Taking the step to evil

1. Why do people who are not "evil" take the first step into evil? What, for instance, is involved in taking that first step "down the primrose path to the everlasting bonfire" (Macbeth, 2.3)? What are the consequences of the individual choosing evil (particularly the internal consequences)?


A person chooses to become evil. People are not born evil, due to their wants, desires, ambition they may take the step to becoming evil. A person decides to become evil or not. Their wants, desires, and ambitions may drive them to the place of evil but they are making the actions theirselves, therefore they are responsible for their evil actions. In this state of the world where a lot of evil has taken place with mass shootings, bombs, etc. people ask why do they do it? It is because of their own wants, they do not consider the other people, they only consider themselves which makes them selfish and selfish may tend to lean them towards the evil spectrum. Their wants to become part of a club/organization may lead them to do the first evil action because the club/organization told them too. This relates to Macbeth because he heard the prophecy of the three witches and fell towards it. He started wanting more from his life knowing that there may be a day he becomes King of Scotland. After the prophecy he told Lady Macbeth and she was the push to doing the evil deed of killing King Duncan. She knew that Macbeth wanted this and she was only pushing so he could get what he wants. (Macbeth 1.5) However, even when King Duncan is killed Macbeth takes matters into his own hands in order to guarantee his rule by hiring murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance. Macbeth further went on the evil scale by doing more than just one killing, and without Lady Macbeth pressuring or knowing. This shows that taking one step into evil may lead to more and more, like a cycle. (Macbeth 3.1)


This way of life always comes with consequences though. The consequences happen external or internal. The person may serve jail time or be put to death or the guilt and fear inside their minds kill them slowly. For Macbeth he was slowly tortured by the guilt and fear inside his head. During the banquet Macbeth saw Banquo's ghost, the man who was known to be Macbeth's best friend who was responsible for his death. Macbeth went crazy during this scene. The guilt took over his internal thoughts and made him shout at the ghost in front of the big dinner party crowd. The people at the dinner believed he was going crazy and Lady Macbeth tried to stop him. Lady Macbeth felt as though she had no control over Macbeth and what he was saying that could embarrass him as the new King. (Macbeth 3.4) Lady Macbeth also experienced this guilt and fear. During her sleep walking she would speak of her worries and try to clean the blood off of her hands. This shows the other consequence of evil actions, regret. Lady Macbeth seemed to regret what she had done because of the way that even unconscious she still thought about the evils that she had committed. (Macbeth 5.1)