Erin Connors
Macbeth
Summary –
The play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of witches and then moves to a military
camp, where the Scottish King Duncan hears the news that his generals, Macbeth and Banquo,
have defeated two separate invading armies—one from Ireland, led by the rebel Macdonald,
and one from Norway. Following their pitched battle with these enemy forces, Macbeth and
Banquo encounter the witches as they cross a moor. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will
be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also
prophesy that Macbeth’s companion, Banquo, will beget a line of Scottish kings, although
Banquo will never be king himself. The witches vanish, and Macbeth and Banquo treat their
prophecies skeptically until some of King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for
their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has indeed been named thane of Cawdor.
The previous thane betrayed Scotland by fighting for the Norwegians and Duncan has
condemned him to death. Macbeth is intrigued by the possibility that the remainder of the
witches’ prophecy—that he will be crowned king—might be true, but he is uncertain what to
expect. He visits with King Duncan, and they plan to dine together at Inverness, Macbeth’s
castle, that night. Macbeth writes ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her all that has
happened.
Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband’s uncertainty. She desires the kingship for him and
wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she
overrides all of her husband’s objections and persuades him to kill the king that very night. He
and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black out; the next
morning they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless, as they will
remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a
number of supernatural portents, including a vision of a bloody dagger. When Duncan’s death is
discovered the next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains—ostensibly out of rage at their
crime—and easily assumes the kingship. Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England
and Ireland, respectively, fearing that whoever killed Duncan desires their demise as well.
Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a
group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo on his way to a
royal feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes into the night. Macbeth becomes furious:
as long as Fleance is alive, he fears that his power remains insecure. At the feast that night,
Banquo’s ghost visits Macbeth. When he sees the ghost, Macbeth raves fearfully, startling his
guests, who include most of the great Scottish nobility. Lady Macbeth tries to neutralize the
damage, but Macbeth’s kingship incites increasing resistance from his nobles and subjects.
Frightened, Macbeth goes to visit the witches in their cavern. There, they show him a sequence
of demons and spirits who present him with further prophecies: he must beware of Macduff, a
Scottish nobleman who opposed Macbeth’s accession to the throne; he is incapable of being
harmed by any man born of woman; and he will be safe until Birnam Wood comes to
Dunsinane Castle. Macbeth is relieved and feels secure, because he knows that all men are
born of women and that forests cannot move. When he learns that Macduff has fled to England
to join Malcolm, Macbeth orders that Macduff’s castle be seized and, most cruelly, that Lady
Macduff and her children be murdered.
When news of his family’s execution reaches Macduff in England, he is stricken with grief and
vows revenge. Prince Malcolm, Duncan’s son, has succeeded in raising an army in England, and
Macduff joins him as he rides to Scotland to challenge Macbeth’s forces. The invasion has the
support of the Scottish nobles, who are appalled and frightened by Macbeth’s tyrannical and
murderous behavior. Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, becomes plagued with fits of sleepwalking in
which she bemoans what she believes to be bloodstains on her hands. Before Macbeth’s
opponents arrive, Macbeth receives news that she has killed herself, causing him to sink into a
deep and pessimistic despair. Nevertheless, he awaits the English and fortifies Dunsinane, to
which he seems to have withdrawn in order to defend himself, certain that the witches’
prophecies guarantee his invincibility. He is struck numb with fear, however, when he learns
that the English army is advancing on Dunsinane shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood.
Birnam Wood is indeed coming to Dunsinane, fulfilling half of the witches’ prophecy.
