<p>Please be honest, as I know I have a lot to work on. Thanks. </p>
<p>Assignment: Can success be disastrous?</p>
<p>Success can often be detrimental if the motive that drives you toward it is greed or selfishness. Although some people uphold the idea that success is equivalent to happiness, these people are too parochial in their perspective. Several examples from literary works clearly demonstrate how success can be disastrous. </p>
<p>In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is a Scottish general who recieves a prophecy from a trio of withces that one day he will become king of Scotland. Consumed by ambition, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. Soon, he is forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from suspicion. The bloodbath causes guilt, paranoia, and eventually, leads to his demise. Macbeth was so driven to be powerful that he stayed focused on that goal but lost his grip on reality. Therefore, Macbeth's actions prove that pursuing success can be detrimental. </p>
<p>In the novel The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby's single-minded pursuit of the American Dream leads to his downfall. As a young boy, Gatsby and Daisy Miller had fallen in love with each other in a pure relationship. After having a taste of wealth at the young age of 17, Gatsby had become obsessed with the idea of wealth and being materialistic. When he did become "successful", it changed him for the worse. His life became built up on lies, including the lenghts he went to creating the books in the library. Gatsby hosted extravagant parties just to show he had it all, when in reality he was empty on the inside. Gatsby became a very lonely man, and although he became so wealthy it could never buy him the love of his life, Daisy Miller. After becoming successful, Gatsby no longer had a pure love for Daisy, because everything for Gatsby was about money. Gatsby died a lonely man, as barely anyone showed up at his grave. Therefore, Gatsby's life proves how succes can be disastrous.</p>
<p>After careful analysis of Macbeth and The Great Gatsby, one can see that success, indeed, if achieved with the wrong intentions, can be dangerous. In the single-minded pursuit of success, people often lose their sight of the present. It is important that success be achieved with responsibility; one must be cognizant of his/her surroundings and know his/her limits.</p>