In the beginning, Macbeth and Kurtz were both driven by ambition for their cause, thus leading down the dark path to greed and in the end, their own deaths. Though both were led to the same end, Macbeth and Kurtz were taken there by very different paths. The last straws that led them to their extremism were not that different and fueled by somewhat similar external sources. Macbeth at first had very little ambition and needed to be pushed and prodded, therefore, early on, he had his ambition funded by his wife, Lady Macbeth, and three witches. The witches promised him the throne and glory, as a prophecy. He then felt obligated to claw his way to the top. A large portion of the early ambition was brought on by Lady Macbeth, whom he loved very much, so her rhetoric was even more effective. Through out the book he acted as though he did not attempt to acquire the throne for himself, but for his wife, and to fulfill what was promised to him. He felt a tremendous amount of pressure, which pushed him over the thin line between ambition and greed. Though, as for Kurtz, his ambition was far less innocent than that of Macbeth. Kurtz went to Africa to make money for himself and be as profitable as possible, he still had many similar forces leading to his greed and then his demise. He clearly conveys this when he stated, "[has] no spur/ To prick the sides of [his] intent, but only/ Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself/ And falls on th'other" (Act I, sc. 7). The person who gave them the original ambition was very similar, in both situations the significant other in their lives drove them to do good, but in the end only led them to evil. Kurtz began his trip with the intent to "heavenly mission to civilize" (Conrad, 70), he never had any intention to commit crime or kill, but over time he was driven to greed. He intended to make as much money as possible in as little time as he could but over time became more and more attached to the land and