In the battle, Macbeth hews violently, but the English forces gradually overwhelm his army and
castle. On the battlefield, Macbeth encounters the vengeful Macduff, who declares that he was
not “of woman born” but was instead “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb (what we
now call birth by cesarean section). Though he realizes that he is doomed, Macbeth continues
to fight until Macduff kills and beheads him. Malcolm, now the King of Scotland, declares his
benevolent intentions for the country and invites all to see him crowned at Scone
Major Characters –
Macbeth - Macbeth is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is led to wicked thoughts
by the prophecies of the three witches, especially after their prophecy that he will be made
thane of Cawdor comes true. Macbeth is a brave soldier and a powerful man, but he is not a
virtuous one. He is easily tempted into murder to fulfill his ambitions to the throne, and once
he commits his first crime and is crowned King of Scotland, he embarks on further atrocities
with increasing ease. Ultimately, Macbeth proves himself better suited to the battlefield than to
political intrigue, because he lacks the skills necessary to rule without being a tyrant. His
response to every problem is violence and murder. Unlike Shakespeare’s great villains, such as
Iago in Othello and Richard III in Richard III, Macbeth is never comfortable in his role as a
criminal. He is unable to bear the psychological consequences of his atrocities.
Lady Macbeth - Macbeth’s wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position.
Early in the play she seems to be the stronger and more ruthless of the two, as she urges her
husband to kill Duncan and seize the crown. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady
Macbeth falls victim to guilt and madness to an even greater degree than her husband. Her
conscience affects her to such an extent that she eventually commits suicide. Interestingly, she
and Macbeth are presented as being deeply in love, and many of Lady Macbeth’s speeches
imply that her influence over her husband is primarily sexual. Their joint alienation from the
world, occasioned by their partnership in crime, seems to strengthen the attachment that they
feel to each another.
The Three Witches - Three “black and midnight hags” who plot mischief against Macbeth using
charms, spells, and prophecies. Their predictions prompt him to murder Duncan, to order the
deaths of Banquo and his son, and to blindly believe in his own immortality. The play leaves the
witches’ true identity unclear—aside from the fact that they are servants of Hecate, we know
little about their place in the cosmos. In some ways they resemble the mythological Fates, who
impersonally weave the threads of human destiny. They clearly take a perverse delight in using
their knowledge of the future to toy with and destroy human beings.
Banquo - The brave, noble general whose children, according to the witches’ prophecy, will
inherit the Scottish throne. Like Macbeth, Banquo thinks ambitious thoughts, but he does not
translate those thoughts into action. In a sense, Banquo’s character stands as a rebuke to
Macbeth, since he represents the path Macbeth chose not to take: a path in which ambition
need not lead to betrayal and murder. Appropriately, then, it is Banquo’s ghost—and not
Duncan’s—that haunts Macbeth. In addition to embodying Macbeth’s guilt for killing Banquo,
the ghost also reminds Macbeth that he did not emulate Banquo’s reaction to the witches’
prophecy.
King Duncan - The good King of Scotland whom Macbeth, in his ambition for the crown,
murders. Duncan is the model of a virtuous, benevolent, and farsighted ruler. His death
symbolizes the destruction of an order in Scotland that can be restored only when Duncan’s
line, in the person of Malcolm, once more occupies the throne.
Macduff - A Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth’s kingship from the start. He eventually
becomes a leader of the crusade to unseat Macbeth. The crusade’s mission is to place the
rightful king, Malcolm, on the throne, but Macduff also desires vengeance for Macbeth’s
murder of Macduff’s wife and young son.
Malcolm - The son of Duncan, whose restoration to the throne signals Scotland’s return to
order following Macbeth’s reign of terror. Malcolm becomes a serious challenge to Macbeth
with Macduff’s aid (and the support of England). Prior to this, he appears weak and uncertain of
his own power, as when he and Donalbain flee Scotland after their father’s murder.
