Essay on Malcom

The motivations of Duncan, Macbeth, and Malcolm are all different. Macbeth is motivated by greed, power, ambition, and his wife. Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s manhood and calls him a coward. In contrast, Malcolm and Duncan want what is right for the people and for Scotland. They want everything to be just and they are noble men. For example, “Macduff, this noble passion, / Child of integrity, hath from my soul / Wiped the black scruples, reconciled my thoughts / To thy good truth and honor” (Shakespeare IV.iii.116-119). This proves that Malcolm cares about loyalty among his people. Malcolm's motivations for Scotland are honorable. He wants to restore peace and trust in Scotland. Also, Malcolm wants to be a good leader and restore the heir to its rightful owner. This shows that Macbeth, Duncan, and Malcolm all have different motivations.

     Malcolm X had a persuasive way with words. He had a voice that influenced people to listen at what he had to say. Malcolm X‘s voice changed the Nation of Islam from Six hundred people in 1952 to about 30,000 in 1963. (Headrick) The only way he knew to get his point across to the white society was to encourage violence amongst the black community. This was the only way to make the white society see the black people as equals in their society. When Malcolm X was interviewed about the murder of John F. Kennedy, he replied that” it was a case of chickens coming home to roost”. (Malcolm X) Even Elijah Muhammad was embarrassed by his remarks so he told Malcolm to shut his mouth for a while. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

He does things that he would never have thought of doing, such as killing Banquo and trying to kill Banquo’s son. And some other things that Macbeth is now doing are affecting all of Scotland, including Malcolm, King Duncan’s older son, and Macduff, a scottish noble that could replace Macbeth as king. When Malcolm is talking to Macduff he suggests that “I am not treacherous. But Macbeth is.” (4.3.21-22), they are talking about how corrupt Macbeth has become due to too much power. Then shortly after, Macbeth goes on a rampage and starts to kill scottish nobles and their family’s so that he can stay king and have his descendants become king after him. One of the family’s that he kills is Macduff’s. Then out of hatred and grief for his family Macduff meets Macbeth at Macbeth’s castle to kill him. Since Macbeth has gained this power as king, the effects of it make him do things that he wouldn’t normally do which leads to him having the feeling of self hatred, “With blood of thine already” (5.8.6) as he says to Macduff after he had killed his family. The effect of too much power leads Macbeth to do things that he wouldn’t have done and away from demonstrating what it means to be a

In Act 1 scene 4 page 11, Macbeth said, “Prince of Cumberland! That a step on which I must fall down, or else o’erleap.” This explains how he must become better than Malcolm because he was jealous of his new position as Prince of Cumberland.

Not only did Malcolm literally eat, sleep, and breathe the Nation, but he also greatly admired and respected “the messenger”, Elijah Muhammad. In Malcolm’s eyes, Elijah Muhammad could do no wrong. Malcolm’s friendship and adoration for Mr. Muhammad was a huge event in Malcolm’s life because Mr. Muhammad taught Malcolm everything he needed to know

Malcolm had joined the Nation of Islam and became their spokesman and went to the streets for black converts. His only concern was to change the condition of his people who were victimized by social injustice and

After Malcolm is appointed Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth starts having more horrific thoughts. WE can see a darker side of Macbeth come out when he says, “Malcolm is now the prince of Cumberland! To become king myself, I’m either going to have to step over him or give up, because he’s in my way. Stars, hide your light so no one can see the terrible desires within me. I won’t let my eye look at what my hand is doing, but in the end I’m still going to do that thing I’d be horrified to see (Macbeth 29, 50-56)”. Once again, we see Macbeth rushing his prophecy for his own will. The witches never said anything about getting rid of anybody, they didn’t even tell Macbeth to do anything!, but all he has to do is sit back and let fate guide him to where he will end up. Macbeth’s urgency to be king is his own fault and he should be held accountable for his downfall because of

Malcolm is the son of king Duncan. When Macbeth murdered king Duncan, it is only natural the Malcolm should take the throne of Scotland. Malcolm is aware that something is happening. He goes on to suspect Macbeths part in his father’s death. Macduff and Malcolm teamed up to defeat Macbeth. Malcolm joins Macduff’s forces so as to revenge his father’s death.

