Intro:
What would you do if you wake up one morning and can see a path to your wildest aspirations and dreams, would you follow this path blindly, or cautiously travel the path and take notice and care on every detail. In the case of Macbeth, he charged blindly forwards to meet his fate which, unfortunately for him, turned out to be the worst move possible. In the case of Ernest Shackleton, he did take his time and knew when enough was enough so he could turn back and save the hundreds accompanying him. Ambition can almost be seen as a force of nature, something that acts on things to change the world forever. How you use this ambition can lead you to be revered in years to come or to be hated throughout time.
Main:
Gattaca is a film set in the not so far future where your children are designed and your fate is determined in a urine sample. We watch as a undesigned person, Vincent, try and follow his ambitious dreams only to be shut down by society around him. With a little help, a plan, serious ambition and a fridge full of blood, overcome his ‘disability’ and reach the stars. As he developed as a character, we also see him develop more of a consciousness. Early in the film he is desperate to achieve his goal by any means necessary, rejecting all who could betray him including his own family. Later in the film however we see him make connections with other characters such as Eugene, Irene, somewhat his brother and even the doctor who’s only purpose was to stop people like him. He showed the power of ambition and him and Eugene left no legacy behind… except a fridge full of blood…
On the very other end of the scale, you have the originally noble, popular, loyal and unambitious Macbeth turned crazed leader of Scotland after murdering his friends and some of the royal family. Why? Ambition! Imagine this for me, please. You are wandering through a old and cold Scottish battle field, a figure appears from the mist, who or what is it? MACBETH! YOU! WILL! BE! KING! He was told a piece of his future, the part where he ascended to the throne. At first he dismissed the idea brought forth by the mysterious bag lady but soon his views changed, he liked the idea of power. If Gattaca demonstrates the power of ambition to do good then Macbeth shows us the devastating that unchecked ambition is capable of.
Another ambitious yet cruel character is the once king of kings, Ozymandias. A character who’s only legacy is a broken statue carefully carved to have a look of cold command and a slight sneer. This statue is described in the poem using words such as “vast” and “colossal” giving us a sense of awe and giving the deceased Ozymandias a sense of pleasure and power. The plinth on which his statue lies reads, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” Unfortunately for Ozymandias, all around him is sand. His once great civilisation crumbled to dust only by time. Everything that we do is eventually forgotten and ground to dust no matter our status, our commanded respect, our legacy, our vision, it all counts for nothing.
Or is it? Not all ambition is in stories, ambitious people do exist! You see, unlike Ozymandias who mocked his people, you then have Ernest Shackleton. He was an incredibly determined, motivated and ambitious man who from a young age dreamed of reaching the South Pole. He set out for the Pole 4 times in his life and on the fourth things went badly wrong. His ship was crushed in the polar sea ice and they were stranded about 90 kms away from the pole. He gave up his food, his warm clothes and his warm sleeping bag to the other 27 men aboard trying to survive. Eventually he sailed 800 miles in a modified lifeboat to make contact with the world and rescued all 27 crewmates waiting stranded on Elephant Island. He then later revisited the pole, Elephant Island and the whaling station on South Georgia where he suffered from a heart attack and died. He was forgotten about for a period of about 50 years when he was rediscovered as a legendary hero who would do anything for his men if it got them closer to survival. It was ambition that got Shackelton to the pole, but it was morality and humanity that got them all home. He didnt command nearly as much power or do nearly as much as Ozymandias or as Macbeth, but who do you revere more now?
Conclusion:
4 texts illustrating ambition through 4 different and unique characters. All of them achieved notoriety in their own way, all of them either influencing their society or ruling it. And what do a Scottish king, a social reject, a dusty god and a polar savior have in common? A dream, a dream inspired by ambition.