Themes
Power – Macbeth tried to separate the qualities of a good ruler and a tyrant but eventually
Macbeth becomes a tyrant. He is overcome with greed and once he has a taste of power he
want s more and more
Ambition –The play Macbeth shows that destruction that can come from ambition. Once
Macbeth has a taste of power he becomes unable and unwilling to stop killing, men, women,
and children in order to become king. Macbeth puts his own desires ahead of the good of the
country
The Great Gatsby
Summary
Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, moves to New York in the summer of 1922 to
learn about the bond business. He rents a house in the West Egg district of Long Island, a
wealthy but unfashionable area populated by the new rich, a group who have made their
fortunes too recently to have established social connections and who are prone to garish
displays of wealth. Nick’s next-door neighbor in West Egg is a mysterious man named Jay
Gatsby, who lives in a gigantic Gothic mansion and throws extravagant parties every Saturday
night.
Nick is unlike the other inhabitants of West Egg—he was educated at Yale and has social
connections in East Egg, a fashionable area of Long Island home to the established upper class.
Nick drives out to East Egg one evening for dinner with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her
husband, Tom, an erstwhile classmate of Nick’s at Yale. Daisy and Tom introduce Nick to Jordan
Baker, a beautiful, cynical young woman with whom Nick begins a romantic relationship. Nick
also learns a bit about Daisy and Tom’s marriage: Jordan tells him that Tom has a lover, Myrtle
Wilson, who lives in the valley of ashes, a gray industrial dumping ground between West Egg
and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City with Tom and
Myrtle. At a vulgar, gaudy party in the apartment that Tom keeps for the affair, Myrtle begins
to taunt Tom about Daisy, and Tom responds by breaking her nose.
As the summer progresses, Nick eventually garners an invitation to one of Gatsby’s legendary
parties. He encounters Jordan Baker at the party, and they meet Gatsby himself, a surprisingly
young man who affects an English accent, has a remarkable smile, and calls everyone “old
sport.” Gatsby asks to speak to Jordan alone, and, through Jordan, Nick later learns more about
his mysterious neighbor. Gatsby tells Jordan that he knew Daisy in Louisville in 1917 and is
deeply in love with her. He spends many nights staring at the green light at the end of her dock,
across the bay from his mansion. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and wild parties are simply an
attempt to impress Daisy. Gatsby now wants Nick to arrange a reunion between himself and
Daisy, but he is afraid that Daisy will refuse to see him if she knows that he still loves her. Nick
invites Daisy to have tea at his house, without telling her that Gatsby will also be there. After an
initially awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy reestablish their connection. Their love rekindled,
they begin an affair.
After a short time, Tom grows increasingly suspicious of his wife’s relationship with Gatsby. At a
luncheon at the Buchanans’ house, Gatsby stares at Daisy with such undisguised passion that
Tom realizes Gatsby is in love with her. Though Tom is himself involved in an extramarital affair,
he is deeply outraged by the thought that his wife could be unfaithful to him. He forces the
group to drive into New York City, where he confronts Gatsby in a suite at the Plaza Hotel. Tom
asserts that he and Daisy have a history that Gatsby could never understand, and he announces
to his wife that Gatsby is a criminal—his fortune comes from bootlegging alcohol and other
illegal activities. Daisy realizes that her allegiance is to Tom, and Tom contemptuously sends her
back to East Egg with Gatsby, attempting to prove that Gatsby cannot hurt him.
When Nick, Jordan, and Tom drive through the valley of ashes, however, they discover that
Gatsby’s car has struck and killed Myrtle, Tom’s lover. They rush back to Long Island, where
Nick learns from Gatsby that Daisy was driving the car when it struck Myrtle, but that Gatsby
intends to take the blame. The next day, Tom tells Myrtle’s husband, George, that Gatsby was
the driver of the car. George, who has leapt to the conclusion that the driver of the car that
killed Myrtle must have been her lover, finds Gatsby in the pool at his mansion and shoots him
dead. He then fatally shoots himself.
Nick stages a small funeral for Gatsby, ends his relationship with Jordan, and moves back to the
Midwest to escape the disgust he feels for the people surrounding Gatsby’s life and for the
emptiness and moral decay of life among the wealthy on the East Coast. Nick reflects that just
as Gatsby’s dream of Daisy was corrupted by money and dishonesty, the American dream of
happiness and individualism has disintegrated into the mere pursuit of wealth. Though Gatsby’s
power to transform his dreams into reality is what makes him “great,” Nick reflects that the era
of dreaming—both Gatsby’s dream and the American dream—is over.
