Essay: Monument 14 / Macbeth

People make decisions oftentimes based on emotions and feelings. Many times, when emotions are involved in critical situations, the logical choice becomes unclear and panic sets in. Furthermore, humans are also highly influenced by the environment in which they live and interact. This concept is often seen in literature works as well as many authors aim to infuse their stories with interesting plot action. The fascinating part of this is the character development and the immediate transformation that happens after decisions are made. After all, the dynamic characters in literature are the creators of amazing plot action. In Monument 14 and Macbeth, Niko and Macbeth are influenced by their environment when making life choices which cause a shift in their respective character attributes.
In the book Monument 14, Niko became a leader of the young children in the Greenway convenience store after the catastrophic weather phenomena and the lack of leadership by his peers. After being a boy scout for many years, he definitely possessed some leadership qualities, yet, he solidified his position as a leader once voted on by his peers. This is the exact interaction that changed his circumstances, as he began to take upon a major role. His confidence boost followed statements like “I know how to survive. I’ll teach you how to survive”(Laybourne 126). This ability came from Boy Scouts, but also from his peers approval. When a man has the trust and respect of a group of people, it is amazing what a man can do and how he can be changed. Niko became a warrior filled of pride and fearlessness. He became a leader and selfless as shown through his acts at the refugee camp in Vancouver. With Josie presumed dead, Niko set it out to find her and rescue the truth. He eventually saves her at the last minute from exposure to lethal chemicals and takes her back to his uncle’s farmhouse. Right before he went to save Josie, ___ said to him “you saved us”, and his response was “but I lost her”(pg 89). This illustrates the level of selflessness that Niko possessed. Many great leaders pride themselves on being selfless, Niko was able to use the situation at hand to establish himself as a leader and exemplify the traits needed to be a great leader.
Macbeth was susceptible to the three witches throughout the play. The three witches seem to control Macbeth throughout the play. While they are not literally controlling him, their prophecies and dialogue has a strong influence on his thought process, thus influencing his actions indirectly. Appearing in the first scene of Macbeth, the three witches the plan to meet once with Macbeth to share his fate. The audience beginning impression of the three witches comes when they exclaim “fair is foul, and foul is fair; Hover through the fog and filthy air” (1.1.12-13). This establishes a sense of mistrust and mysteriousness to the witches as the reader truly has no clue what to expect from theme. Insterestingly, this firs scene is where the role of the witches is shown by Shakespeare as he intends to manipulate Macbeth into mania and criminal activity. The witches were very strong influencers about Macbeths’s rise to the position of King. They often egged him on saying things like “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”, because they knew that this was the desire of Macbeth. They are trying to tempt him by talking about the amazing power that he will soon hold. Macbeth then undergoes a transformation to try to retrieve this power. He commits several devious crimes and is later tempted into murder by the three witches. The consequences of the three witches on Macbeth were negative and Macbeth turned into an evil being because of their prophecies.
​All in all, the collusion of humans and interactions cause a direct impact of individual, personal decisions. In essence, the environment that one inhabits is going to affect their everyday decisions, whether it be peer pressure, greed, fear or lack of all 3, the choices made by people will be skewed due to outside factors. In turn, people transform their lives due to these consequences. For Niko from Monument 14, this meant stepping up and becoming a limitless leader in a dire situation. While in Macbeth, it was Macbeth who was negatively influenced by the three witches, and this causes a path towards the kingdom and murder. Each character went through a change that resulted from choices in their lives.