Ambition is defined as “a strong desire to do or achieve something”, as well as “desire and determination to achieve success”. It is an attribute that everyone holds, but just to different levels. Ambition is the drive that controls us all inside, and forces us to do better. Without ambition, we have nothing. It can be a very positive trait, as without it we would still be hiding inside caves, as we did millions of years ago. No ambition means nothing would push us forward. But, at the same time – it can be extremely destructive. It can impact humans to do dangerous things, that can hurt others as well as ourselves. Ambition is also a present theme throughout many different types of media, including movies, texts, poems, and plays. The Shakespearean play, ‘Macbeth’, the poem ‘Ozymandias’ and the movies ’Gattaca’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ all display the concept of ambition in a different way. This play, poem and these two movies show us both positive and negative effects of ambition, while also teaching us a lesson about it. Throughout these texts, I constantly questioned “Does the value of our ambition change depending on how worthwhile our goals are?”
By now, we are all extremely familiar with the first text I will be speaking on – the Shakespearean play “Macbeth”. The main character Macbeth, starts off as a respected man with many close friends, including the king, Duncan. But, once he hears a prophecy from three witches that he is destined to become king, he becomes fuelled by a huge amount of ambition to make this a reality. Determined to have the power that the title of king holds, soon Macbeth kills the current king Duncan, his best friend Banquo and the entire family of a man who threatened him. At this stage, the ambition he possesses is definitely not something positive. Macbeth achieves his goal of becoming king, but this is not where his story ends. The actions Macbeth took due to his ambition have led him to finish his life defeated and alone, with no friends and no more support . Macbeth describes his life as ‘tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing’. The play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare teaches us that ambition without the support of moral values has no limits. This text shows ambition in a negative light, which is unique as we are always encouraged to ‘never stop dreaming’ and to ‘work hard towards your goals’. But now we can see that ambition is not constantly a good trait to have, what does that mean we should really be taught? Because in this case, Shakespeare is actually warning us about ambition. He makes sure we learn that sabotaging others to achieve your goals is just the beginning of self destruction.
The second text I am discussing, the poem Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley, also warns us about ambition. It tells the story of a great Egyptian pharaoh who was so obsessed about becoming the “King of Kings” that he even had a statue made to replicate him. Similar to Macbeth, the ambition he holds is also focused on negative intentions. A ‘traveller from an antique land’, tells the story behind the statue to the poet. He describes Ozymandias by using terms like ‘sneer of cold command’ and says he had a ‘frown’ and a ‘wrinkled lip’ which lets us know that he was not a kind ruler. His ambition was focused on having a huge amount of power over his people, but the poem shows that he did not do this kindly. However, the statue which replicates him is seen today as a ‘colossal wreck, boundless and bare’. The statue sits alone in the sand, with its face completely shattered. This is a symbol, showing that no matter how much ambition we hold, or what it was for, it too will become wasted. Ozymandias seems to believe that the power he once held will last forever, but his broken and forgotten statue shows what has really happened. This relates to Macbeth with his ‘tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow’ soliloquy. Here, Macbeth realised that all his hard work and ambition to become king actually has no purpose in the end. Everyone ends up dead. And nothing will last forever. Ozymandias and Macbeth both show us a negative side of ambition and remind us to make sure we focus it on something worthwhile.