Main Characters –
Nick Carraway - The novel’s narrator, Nick is a young man from Minnesota who, after being
educated at Yale and fighting in World War I, goes to New York City to learn the bond business.
Honest, tolerant, and inclined to reserve judgment, Nick often serves as a confidant for those
with troubling secrets. After moving to West Egg, a fictional area of Long Island that is home to
the newly rich, Nick quickly befriends his next-door neighbor, the mysterious Jay Gatsby. As
Daisy Buchanan’s cousin, he facilitates the rekindling of the romance between her and Gatsby.
The Great Gatsby is told entirely through Nick’s eyes; his thoughts and perceptions shape and
color the story.
Jay Gatsby - The title character and protagonist of the novel, Gatsby is a fabulously wealthy
young man living in a Gothic mansion in West Egg. He is famous for the lavish parties he throws
every Saturday night, but no one knows where he comes from, what he does, or how he made
his fortune. As the novel progresses, Nick learns that Gatsby was born James Gatz on a farm in
North Dakota; working for a millionaire made him dedicate his life to the achievement of
wealth. When he met Daisy while training to be an officer in Louisville, he fell in love with her.
Nick also learns that Gatsby made his fortune through criminal activity, as he was willing to do
anything to gain the social position he thought necessary to win Daisy. Nick views Gatsby as a
deeply flawed man, dishonest and vulgar, whose extraordinary optimism and power to
transform his dreams into reality make him “great” nonetheless.
Daisy Buchanan - Nick’s cousin, and the woman Gatsby loves. As a young woman in Louisville
before the war, Daisy was courted by a number of officers, including Gatsby. She fell in love
with Gatsby and promised to wait for him. However, Daisy harbors a deep need to be loved,
and when a wealthy, powerful young man named Tom Buchanan asked her to marry him, Daisy
decided not to wait for Gatsby after all. Now a beautiful socialite, Daisy lives with Tom across
from Gatsby in the fashionable East Egg district of Long Island. She is sardonic and somewhat
cynical, and behaves superficially to mask her pain at her husband’s constant infidelity
Themes
Society and Class – in this book social appearance is very important, those who come from
lower classes envy the glamour and lifestyle that the elite have. The protagonist Jay Gatsby is
able to gain a certain amount of wealth very quickly but his education and social behavior are
not like that of people from “old money” The main locations of the book the East and West Egg
are distinguished by class. The East Egg us “old money” and the West Egg is New Money. The
people from the East Egg look down upon the people in the west.
Love – the book suggest that what people believe to be love is often only a dream. Gatsby
believes that he loves daisy, but actually he just loves a memory of her, he does not see how
much she has changed since he first began to love her. Daisy thinks that she loves Gatsby but in
actuality she just like how much he adores her but she will always stay with Tom because he is
from old money.
Visions of America – in this book America is presented through class, the rich and the poor and
everyone is identified by what they have. The Buchanan’s have an unimaginable amount of
money and nick who is upper-middle-class is allowed many luxuries but not everything he
wants. And finally Gatsby even though he gets a lot of money he is still looked down upon by
people who come from old money
A Tale of Two Cities
Summary
The year is 1775, and social ills plague both France and England. Jerry Cruncher, an odd-job
man who works for Tellson’s Bank, stops the Dover mail-coach with an urgent message for
Jarvis Lorry. The message instructs Lorry to wait at Dover for a young woman, and Lorry
responds with the cryptic words, “Recalled to Life.” At Dover, Lorry is met by Lucie Manette, a
young orphan whose father, a once-eminent doctor whom she supposed dead, has been
discovered in France. Lorry escorts Lucie to Paris, where they meet Defarge, a former servant of
Doctor Manette, who has kept Manette safe in a garret. Driven mad by eighteen years in the
Bastille, Manette spends all of his time making shoes, a hobby he learned while in prison. Lorry
assures Lucie that her love and devotion can recall her father to life, and indeed they do.
