Macbeth Got His Own Movies

I was very intrigued when watching the two nickelodeons of the famous play, Shakespeare's Macbeth. Hollywood's take on the two movies were different, but yet the same. Even comparing the text to the movies, they were very similar. Both movies had the same speech as each other and the same words as the original play. The main difference of the two is the setting. The one is set to copy the play as best as it possibly could and the other is set to be in a WWII setting. Another main difference that really stood out to me would be king Duncan. The movie that did its' best to copy the play, portrayed king Duncan to be a saint. He seemed defenseless and could hardly stand up on his own, having to be carried everywhere he went. It was hard to believe that a man this fragile could start a war and hold up against rebels. The the second movie Duncan was a strong general and fierce leader that still cared much for his solders. One last difference that stood out to me was the three sisters. In movie one, -again the one that did its best to resemble the play- the three sisters were screaming banshees that chanted spells and drooled on each other. The WWII sisters were very mysterious and dark. They were dressed as nurses in a dirty hospital for the war. You really would not want these nurses helping you, for they took the lives of their patients and then ripped out their hearts for spells or witchcraft.
As much as I would like to say the Macbeth movie with the screaming banshees that drooled on each other was my favorite, I am going to say that the WWII Macbeth was my favorite. This is most likely to be others pick between the two too. This movie catches today's audience more than the other movie, with better affects, better filming, and pretty much better everything. I would actually recommend this movie to watch personally; Though knowledge of the Macbeth play is needed, or the Shakespearean language must be known for the passage is hard to understand and follow along with.

You Can't Achieve Them All...

When looking at the goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the school year, I began to feel the same sadness I had felt at the end of the regional race for Cross Country. Staring right at me was the goal that I had wanted the most. To end the Cross Country season with a time better than 16:36. Along with the broken dream the document screamed at me, "you suck," and " I knew you would never get it." I am just not good enough, I thought to myself. Then I remembered I have my whole life in front of me. Just because I didn't get it this year, doesn't mean I cant try it later in life as a long term goal or even when I become an adult. It crushes my heart that I did not get the goal I wanted so badly, but in the end, running will always be apart of my life and I will never give that up. After looking at my other short term goals, I can say that the time has not come to complete them, but they are very much achievable. Goals are a good thing to have, it gives a person hope and perseverance if they truly want to complete their goal. Even if a person fails or doesn't get the goal that they wanted, they should look at it as an example to work even harder and to never give up on the next one.

What is Macbeth Thinking!?!

Macbeth had a good life before he got promoted. Not only was he already the thane of Glamis, he was a general in the king's army. This probably means that he was already paid well. When Macbeth hears the prophecy of the three witches, he is overjoyed but troubled. He is troubled for the reason being, that there is already a king, and the only way for him to be king is murder. Why would he even think about murdering the man that provides for his family, is a fair and just king, and gives him a promotion of being the thane of Cawdor? This is like murdering your own father. Temptation wins again, I'm afraid, as Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to murder Duncan just as Eve convinced Adam to take a bite of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.

The Hypocritic Holy Man

Chaucer implements that the pardoner is a hypocrite by carrying around fake relics and preaching the very thing he has a problem with. He forgives people's sins for the good of his own pocket. The pardoner carries around fake biblical relics; astonishing people and when they give donations, the pardoner pockets the money. This is seen in the passage where it says "Which he asserted our lady's veil" it also talks about how he has part of a sail from the boat Saint Peter sailed on when he walked on water with Jesus. The pardoner also carries the bones of pigs which he claims are the bones of old saints. The pardoner sings and talks in churches as seen in the passage "But best of all he sang an offertory/ for well he knew that when that song was sung/ he'd have to preach and tune his honey tounge/ and (well he could) win silver from the crowd/ that's why he sang so merrily and loud." When doing this, he is getting money for the same thing he is preaching against; which is greed, selfishness, and hypocrocy.

The Host: A Tricky Business Man

The host has managed to trick the group going on the pilgrimage. After taking their money, the host offers the group a deal; to entertain while traveling on the pilgrimage and he will pay for the expenses on the way. The trick is though, whoever tells the best story, gets a free meal paid for by the rest of the group at the host tavern. The host also gets to be the judge and ruler over the group and any one who disagrees with him through out the trip has to repay the host for the costs. This benefits the host by the group buying more food from him when they get back.

The Friar of Today and Chaucer's Friar.

In Chaucer's story, one of the characters is a Friar. The very purpose of his job is to help the beggars and the lepers, but yet those are the exact people he despises. He abuses his spiritual duties for his own profit. The man is cheep, greedy, and selfish. He only does what is best for himself. The sad truth about this is that we still have people like that today. The ever so friendly con that sells you a faulty product, or the greedy insurance businesses that barely pays enough to fix the front bumper on your car. We cant forget about the man on the internet that wants to help you lower your monthly bills but instead walks away with your bank account. This just shows that there will always be greedy, low-life people that just care about themselves.

Irony of the Monk

Chaucer explains each character with much detail, but the one that stuck out the most to me was the monk. The monk is ironic and hypocritical in a way that he does nothing that a monk should do. One of the first things that stuck out to me was that the monk lives like a lord rather than a cleric. The monk also hunts which is expensive for a man of his stature and is frowned upon by his monk teachings. The man is aware of what he can and can not do but yet he disobeys the rules given to him.