For this blog post, I am responding to prompt number 4. "How do the values of manhood differ in modern times? What do you think it takes to be a good man? Explain how your views are like or unlike those in the play, using examples from the text."
I think that the modern day values for being a man are not that different than the ones from Shakespeare's era. Men are expected to be strong, successful, wealthy, handsome, polite, intelligent, charismatic, and kind. In Shakespeare's day, men were expected to take care of everything and to protect their woman and provide for her. These ideals are not so different from nowadays, but now women want to be able to choose if they want it. There are obviously differences in circumstances between men of today and the men of Macbeth, but there is a similar expected code to guide men's actions.
I think to be a good man, you just have to treat people well. I am a Meninist, I don't believe that there should be a difference in the world as to what makes a good man different from a good woman. Women are given many privileges that men are denied, and I think that if you want to set a good example in life, no one should be given unfair special treatment. There may be select cases where someone deserves special treatment but in the majority of situations everyone should be regarded the same.
My views are dissimilar to those from Macbeth, mainly because my life experiences and opportunities are wildly different from any of those in Macbeth. Lady Macbeth needing her husband to kill the king because she was a woman is less of an issue nowadays than in Shakespeare's period. In current times, Lady Macbeth would also not be denied opportunities due to her gender as she was in Macbeth. Equality was almost non existent in the time when the play was set, and this is shown by the main female character simply being a passive force for the most part, having her husband do actions while she enjoys the benefits. Lady Macbeth is rarely required to take part in the actual action, instead she must keep Macbeth from breaking under the pressure. I think that if someone wants something in life, then they should be the one to go out and get what they want, not convince someone else to do it for them because "that is the way it is supposed to work".
I chose to analyze your post because I had actually just read another interpretation of this question and it was interesting to see two different perspectives on the same question. The blog I read prior was contrasting the time period of Macbeth to that of today and explained the changing definition of a 'good man', while you seem to suggest that the definition has stayed consistent over the same time period. I would have to agree with some of the points that you made about manhood's consistency, but I think one of the main contrasts is society's changing perception of violence. In modern times, men don't have to be violent and fight to 'win' particular outcomes (like in the time of Macbeth). I think men nowadays focus their societal value through their level of success.
ReplyDeleteSpecific examples to support your response?
ReplyDeleteAlso- you start to compare and contrast the roles of men and women and I think that would have been a great take on this question. We see the roles shift, change, become challenged in the play, yet you say the roles are the same as today's. How so?