The year is now 1780. Charles Darnay stands accused of treason against the English crown. A
bombastic lawyer named Stryver pleads Darnay’s case, but it is not until his drunk, good-fornothing colleague, Sydney Carton, assists him that the court acquits Darnay. Carton clinches his
argument by pointing out that he himself bears an uncanny resemblance to the defendant,
which undermines the prosecution’s case for unmistakably identifying Darnay as the spy the
authorities spotted. Lucie and Doctor Manette watched the court proceedings, and that night,
Carton escorts Darnay to a tavern and asks how it feels to receive the sympathy of a woman
like Lucie. Carton despises and resents Darnay because he reminds him of all that he himself
has given up and might have been.
In France, the cruel Marquis Evrémonde runs down a plebian child with his carriage.
Manifesting an attitude typical of the aristocracy in regard to the poor at that time, the Marquis
shows no regret, but instead curses the peasantry and hurries home to his chateau, where he
awaits the arrival of his nephew, Darnay, from England. Arriving later that night, Darnay curses
his uncle and the French aristocracy for its abominable treatment of the people. He renounces
his identity as an Evrémonde and announces his intention to return to England. That night, the
Marquis is murdered; the murderer has left a note signed with the nickname adopted by French
revolutionaries: “Jacques.”
A year passes, and Darnay asks Manette for permission to marry Lucie. He says that, if Lucie
accepts, he will reveal his true identity to Manette. Carton, meanwhile, also pledges his love to
Lucie, admitting that, though his life is worthless, she has helped him dream of a better, more
valuable existence. On the streets of London, Jerry Cruncher gets swept up in the funeral
procession for a spy named Roger Cly. Later that night, he demonstrates his talents as a
“Resurrection-Man,” sneaking into the cemetery to steal and sell Cly’s body. In Paris,
meanwhile, another English spy known as John Barsad drops into Defarge’s wine shop. Barsad
hopes to turn up evidence concerning the mounting revolution, which is still in its covert stages.
Madame Defarge sits in the shop knitting a secret registry of those whom the revolution seeks
to execute. Back in London, Darnay, on the morning of his wedding, keeps his promise to
Manette; he reveals his true identity and, that night, Manette relapses into his old prison habit
of making shoes. After nine days, Manette regains his presence of mind, and soon joins the
newlyweds on their honeymoon. Upon Darnay’s return, Carton pays him a visit and asks for his
friendship. Darnay assures Carton that he is always welcome in their home.
The year is now 1789. The peasants in Paris storm the Bastille and the French Revolution
begins. The revolutionaries murder aristocrats in the streets, and Gabelle, a man charged with
the maintenance of the Evrémonde estate, is imprisoned. Three years later, he writes to
Darnay, asking to be rescued. Despite the threat of great danger to his person, Darnay departs
immediately for France.
As soon as Darnay arrives in Paris, the French revolutionaries arrest him as an emigrant. Lucie
and Manette make their way to Paris in hopes of saving him. Darnay remains in prison for a
year and three months before receiving a trial. In order to help free him, Manette uses his
considerable influence with the revolutionaries, who sympathize with him for having served
time in the Bastille. Darnay receives an acquittal, but that same night he is arrested again. The
charges, this time, come from Defarge and his vengeful wife. Carton arrives in Paris with a plan
to rescue Darnay and obtains the help of John Barsad, who turns out to be Solomon Pross, the
long-lost brother of Miss Pross, Lucie’s loyal servant.
