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Noah Katz

Mrs. Starry

English 9 H

March 26, 2017

Ambition

Some say ambition is necessary for the attainment of success, achieving goals, and

fulfilling dreams. However, ambition is only as good as the intention of the person that

possesses it and the means that person is willing to go to achieve his or her goals. Therefore,

ambition has a downside. That downside is over-ambition.

We see the downside of ambition in the lives of politicians, kings, lawyers, and even

regular people who let true ambition get the best of them and ruin their per-existing success.

Lets start with what being overly ambition can do to you. In an article posted on

Neverwhatyouthink.com, Ronnell Morris states: When youre too ambitious, you lost all sight

of practicality. Morris 1). Morris makes a great point here. We actually see this point play out

in the book A Separate Piece. In that book, Gene and Finny are best friends at a New England

school called Devon. When Gene suspects Finny is trying to sabotage his goal of being the best

in the class, Gene pushes Finny off a tree, which results in Finny shattering his femur and renders

Finneys leg useless.

This is a perfect example of Morriss quote. Gene lost all sense practicality and instead

of just ignoring him, he pushed his best friend off a tree. While visiting Finney at home while
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Finneys recovering, Gene tells Finney that he pushed him the tree. Gene says: Now you know

what it is! I did it because I felt like that! (Knowles 132).

When Gene says: Felt like that, he means he felt angry and threatened by Finney trying

to steal his spotlight by taking it off of Genes academics and putting it on his athletics. Gene

was ambitious but did a terrible thing in order to bet what he wanted.

For another example of the downside of ambition, we can look to Marion Jones. She was

an Olympian who won three gold and two bronze medals in the 2000 summer Olympics in

Sydney, Australia. In 2007, Marion Jones confessed to using steroids. Amy Shipley from the

Washington Post said: Joness admission could cost her the three gold and two bronze medals

she won in the Sydney Olympics. (Shipley 1).

Marion had ambition, sure, but instead of putting in all the hard work herself, she was

willing to do a terrible thing to get what she wanted. And, what she got didnt matter anyway

because when people found out what she did, she had to give back the exact thing she cheated to

get.

Marions story is similar to that of Macbeth in which the noble Macbeth became too

ambitious and instead of trying to become the next in line for the thrown or getting the King to

resign, he killed the King so he could claim the thrown for himself. But, all his hard work and

ambition in tying up loose ends and killing numerous people in that process, Macbeths

accomplishments didnt matter in the end.

Similar to Marions fate, but much more severe, King Macbeth is murdered for being a

terrible King (and having himself murdered many people). Macbeth says the following before
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murdering Duncan: I have no spur. To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition,

which oerleaps itself. And falls on the other. (Shakespeare 1.7.25 28).

What Macbeth is saying here is that he has absolutely nothing against Duncan and has no

real motivation to kill him. What he does have is a tragic flaw, over ambitiousness. The only

thin driving Macbeth to murder is his intense ambition that overtakes his logic and practicality.

His ambition can be summed up with quotes form an article from the Huffington Post, titled

Trumps Ambition. In that article, Ned OGorman, describing Trumps drive, states: Ambition

wore many crowns, an indication of an unquenchable thirst for power . . . Ambitions hands

were busy propping up the symbols of her power and grasping for more . . . Ambitions blindness

has an indication of a total disregard for others. (OGorman 2).

Macbeth wore many crowns. He too had an unquenchable thirst for power. He was

completely blinded by ignorance in his quest for power. Macbeth himself became consumed by

his own ambition.

In conclusion, ambition is, by itself, neither good nor bad. Rather, ambition takes the

character of the person possessing it which, in many cases, is a character that forgets themselves

while overcome with ambition.