Emotions: Good or Bad?

Since Shakespeare’s time the role of women in society has greatly changed.  The amount of women in leadership roles has had a steady rise in recent times.  In Shakespeare’s time, women had very few rights and were considered more of a piece of property as compared to an actual human being.  Although women today still face adversity, more and more people are considering women and men to be equal.   That however, doesn’t cover up the fact that there are still many men that believe that they are superior to women.

When planning the murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth calls on the spirits to rid her of her feminine weakness.  “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood, stop up th’access and passage to remorse.”  This quote symbolizes the theory of some people that men are strong and have no fear and women are weak.  However, sex doesn’t determine the actions of a person.  Both females and males commit evil and good deeds and their sex doesn’t change this

            Many women have taken a leadership role in society. Just two of them are Hillary Clinton and Margaret Thatcher.  Being one of few women in a political role has its advantages.  Just one of these advantages is that they stand out from the crowd. However, because they standout the public eye is drawn to what they hope is their success, but what could end up being their failure.  With the attention of the public eye on them, women like Hillary Clinton could receive criticism for their actions.  For example, when the video of Hilary crying got out she was perceived by men as weak, but when women saw her they saw her as someone they could relate to and that understood their struggles.  This act by Clinton could be real emotions or just an act to play on the emotions of women across the nation.  No one will ever truly know the truth except for Clinton herself.  

I don’t agree with the statement that for a woman to be considered a legitimate leader, she seems required to dial down her emotions and act the part of a man. The emotions of women are sometimes seen as a downfall to men.  Women are known to feel their emotions, while men are more likely to lock away their feelings.  Women may be seen as weak because of their emotions, but these emotions play on the emotions of other women and give them inspiration and strength to do the same for themselves.  “People cry, not because they’re weak. It’s because they’ve been strong for too long.” This quote shows that the tears that may be shed by women are just a proof that women aren’t as weak as some people perceive, but are strong on the inside.

Can You Learn Anything From a Void?

Adam Kirsch wrote the article, “Can You Learn anything From a Void?,” which details moral dilemmas brought about by the rising of the Nazis and the Jewish Holocaust.  The story focuses closely on the lives of two men, Victor Capesius and Konrad Jarausch. Through this the author showed how the men’s actions during these events made them okay with the crimes occurring around them. In our class we are reading, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare.  The character of Macbeth abuses his power by ordering murderers to execute several innocent people.  The murderers weren’t entirely guilty for the crimes because it really wasn’t their initial intentions, but they are partially guilty because they served  Macbeth’s orders.  In the scenarios such as those presented in Macbeth and the Holocaust, bystanders and onlookers have a responsibility to themselves and those around them.  This responsibility is to stay true to their morals and not push their morals aside in order to “fit in”. In the case of the men who were involved in the Holocaust, they pushed aside their morals in order to save their lives.  Even though their decisions could be justified, this decision cost them.  Their decision caused them to have to be involved in the series of events that occurred during the Holocaust.  For Victor Capesius, the cost of his choice was that he had to lead his friends and family in Auschwitz.  Unfortunately he was told to lead them to the left and therefore into the gas chambers ending their lives. For Konrad Jarausch, he was in charge of POWs.  Unlike Capesius, he felt very guilty for his actions and wrote letters home apologizing. Therefore his decision resulted in an extreme amount of guilt.  In Macbeth, the murders should have done the right thing and not carried out the orders given to them. Those who carry out unjust execution orders are very guilty of murder.  This is because even if they are just doing what they are ordered they are still taking an innocent life.  In the case of the murders from Macbeth, they were ordered to carry out multiple murders and therefore are guilty of murder directly even though it wasn’t their plan in the beginning.  Both of the men from the article, were indirectly guilty of murder because they were involved with the occurrences of the Holocaust. Yes, a person can actively combat the ascendance of evil and maintain their moral convictions.  For a person to do this though they would have to stay to their morals no matter what consequences may be put on them.  In our society today, people find those who sacrifice their lives for what they believe in very heroic. Overall, I believe that Capesius, Jarausch, and the murderers from Macbeth were all wrong.  I believe that even if the ending result for them would have been death they should have followed their morals and refused to carry out the orders.