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Character Sketch: Young Macduff a. k. a "son" In William Shakespeare's "Macbeth", an epic play about blood, glory and pride, Young Macduff's tragic yet heroic life story is revealed. His father of course is Macduff, one of Scotland's most prestigious nobleman, and his mother is Lady Macduff. Macduff was very close to King Duncan and after his untimely death, he always had his suspicions about Macbeth.
He chose not to join Macbeth's coronation and later fled Scotland as a traitor leaving his family alone in a ruthless and chaotic country that Scotland had become known for. These actions led to his family having to fend for themselves and eventually being killed by murderers sent by Macbeth. Young Macduff was killed by murderer's sent by Macbeth. This was Macbeth's attempt to essentially keep Macduff on his heels. This backfired because Macduff vowed to kill Macbeth, and as we all know he kept true to his promise. Moreover, Young Macduff only appears in the play briefly and it is in his own murder scene.
He looks to be a young lad that is a little big for his age, and thus is treated more like a man by people he encounters. He is an average looking boy that dresses in earthy toned robes that represent his down to earth attitude. Young Macduff's character is one that is characterized not by his appearance but more so by his inner being. Infact his name in the play's script is simply "son." I feal this was Shakespeare truly giving Young Macduff a name that is a definition of his character.
He is a son that shows great passion and love for his family and is driven to succeed largely in part to this passion. He is also witty, courageous, and intelligent, a potent combination not only for a child but for a man. Furthermore, young Macduff's intelligent and witt shines amazingly bright during his last conversation. When his mother tells him that his father was a traitor, and traitors are liars that get hanged by the honest men.
He replies to Lady Macbeth by telling her that the traitors must be stupid because there are easily enough traitors to join and hang the honest men. Later he denounces his mother's statement that his father is dead by telling her that if his father truly had been killed she would be crying and since she was not crying it must be a good sign. Both these statements show Young Macduff's witt and interest, but his most important characteristic is his courageous love for his family. Even when his own murderer's spoke ill of his father he shaped and insulted them by calling them shag-eared villas. That leads me to his most courageous and significant line in the play. "He has killed me, mother.
Run away, I pray you!" (IV, II, ll. 90 - 91). This line shows the essence of his courage and love for his family. Even while he is being brutally slayed he looks out for his family and want's them to be saved. He makes an emotional plea to his mother to flea for she is probably the next one to be killed. To continue, Young Macduff's greatest character traits are his intellect, his witt, his love for his family and his courage. These are simply the characteristics of a noble man who is just trying to do the right thing.
Unfortunately two of his best points are also his flaws. He loves his family to a flaw, and he is courageous to the same extent. He didn't have to stand up for his father and he didn't have to plea to his mother but he did and he was courageous enough to do it, even if it meant being killed in a much more brutal manor. Furthermore, Young Macduff is vital to the plot for it is his death that triggers Macduff to kill Macbeth. Even deeper than that, Young Macduff represents Scotland and all that it can be as a witty intellectual powerhouse, but more so, waht it is a nation more in bloody chaotic confusion. You see Young Macduff is Scotland and Scotland is Young Macduff.
Moreover, Young Macduff is a dynamic character in the physical sense. He is introduced than killed off very quickly, but in the charactorial sense he is static. Young Macbeth starts off as being witty and smart with great passion for his family, and leaves in exactly the same manor. However, Young Macduff is a very round character in that he is not only a representation of the Macduff family, he is also a symbol for Scotland itself. For example when he passes on and goes to a better place so does Scotland.
When he was bloody and in turmoil so was Scotland. In conclusion, the play "Macbeth" took part on the soils of Scotland. Young Macduff was Scotland and therefore he was just as important a character as anyone else. Young Macduff not only represented that soil but he represented its spirit, passion, and essence. His name and his countries name were almost synonyms and thus Young Macduff truly was a mirror image of Scotland. Bibliography:
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