to meet princess's fiance, the crown prince of Bayern. She persuads guards of princess and betrays her in the forest and tries to kill her and few guards who still follows princess. Anidori survives and she goes to meet king to tell the truth. Seila's lies are discovered by crown prince of Bayern and she punished as she said and Anidori gain her place back.
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ReplyDeleteIn the past, a friend had taken my work from my locker and handed it in as her own taking off my name. I told her clearly that I wouldn't allow her to do this and she brushed me off and did so anyways. This was an extremely strict teacher and she was aware that were she to get caught, both her and I would receive zero for the assignment. I saw her hand it in and she saw my anger. She swore to get it back at lunch, which she did not, fearing the consequences. Eventually she was caught and faced numerous detentions as well as a bad reputation and a zero instead of her desired mark of 100. The end did not justify the means she took to get there; in fact, her situation only got worse.
Though this was of a much smaller scale than the situation of Macbeth, it taught the same lesson of "what goes around come around."
From the movie Saw John the actor had an ambition to kill after the murder of his wife and unborn baby. This murder gave him the courage to act this way. The ambition gave him the reason to act this way.The killingof random people was the action taken place after the anger he had received from the murder of his wife. 322602939
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ReplyDeleteOne example of ambition is a personal experience that I am not very proud of. When I was in grade 6 running for student counsel president I made alot of promises to please the students and gain their vote, even though I knew I could not full fill those promises. At the end, I became student president but along the way I made a lot of people angry because I did not keep the promises I have made.
One lesson that Macbeth can learn from my experience is that you should never betray other people, such as friends and family members to achieve your goal.
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ReplyDeleteI can use one of my own experiences where ambition was used for action. I had a strong desire to get a job with the City of Toronto. I wanted to work with the company for over a year. I took lead in LIT (leadership in training) programs, done plenty of volunteering, resume/job interview workshops and applied for the job by myself. My determination went a long way and I got the call yesterday saying that I was one of the lucky few who got the job position. I will take action and start job training this Sunday and will be working all summer!
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ReplyDeleteOne of the most ambitious historical figures would be Queen Elizabeth I. From her childhood, she believed that it was her destiny to become queen. But she had very slim chances in becoming a queen compared to her half-siblings – her half-brother King Edward VI and half-sister Queen Mary (“Bloody Mary”). Elizabeth was viewed as an illegitimate heir. Despite this fact, she dreamed of becoming a queen. Teenager Elizabeth dedicated most of her time studying Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, Mathematics, Sciences and Music. She spoke Scottish and Irish like a native. She became one of the most educated persons of her time. Her religious tolerance and political pragmatism, based on her education, were her assets which made her eventually the Queen of England. Having reigned for 45 years, “Good Queen Bess” brought England from a weak peripheral country to a powerful one. Lessons that Macbeth could learn from Queen Elizabeth’s example would be that you do not have to achieve your goal by cheating your way through.
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ReplyDeleteOne ambitious character I can think of is Charles Muntz, from the Disney movie Up. In this movie Charles Muntz is known as a famous explore who travel the world finding rare species of animal. after coming back from a place known as paradise falls he discovers a rare 13-foot tall tropical bird skeleton specimen that he brings back to prove to the other scientist which accused him for faking the discovery. Muntz ambitious personality made him work hard to find this bird, which turn him into a extremely greedy, dangerous, and paranoid person, who believing that anyone who came to Paradise Falls was after the bird to steal his glory.
Macbeth can learn from Muntz that you don't need to kill the king to become the king. You should do everything of your power to reach your goal.
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ReplyDeleteAn ambitious character would be Lelouch from Code Geass. He stops at nothing to claim his fathers throne but uses deceitful tactics and strategies to attain it. Macbeth could learn from Lelouch to use other means than brute to attain his goals.
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ReplyDeleteA character that I have thought of that has acted on reason of ambition is Lawrence "Larry" Quinn from the “Cat in the Hat” film in 2003. He is a lazy, jobless middle age man who lives next door to a wealthy single mom named Joan Walden. In the story he is determined to marry Joan no matter what it takes. He is always looking for ways to blame troublemaking Conrad (her son) and to send him to military school so he can take over the family. He even takes on the trouble of recreating his physical appearance to deceive Joan and wooing her with his fake intelligence and job position.
Lawrence in the movie always puts on a suit (and glasses!) and carries a briefcase whenever he goes next door to visit Joan. He even has a car parked in the driveway and always pretends to drive away to an important “meeting” with the company whenever Joan steps outside and sees him. In the end the children with the help of Cat foil his plans and let him reveal his true self to their mom.
The end justified the mean because his intentions were impure so the end for him would be as equal to his intentions. What Macbeth could have taken away from this was that if he worked hard for what he wanted, he would soon receiver what he deserves. And that whatever you do in life, do it with a pure heart and good intentions because like karma, what goes around, comes back around.
An ambitious character was Alexander the Great. his main goal was conquer the world, carying on from where his father left off. Alexander had a small army compared to other countries but with ambition he was able to defeat the biggest of armys and was almost able to conquer the world with his ambition to rule the world and make Macedonia a bigger country. Macbeth can learn from this that at the end everyone dies and you should live life to the fullest and that if your close to achieving your dream you should never give up.
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