The Struggle Of Mental Illness

Later on the novel another crime occurs in order to keep Macbeth’s throne safe. Banquo and Fleance are two of the next victims in Macbeth’s hit list. He had murderers to execute his job. The three murderers come back with the news that only Banquo was dead and that Fleance had escaped. Macbeth receives the news during a dinner that was held on the castle, where all members of the royalty were present except Macduff, Banquo, and Fleance. But Banquo was only absent for those who couldn’t see, Macbeth was having illusions with Banquo

Pointing towards the king’s chamber covered in blood, Macbeth acknowledges the dagger’s presence and communicates with it. With mixed feelings, Macbeth encounters contradicting thoughts on executing the king in effort to gain power. The dagger symbolizes Macbeth’s bloody destiny, and Macbeth’s vision of this dagger is one of the many hallucinations and visions that creates a motif of deception throughout the play.

Prior to the assassination, Macbeth explains to the two murderers that he has to keep in good relations with the people around him. "And something from the palace (always thought / that I require a clearness), and with him, / to leave no rubs nor botches in the work" (3.1.131-133). He needs to have the murder take place away from his castle. The scene following the murder of Banquo, the two murderers inform Macbeth of Fleance escaping. When Macbeth learns this knowledge, it seems to shock him and surprise him. Macbeth exclaims in response to hearing the news, "Thanks for that! There the grown serpent lies; the worm that's fled hath / nature that in time will venom breed, no teeth for the present" (3.4.30-33).

Soon after King Duncan is killed, Banquo starts thinking how things can only get better for him, “ Thou hast it now--King, Cawdor, Glamis, all as the Weird Women promised, and I fear thou played'st most foully for't: yet it was said it should not stand in thy posterity, but that myself should be the root and father of many kings. If there come truth from them-- as upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine-- why, by the verities on thee made good, may they not be my oracles as well, and set me up in hope? But hush, no more.” (3.1.1-10). Banquo thinks that he is going to be related to the next king, which the prophecies say will be one of his sons because he has always been noble to King Duncan. Because the three witches told Banquo that his kids would inherit the throne after Duncan, he tries to outshine Macbeth at any chance he gets to try to keep the witches prophecy true. “That, trusted home, Might yet enkindle you unto the crown, Besides the thane of Cawdor. But ‘tis strange: and oftentimes, to win us to harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s In deepest consequence. Cousins, a word, I pray you.” (1.3.120-127). Banquo talks about how trying to be king can tempt people to do evil things. In this particular scene, Banquo shows slight foreshadowing to what may happen later in the play. Macbeth knows that Banquo is his biggest threat to him, so throughout the first couple scenes of the play, Macbeth plans to kill his friend Banquo. Banquo serves his function in the play being the one that poses a threat to Macbeth's expectation of being the next

But, later on in the play we learn by the witched that Banquo's descendants will become King and that they will prosper. It says “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none”, when Macbeth learns about this and hears about it he is scared and then eventually considers Banquo as a threat to him to become King. So Macbeth has to come up with a solution to this and eventually comes up with the solution that he must murder Banquo and his son Fleance. He gets two murders to go out and murder Banquo and his son while they are walking so that his promise of becoming king will not be in jeopardy. This is an ironic act of betrayal because Macbeth and Banquo have been friends for a long time and have done everything together. Banquo was not just his friend he was also the co-commander of the army and had some power in Scotland.

Blood as a motif appears early in the play. In this particular part of the play, blood is shown to represent future acts of violence. While waiting for the signal to enter the king's chamber to kill King Duncan, Macbeth spots an imaginary dagger. Macbeth eyes down the dagger, and sees blood slowly creeping its way down. He proclaims, “And, on thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood,/ Which was not so before” (2.1.58-59). Macbeth is extremely hesitant about committing a regicide against King Duncan, and when he sees the dagger, he is already imagining it covered in King Duncan's blood. This paranoia is representative of the immense presence of violence and fear in the play. At the same time, Macbeth is already feeling guilty for even contemplating whether he should kill King Duncan. Macbeth ends up following through with his and Lady Macbeth’s plan: regicide of Duncan.