After arriving home from battle and being awarded new titles and praise, Macbeth is hesitant to break trust easily. As Lady Macbeth attempts to convince him to carry out the murder, Macbeth explains, “He hath honored me 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. vii. 35-38). Macbeth believes he should stay loyal to the king, King Duncan, since he has been recently given new titles and estates. However, Lady Macbeth’s coercion convinces him to disregard his loyalty, and leads to his eventual self destruction. Macduff, who is throughout the play intensely loyal to his country of Scotland, begs Malcolm to return and rule, rather than Macbeth. Hearing Malcolm’s injurious remarks about himself, Macduff despairs and cries, “Fare thee well. /These evils thou repeat’st upon thyself/Hath banished me from Scotland.‒O my breast, /Thy hope ends here!”(IV. iii. 129-132). Macduff is upset that Scotland will remain in the hold of the tyrant Macbeth, without a virtuous leader to save the situation. Macduff is clearly seeking his country’ salvation, without asking for anything for himself. After the battle at Dunsinane is fought and Macbeth is slain, Malcolm finally receives his honor as the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland. During the aftermath of the bloody and bitter battle, Malcolm proclaims, “We shall not spend a large expanse of time/Before we reckon with your several loves/And make us even with you. My thanes and/kinsmen, /Henceforth be earls, the first that ever Scotland/In such an honor named” (V. viii. 72-76). Malcolm has finally returned and proved his loyalty to his country by leading the battle against Macbeth, and he is rewarding those who have also been consistently loyal. Their loyalty has a palpable reward that they may benefit from. Loyalty is a constant type of

He tells himself “That is a step/ On which I must fall down or else o’erleap/ For which in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires/ Let not light see my black and deep desires/ The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be/ Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see” (I iv. 55-60). Malcolm being named as a prince makes him next in line for the throne, followed by Duncan’s other son, Donalbain whom both stand in the way of Macbeth becoming king. Because they are next in life for the throne, as long as they are alive there is no real justification for him to achieve that title. He is aware that his ambition of becoming king is cannot become true through clean and honest means that “the eye fears,” but that he needs to let “the hand” act and go against his own character and principles to make it true. Were the deeds and actions that he needed to take in order to become king were through a just method, he would not find them as hard for the eye to bear, or something that one would not want to see.

Macbeth’s reaction to the announcement that Malcolm was to be Duncan’s successor revealed the true wickedness that existed within his character. Unlike Malcolm’s honorable ambitions, Macbeth was driven by his “deep and dark desires” (1.4.51). The hellish roots of his intentions cursed him with inevitable failure; he would not be able to sustain an honorable position with dishonorable intent. Macbeth began his unsavory conquest to be king with a supreme act of betrayal: he personally murders Duncan. In a soliloquy before the murder, Shakespeare had Macbeth realize the good forces he was going against, describing Duncan as “meek” in his “faculties,” “clear” and honorable “in his great office,” and with “virtues [that] plead like angels” (1.7.16-19).

The ability to listen and regard all parts of his psyche is that of a balanced individual. Even more so, Macduff probably would not have just killed Macbeth for himself, but also to rid an evil king from his homeland, Scotland, showing his Ego again mediating between his desire to release hostility toward Macbeth and maintain his moral respect for his country. Malcolm, very similarly to Macduff, preserves harmony within himself. When Macduff comes to convince Malcolm to return to Scotland he is at first wary of his intentions, illustrating his Ego’s rationalization between the Id’s desire to reclaim what is rightfully his and the reality that it may be Macbeth’s trap (4.3.117-121). Macduff proves his honorability and then Malcolm reveals some of his personal principles, of which he follows for the rest of the play: “No less is truth than life” (4.3.132). Malcolm really proves his balanced nature in the final lines of the play, after his victory. He decides to award everyone who has served him, right all of Macbeth’s wrongs, and just work for the betterment of the country

Throughout the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, there is a constant theme of questioning what quantifies a good leader and what qualifies someone to lead. These questions, however, are more easily posed than answered because they change immensely depending upon the individual responding. Some follow the school of thought that a king should be selected based on divine inheritance while others focus more holistically on a king who possesses good qualities that would make them a worthy ruler. In Macbeth there are not many examples of decent leadership that the reader can clearly grasp due to the political instability of the setting of the play: Scotland. King Duncan, while presented in a more favorable light than Macbeth, was no angelic being or exemplary ruler. On the other side of the sword, however, King Macbeth was presented as a bloody tyrant hell-bent on putting his wishes above the desires and needs of the people of Scotland. When presented with the few rulers that are shown throughout the play, King Duncan was a better ruler with his mild temperament and placement of his country above self. While choosing what quantifies a respectable king is arduous, it is simple to see that Macbeth was not a good ruler. In fact, he was quite the opposite. Thus, based on contradicting Macbeth’s faults, a good ruler is the physical embodiment of God, maintains command over the nobles, and favors the interest of the country over their own.

There comes a time in each man’s life in which he must decide who he is, who he is going to be and how he is going to live his life. X: A Novel is about the teenage years of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz-Malcom X, who later went on to become a world-renowned, and eventually martyred, human-rights activist. Malcom’s daughter; Ilyasah Shabazz along with Kekla Magoon, the co-author of this book, tells her father’s story in such a vivid way it feels as though it is possible to be right there with him. This book shows Malcom struggling with discrimination, starting a new life, and losing himself in the world of drugs and hustling.

Gather round my brothers, a call to arms. I am Malcolm, the son of King Duncan. Before we embark on bringing justice back into this kingdom, let me offer you some words of advocacy. We come here not as individuals, rather a single force for justice and truth. Macbeth is no match for this brave hearted army. Today this turmoil ends, today we fight!