At Darnay’s trial, Defarge produces a letter that he discovered in Manette’s old jail cell in the
Bastille. The letter explains the cause of Manette’s imprisonment. Years ago, the brothers
Evrémonde (Darnay’s father and uncle) enlisted Manette’s medical assistance. They asked him
to tend to a woman, whom one of the brothers had raped, and her brother, whom the same
brother had stabbed fatally. Fearing that Manette might report their misdeeds, the Evrémondes
had him arrested. Upon hearing this story, the jury condemns Darnay for the crimes of his
ancestors and sentences him to die within twenty-four hours. That night, at the Defarge’s wine
shop, Carton overhears Madame Defarge plotting to have Lucie and her daughter (also Darnay’s
daughter) executed as well; Madame Defarge, it turns out, is the surviving sibling of the man
and woman killed by the Evrémondes. Carton arranges for the Manettes’ immediate departure
from France. He then visits Darnay in prison, tricks him into changing clothes with him, and,
after dictating a letter of explanation, drugs his friend unconscious. Barsad carries Darnay, now
disguised as Carton, to an awaiting coach, while Carton, disguised as Darnay, awaits execution.
As Darnay, Lucie, their child, and Dr. Manette speed away from Paris, Madame Defarge arrives
at Lucie’s apartment, hoping to arrest her. There she finds the supremely protective Miss Pross.
A scuffle ensues, and Madame Defarge dies by the bullet of her own gun. Sydney Carton meets
his death at the guillotine, and the narrator confidently asserts that Carton dies with the
knowledge that he has finally imbued his life with meaning.
Major Characters
Charles Darnay - A French aristocrat by birth, Darnay chooses to live in England because he
cannot bear to be associated with the cruel injustices of the French social system. Darnay
displays great virtue in his rejection of the snobbish and cruel values of his uncle, the Marquis
Evrémonde. He exhibits an admirable honesty in his decision to reveal to Doctor Manette his
true identity as a member of the infamous Evrémonde family. So, too, does he prove his
courage in his decision to return to Paris at great personal risk to save the imprisoned Gabelle.
Sydney Carton - An insolent, indifferent, and alcoholic attorney who works with Stryver. Carton
has no real prospects in life and doesn’t seem to be in pursuit of any. He does, however, love
Lucie, and his feelings for her eventually transform him into a man of profound merit. At first
the polar opposite of Darnay, in the end Carton morally surpasses the man to whom he bears a
striking physical resemblance.
Doctor Manette - Lucie’s father and a brilliant physician, Doctor Manette spent eighteen years
as a prisoner in the Bastille. At the start of the novel, Manette does nothing but make shoes, a
hobby that he adopted to distract himself from the tortures of prison. As he overcomes his past
as a prisoner, however, he proves to be a kind, loving father who prizes his daughter’s
happiness above all things.
Lucie Manette - A young French woman who grew up in England, Lucie was raised as a ward of
Tellson’s Bank because her parents were assumed dead. Dickens depicts Lucie as an archetype
of compassion. Her love has the power to bind her family together—the text often refers to her
as the “golden thread.” Furthermore, her love has the power to transform those around her. It
enables her father to be “recalled to life,” and it sparks Sydney Carton’s development from a
“jackal” into a hero.
Madame Defarge - A cruel revolutionary whose hatred of the aristocracy fuels her tireless
crusade, Madame Defarge spends a good deal of the novel knitting a register of everyone who
must die for the revolutionary cause. Unlike her husband, she proves unrelentingly bloodthirsty, and her lust for vengeance knows no bounds.
Themes
Family- In this novel there are many types of family ties which allows many different
opportunities to compare the ways that the families deal with difficult situations. Because the
aristocracy in France passed on power thought inherited titles and lands, entire families were
targeted by the revolutionist which sparked the new regime. And eventually the novel begins to
show how families fall apart
Loyalty- In this book Charles dickens forces his characters into situations which demand
answers to the questions, Just how much are you willing to sacrifice for the good of the nation?
Does the nation come before your family? Before you own life? But there are no simples
answers to this questions. The Characters learn to honor promises and relationships that are
important to them even if they seem impossible to uphold.