Now, onto something a little more lighthearted. For some people, their ambition is what changes their lives. It can give previously disadvantaged individuals a new chance to succeed. In movies like ‘Gattaca’ and ‘The Hunger Games’, the ambition the characters hold becomes more valuable than their abilities. ‘Gattaca’, directed by Andrew Niccol, revolves around a character named Vincent. Gattaca is set in the future, where now humans can be modified to be genetically perfect. However, Vincent was born naturally, with no modification. ‘A God Child’. He is viewed as inferior by the world because of this, and is expected to die from his heart condition in his 30s. From a young age, Vincent is determined to go into space and prove that he will find his place in the world. He will not settle for the place his genes give him. He takes the identity of Jerome, a previous olympic swimmer who is now paralysed to go into space. Both characters teach us a lesson about ambition. Vincent uses his ambition to benefit him, and show that our lives are what we create and not what we start out with. There are many symbols that show this ambition throughout the film, a main one being swimming. Since they were children, Vincent and his brother Anton would swim out as far as they could and see who would turn back, or ‘chicken’ out first. Anton, created by eugenics, constantly won. But, one day when they were both adults, the game was played again and Vincent was the winner this time. Vincent says here ‘I never saved anything for the swim back’ meaning that his whole life he had to be more ambitious than anyone else. Jerome, was a previous olympic swimmer who lost all hope in his life after he placed second instead of first in his race. He was meant to be perfect. Created by eugenics. His whole life was meant for swimming. However, he only placed second because he had no drive. Jerome thought that all he needed to succeed were his genes. He had no ambition which led to his loss. This also relates to Vincent’s idea about ambition being more important than our abilities, as both characters are living proof of this.
The Hunger Games also shows ambition in a positive way. The main character, Katniss Evergreen is similar to Vincent as she was also disadvantaged since birth. Katniss lives in a world where there are 12 districts, poor and full of poverty, and one ‘capital’, who have a rich and wealthy society. The capitol controls the districts, and forces them to compete in the televised ‘Hunger Games’ each year as it entertains them. From each district, a boy and a girl from the ages of 12-18 are chosen at random and fight to the death. The one winner receives a prize of food and other essential gifts for their district. Katniss is 17 years old, and has a younger sister Prim who is 12. In her first year of being entered, Prim is chosen to represent her district 12 in the Hunger Games. Katniss, being extremely protective over Prim, volunteers herself for tribute so Prim will not have to fight. This is where her ambition begins, as she becomes ambitious to win for her district and especially for Prim. Katniss tells the interviewer ’I told her that I would try to win. That I would try to win for her’ when he asks what she said to Prim. Despite coming from one of the most poor districts, Katniss still managed to win the games by outsmarting the capital. Katniss’ ambition was positive because she was ambitious for others. Macbeth and Ozymandias’ ambition was negative because the goals they aspired to achieve were selfish. The Hunger Games teaches us that the degree of your ambition, positive or negative, depends on how worthwhile your goal is. For Katniss, the ambition to save her sister and her district is what saved her life in the games and made her a hero.
I asked at the start of my speech “Does the value of our ambition change depending on how worthwhile our goals are?”. I now know that the answer is. Macbeth’s main goal was to be the King of Scotland. However, his true desires were to have the power of that title. Macbeth didn’t care how he achieved his goal. He murdered many and lost his mind as he worked towards it. Shakespeare views his ambition in a negative light because the goal Macbeth held was selfish. Ozymandias had similar selfish intentions. He was ambitious for power. However, he got that power by putting fear into his people and forcing them to respect him. Ozymandias had a replica statue made to preserve his power and fame, but the broken and forgotten remains left of it show how his power is really remembered now. The poet behind Ozymandias was making us understand that our ambition can be viewed as good or bad depending on how our actions have impacted people when we are gone. We all die, we all leave. We must make sure that what we are ambitious for isn’t selfish such as Macbeth or Ozymandias. However, for Vincent in Gattaca, he would never have succeeded without his ambition. His story teaches us that sometimes our ambition becomes more than our abilities. This is also shown through Jerome, a genetically engineered swimmer who lost his race because of his lack of drive. We learnt that the world is what we create it, not what we start out with or what is in our DNA. Katniss from The Hunger Games is another example of this. She lives in a poor and poverty ridden district. However, she held onto her values like being selfless and brave in choosing to volunteer in place of Prim. Katniss’ ambition came from her desire to save her sister and her district. She had a worthwhile goal which made her ambition stronger. So, the next time you set a new goal or become ambitious, remember these texts. Maybe you will begin to ask yourself. Is the goal I am ambitious for really worthwhile, or am I just being selfish?
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