ambition – gods will
Macbeth, Gattaca, Ozymandias, Turbo
macbeth goes against gods will – turns out bad
the dudes in the city in gattaca go against god’s will – turns out bad
ozymandius says he is stronger than a god – turns out bad
turbo goes against nature – all good
they all have ambition
connect gattaca and ozymandias with the idea of atoms and sand – we all turn to nothing in the end.
intro – Ambition. some stuff about what it is and how it correlates with god’s will
and the four texts and how they all relate to god’s will and ambition.
The powerful human quality of ambition is something that we are all familiar with. We have all experienced an overwhelming urge, or strong desire to achieve something in our lives, and in literature the familiarity is no different. The popular text Macbeth, the movie Gattaca, the poem Ozymandias and the movie Turbo are all linked in the way that they all share the popular theme of ambition, and in correlation, how ambition can lead us to go against fate and god’s will. The writers of each text have all used strong methods to display the way in which ambition can lead us to disregard our moral values and go in an unethical direction.
In the play Macbeth, written and directed by William Shakespeare, the idea of ambition is portrayed as a powerful and dangerous quality. As the story goes, Macbeth, a brave and valiant soldier, has great ambitions to become the king of scotland, however as his hunger for power grows, he is eventually driven to the point of insanity. As the play continues it is clear that Macbeth has great ambitions, he knows that in order to achieve these ambitions he will have to go against the will of god. This shown when he declares “Stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires.” Stars are a representation of god and the heavens, and the term black and deep desires is referring to Macbeth’s great ambitions. However this decision to defy god proves to be a mistake when it eventually leads to his demise.
In the movie Gattaca, written by , the disregard of God’s wishes is portrayed in much the same way as in Macbeth. In the futuristic society of Gattaca genetic selection has become a social norm, resulting in a lack of individuality; because, naturally, everybody would chose to obtain an appearance which plays to the cultural beauty standards and expectations. However, this ambition or desire to create the perfect human race and or weed out unwanted characteristics is a direct defiance of God. In many religions there is a strong belief that any act to artificially change or enhance one’s physical features is wrong, because you were given your body by god, and it is the body that you are meant to live with. Almost all the citizens of gattaca have genetically selected body types apart from the main character Vincent who was born naturally, and is referred to as a “God child”. Vincent also has great ambitions of his own, and throughout the movie he strives hard to achieve them. However, name does not choose to defy his fate as directed by god, he instead embraces his natural qualities, and due to this, his goals are soon accomplished.
When writing the poem Ozymandias, writer Percy Shelley has also included the same idea, that if you choose to defy God in the pursuit of your ambitions, then all of your ambitions will eventually prove to be futile. The character Ozymandias is described to have “a sneer of cold command” meaning that he was perhaps a cold and unjust ruler. He is also shown to view himself above anyone else, even God, by the words “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings! look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” however,
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