After he is named king, Macbeth's misery and eventual downfall is caused by his own insecurities and misguided determination to take control of his future. Firstly, the witches' prophecy concerning Banquo's descendants and Macbeth's feeling of inferiority to Banquo lead Macbeth to arrange for the murder of Banquo and his son, Fleance. Having Banquo around him is a constant reminder to Macbeth of the evil deed he himself has committed and the knowledge that Banquo's, not Macbeth's children, will be

Macbeth is letting his fear get the best of him. He will not let the throne be taken out from under him, so he plans to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, to keep this from happening. “For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; for them the gracious Duncan have I murdered”(III.i.69-70). Macbeth has already murdered Duncan to gain the throne, so if he has to kill more people to keep it, that is what he is going to

Killing a friend over not becoming apart of his plan in becoming a king became a big part of this play. Macbeth goes crazy after with visions but continues on with his plan. When Banquo was talking to Macbeth about everything he said,“I think you have come about your title most foully”(3.1.122). Banquo was a threat from the start, since he was told the prophecies by the witches. Therefore, he had to be killed from the start along with his son. Unfortunately for Macbeth, his murders didn’t carry out the full task, of killing Banquo and his son, Fleance. The murders slit Banquo's throat, but fleance escaped before they could kill him. Afterwards the murder came to Macbeth when he has guests in his house. Macbeth had a dinner with many friends including Banquo who was invited but never showed up because of his murder.

Macbeth’s first hallucination occurs when he sees a dagger with blood and believes it to be real until he realizes it is not real: “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.” (2.1.44-47). The dagger foreshadows Macbeth’s future path of blood and death.

Forget all the stereotypes of mental illness. It has no face. It has no particular victim. Mental illness can affect an individual from any background and the black community is no exception. African Americans sometimes experience even more severe forms of mental health conditions because of unmet needs and barriers to treatment. According to the Office of Minority Health, African Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population. That’s why UGA third year Majenneh Sengbe is taking action as the co-founder of her upcoming organization Black Minds Daily.

After killing King Duncan , Macbeth is starting to realize what it is that he has done, and becomes suspicious and paranoid of everyone around him by puting spy's in every castle and killing those who are any treat to him what so ever. Banquo is the only other person who knows of the meeting with the witches and he would assume that it was Macbeth who killed the King. The witches also said that Banquo would beget kings but he himself would never be king after Macbeth, and so Macbeth decides that Banquo is a threat to him. To get rid of the treat with banquo he decides to kill him and his son Fleance.

When Macbeth imagines that there is a bloody dagger before him even before he is about to kill Duncan, it represents his guilt even before he has committed any crimes. Macbeth has planned the entire act of killing Duncan and as he walks to Duncan's room, he hallucinates that there is a bloody dagger sitting before him, inviting him to kill Duncan. This bloody dagger is a window to Macbeth's future of guilt after killing the king. Even before Macbeth has done a deed he feels guilty for what he is about to do. This dagger is there as a warning for what is to come in his future if he does kill the king.

As a result to his acts Macbeth goes on to witness several hallucinations. The first hallucination was one of a ghostly dagger in Act II scene i. Macbeth sees the dagger and says, "Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee" (II.1.33-34). A dagger is what Macbeth used to kill Duncan, so this was a way of foreshadowing what was to come.

In the beginning of Act III Macbeth had just been crowned king. His prophecy had been fulfilled and that only leaves Banquo's prophecy left, that his son will become king one day. This poses a threat to Macbeth since there is a chance of being dethroned. In order to prevent the risk of Banquo and his son, Fleance, Macbeth devises a murder for both of them. When Banquo informs Macbeth that he will be returning to the castle after dark Macbeth saw it as a perfect time to plot the murder. In the dark, it is easier to hide in shadows and surprise attack Banquo and Fleance. This gives Macbeth the opportunity to avoid any suspicion coming towards him since he will be at the Banquet with other citizens being eyewitnesses.