Trey+and+Sean-+Macbeth

Macbeth = Richard Nixon

The need for power can be one of the most seductive forces known to man. In __Macbeth,__ by William Shakespeare, [|MacBeth] falls under the control of a lust for power. By the end of the play he is transformed into a power hungry mongrel, driven by his ambition and greed. [|Richard Nixon], the United States 37th president, also fell to the seduction of power and its sense of authority. Both Macbeth and Richard Nixon ruined themselves due to their blind ambition and lust for control. The character Macbeth can be likened to Richard Nixon in that both were self-destructive men that let their ambition take them down a winding road to corrupt power. When someone has a lot, it is sometimes said that they have a lot to lose. Both of these men laid everything on the table in their actions to obtain undeserving power. Macbeth was told he was going to become King of Scotland by three witches. "All hail Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter." (1.3.53) Instead of simply letting this so called "fate" take its coarse, Macbeth tried to take matters into his own hands by killing King Duncan. Eventually Macbeth's quilt ate away at him, and Macbeth became a paranoid man, that placed his trust in no one. He eventually became a corrupt king and all of his people turned against him. This is a similar story to the downfall of Richard Nixon. During the elections of what would have been Nixon's second term, Nixon decided that he would try to secure his position by spying on what the Republican Party was planning to do for their campaign. He was caught wire tapping the phone systems at the Water Gate Hotel where the Republican nominee was staying. For his actions, everyone turned against Nixon and the president became the butt of every joke from that day on. Nixon had to resign from office and a huge series of trials were placed against him. Everyone lost all respect for their leader and disowned him as the president. Not only are the downfalls of these two men self induced, the reasons for their self destruction is also the same. Both Richard Nixon and Macbeth let their ambition out weigh the consequences of their actions. They both got so caught up in a game of metaphorical shoots and ladders, where both would cheat and lie to not fall down the final shoot that would stop them from rising to the highest echelon of power. Macbeth explains how his ambition got the better of him beautifully in his monologue. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself and falls on the other" (1.7.25-28). It is in this point in time someone can see how Macbeth’s ambition is beginning to take over and control him from the inside. Similar to Macbeth, Richard Nixon too let his ambition get the better of him. The book written about President Nixon’s folly in the Watergate Scandal is even entitle __Blind Ambition__. He could not handle not being reelected, so instead of playing it fair he tried to cheat his way to victory and failed miserably just as Macbeth did. The world is full of those that were supposed to lead, and those that were supposed to follow. Both Macbeth and Richard Nixon are people that were simply not meant to lead. Although both were probably well liked gentlemen to begin with, their humanistic lust for power got the better of them. Their ambitious eyes were too big for the incapable stomachs, as both carried out their own actions of defeat.

Works Cited __Book Cover of Macbeth__. 3 Mar. 2009 . __Macbeth and Banquo’s ghost__. 3 Mar. 2009 . __Macbeth Character Analysis__. 4 Mar. 2009 . __Richard M. Nixon__. 4 Mar. 2009 . __Richard M. Nixon__. 20th century. __Wikipedia__. 3 Mar. 2009 . Shakespeare, William. __Macbeth__. New York, NY: Washington Square, 1992.