1. Do you feel sorry for Lady Macbeth? Why or why not?
In the beginning of the play, I truly hated Lady Macbeth with passion. She seemed so evil, calling all the dark spirits to enter her and insisting on killing Duncan. I think the words she spoke were very influential on making me think that way. It was also Macbeth’s reaction to this situation that made her seem like the bad one. Because Macbeth was portrayed as a coward who was confused and unsure of what to do, Lady Macbeth in contrast was portrayed as the overpowering, evil force. Although Macbeth too committed the crime, I considered Lady Macbeth more evil because she did not even have doubts. However, the fact that she was such a strong character in the beginning, but that she has been destroyed in the end made me feel bad. I think it is because Lady Macbeth was so evil in the beginning that made me feel sorry for her when she had ultimately been destroyed by her own guilt. I think that when a person commits a big crime and suffers from it, it causes people to feel a stronger sorrow for them. Reading how Lady Macbeth suffers physically and mentally adds to this sorrow of mine. We have only read that Macbeth loses sleep because of the murders and the unfinished business. However, we see that Lady Macbeth suffers more than just losing sleep. Her guilt has become so big of a burden that even though she tries to cleanse herself of the sin, it is too big for her to handle. I think I feel sorry for Lady Macbeth because I it is her guilt that ultimately kills her. Another major factor that makes me feel bad for Lady Macbeth is that, it is the guilt of being part of a big murder that haunts her. Even though she did not physically murder Duncan and although she had nothing to do with the murder of Macduff’s family, because she was a part of it somehow, she felt the guilt. This guilt of knowing a harmful secret, or having a part in a murder is greater than the murder itself. Therefore, because Lady Macbeth has not done anything directly wrong, but still suffers, I definitely feel bad for her.
2. What do you think about the character of Macbeth? Was he a good guy before he met the witches, or do his actions imply that he was always capable of dark deeds? Is he to blame for his actions, or are the witches really to blame?
This question is a bit hard for me to answer. I think the more I am exposed to Macbeth’s characterization, I become more confused about what kind of character Macbeth is. Even though we would like to think that witches are the evil ones who made Macbeth the murderer he is. Also, people might also blame Lady Macbeth’s initial persistence in murdering Duncan to become King. However, I find that Macbeth himself is the one to blame, not the witches or Lady Macbeth. In life, no matter what comments or influence we get, the final choice is up to us. We make the finial decision whether to take that advice or warning, or to disregard those and live how we originally planned to live life. After finishing this play, I think my sudden response was that “Wow, Macbeth is evil; he’s out of control…” However, I decided to think of him more as a humane character that we might be able to relate to. Even though murder is indeed a bad deed, I was thinking, perhaps as humans, we can be influenced by what we hear. And so I think that when we are first motivated by others to commit a deed, we then tend to lose control. We cannot let ourselves get out of control.
On the other hand, seeing that Macbeth murdered more than enough people shows that maybe he was a bad person at heart. Maybe it was the witches who just pulled out that bad side of him.
3. Is there a personal incident in your life you wish could erase? Envision Lady Macbeth wringing her hands, unable to get the imaginary blood off of them. She is haunted by her participation in the grisly deed. Do you think her response is plausible? Do you think you would be consumed with guilt yourself if you found yourself wrapped up in such a heinous crime?
The only memory I have from my preschool life is the incident between me and my teacher. I remember that I used to really love my teacher. She was pretty, young and fun to be around. However, I think my love for her was too strong. All I remember is that it was winter, and the kids around me had mittens on. The teacher however did not have any one. So, I took my socks off, put them on my hands as puppets/mittens and rubbed my teacher’s face to make her warm. Little did I know that it was a disrespectful act. She saw that it was my socks and she immediately shouted at me and punished me. She made my hold my socks with my mouth and keeps my arms raised. I think this is one my childhood stories that I was really ashamed of at that time. Even though this is a childish example, it was the only one I could really remember, and also, at that time, for me I felt guilty and embarrassed. I don’t think I even told my mom about it.
However, I have matured and grown up, so the instances that I want to erase have changed. These days, I want to erase incidents where I have experienced a bad deed. Yes there were times when I have been guilty because of my actions, but for me, experiencing someone else’s guilt, and having to keep it a secret is really a burden.
If I was in Lady Macbeth’s situation, I would definitely react in a similar way. Even though Lady Macbeth did not personally murder the people, she was part of it. Like I mentioned before, this guilt of being part of something and not being able to say it creates a lot of guilt. Thus, I understand that she is haunted by the guilt which leads her to destruction.
4. Have you ever experienced a predicted dream? Has anyone ever suggested something about your future that has actually come true? Did their comments influence your actions and the results that followed?
I have experienced numerous predicted dreams. I didn’t have these dreams, but it is mostly my mom who has them. It is so scary how her dreams really come true.
Because older generations of Koreans believed in superstitions and dreams, I think my mom was heavily influenced. On New Year’s or on special days, my mom always asks me what I dreamt, but I never remember. The fact that my mom is so interested in dreams influences me. When she tells me something is going to happen, if it is a positive thing, I tend to want to make that prediction come true. I think I tend to act in a certain way that might bring about that prediction. I might not kill people to become King, but I think I would do something.
However, sometimes, there are times when I believe in the prediction too much that I do nothing to affect it. There are also times when I blame the prediction. For example, when my mom had a dream before the SAT test, she had a bad dream, and so when the results came out and were not good scores, I blamed my mom for telling me about that dream. I believed that since my future was predicted, I cannot do anything to change it. There are some times when I try to fit my conditions to my dreams. When my mom told me to come home early because she had bad dreams and thought that someone was going to get hurt, I came home that day and tell her that her dream was true because I got a bruise or a cut. HAHA. Overall, I think knowing something beforehand, even though it might not be true, definitely affects our actions in some way.
