macbeth and frankenstein comparative essay

Macbeth & Frankenstein: Compare & Contrast Essay

Introduction, frankenstein’s monster & macbeth: supernatural qualities of the characters, works cited.

In 1818, Mary Shelley published her most famous novel – Frankenstein, which became incredibly popular, and which is often thought to have spawned the whole genre of Science Fiction in literature. It has been praised for its originality and appeals to wide audiences while at the same time having great artistic value.

On the other hand, Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare around the year 1605. Apart from their popularity and fame, at first glance, one would have trouble finding any similarities between the two works. Frankenstein is a science-fiction novel written in the Gothic tradition in the 19th century, while Macbeth is a classic play written in the Elizabethan period by William Shakespeare.

However, on a closer look, it is easy to see how these two works are very similar when it comes to the overall message and idea. This is particularly evident when we compare the character of Macbeth with that of Frankenstein’s monster in terms of their tragic flaws. The transformations that corrupted Frankenstein’s creature and Macbeth are both triggered by envy, making these two characters analogous.

First off, it is important to realize how Frankenstein’s monster and Macbeth were not corrupted from the beginning, but rather that the corruption was something that happened to them. The first impression the characters give is not that of someone who can easily become corrupted.

In the being of the play, we assume that Macbeth is akin to the king, a loyal soldier, and a person “full of the milk of human kindness.” We expect nothing evil from Macbeth until the witches approach him for the first time. His hunger for power increased after realizing that becoming a king is an open possibility. Frankenstein’s creature, on the other hand, used to be “kinder, more loving, and more poetic than his creator (Bissonette 110).

All that Frankenstein’s creature ever wanted was to be accepted by humans. He helped the family in the cottage to do the chores. He learned the language and the way in which humans interact so he could have a chance of acceptance. They both fell into evil because of their desire. Their tragic flaw was that their desire was stronger than their morals. Both of these characters started out as innocent beings but then turned into beasts.

A beast is depicted as a cruel, filthy, inhuman creature. Macbeth and Frankenstein are great examples of beasts. Macbeth shows no emotion towards the things that should matter to him. When Lady Macbeth committed suicide, Macbeth only uttered the following words, “She should have died hereafter; / there would have been a time for such a word.” (Shakespeare 5.5.18).

The realization that his wife is dead did not affect him on the emotional level. His killing spree caused him to become heartless and inhuman. Macbeth changed from a person “full of milk and human kindness” into a person for whom “death has no meaning (Waith 66)” Macbeth was willing to kill his friends and slaughter a whole family to get what he wants.

We can clearly see that Macbeth is really a symbol of a Machiavellian character in the world of literature when Eugene Waith (64) says, “His mental torments grows out of the conflict between the narrow concept of man as the courageous male and the more inclusive concept of man as a being whose moral nature distinguishes him from the beast” While Macbeth became a beast, Frankenstein’s creature really was a beast, at least in the physical sense. His physical appearance is nothing like the human body. As Kate Ellis puts it:

Had Victor not been so furtive about his desire to astound the world, he might have allowed himself time to make a creation his own size, one who mirrored the whole of him, not just the part of himself he cannot bring home. Nobody would accept him. He is just a beast in everyone’s eyes. Robert Walton could not recognize the sight he saw “a being that had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature” (Shelly 13)(Ellis)

However, when he saw Victor Frankenstein, he immediately recognized him as a human and pulled him aboard to help him. Frankenstein’s creature, similarly to Macbeth, became a beast on the inside, too. Frankenstein’s creature murdered everyone who mattered to Victor, and he did anything he could to get revenge on his creator.

These characters are good examples of beasts, but, again, they were not beasts from the start; it is rather that their personalities contained tragic flaws, which lead them to become ones. The difference, as I see it, is only in that Macbeth’s flaw was within himself, but Frankenstein’s creature became a beast out of the feeling of rejection and despair.

Both of these characters are creations for someone else’s benefit. Macbeth was happy with the power and the rank he already had, but people incited him to think differently. It all started when the weird sister told Macbeth of a prophecy of becoming king.

Without the weird sister, Macbeth would not have thought about killing Duncan. Lady Macbeth persuaded Macbeth to assassinate the king for her own benefits. The only way for her to gain power was to use Macbeth’s advancement and gain more power as he becomes more and more influential.

Things changed once the first murder happened. Macbeth became a new person, a person who can kill anyone that stands in his way, even friends and family. It is as Bernance Kliman says, “her [lady Macbeth’s] actual power over Macbeth, now that the murder has been committed is diminishing” (Kliman 73). This is because, after that, Macbeth’s ethical views change, and he himself becomes thirsty for blood and power.

Frankenstein’s creature is a creation of Victor Frankenstein for a reason, which is also, in a way, related to power. Victor Frankenstein created the creature for fame, fortune, and to be recognized as the father of a branch science. Victor Frankenstein is “trying to play God or usurp divine power in order to get fame” (Baldick 43). At the point when he succeeded in creating life, we become “confronted immediately by the displacement of God and woman from the acts of conception and birth” (Ellis).

The realization that humans are able to create life causes an immense feeling of power and self-sufficiency. Victor Frankenstein never thought about what the consequences of creating life would be. He rushed into it and did not even realize what his creation could be like until it actually came to life. “Victor doesn’t value the life he is to create so much as what the creation will give him (Lunsford 175)”.

If he had actually looked at what he was creating, instead of thinking only about the fame that the creation would give him, maybe he would have thought about it a little more. Once the creature came to life, he fled because the creature’s appearance was too monstrous and scary. “Victor’s worst sin is not the creation, but his refusal to take responsibility for it. It is as though God had withdrawn from his creation (Ellis)”.

It is true that knowledge is power and power corrupts, and Macbeth and Frankenstein’s creature are two pieces of evidence for that claim. Knowing that he can become a king caused Macbeth to become a monster. Knowing something that should not be learned corrupts the mind, “knowledge is shown to be double-edged, it has benefits and hazards.” Since Macbeth knows that becoming a king is not an impossible task, he starts to strive for it.

An example of this is when he says, “Stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires” (Shakespeare 1.4). Frankenstein’s creature, on the other hand, is quite different. If Victor Frankenstein had not had the knowledge or the motivation to create life, the monster would not have been made in the first place. Victor is an example of how having the wrong kind of knowledge can cause evil.

In other words, the knowledge itself is not valued neutral – there are simply facts about the world that are dangerous to know. Another way in which knowledge corrupted Frankenstein’s creature is the fact that he learned his true identity. Frankenstein’s creature believed that he resembles Adam in the sense that both of them have no knowledge. He realized that he is not like Adam and that he is more like Satan because Adam is a creation of God, and he ate the fruit of knowledge.

When he learned more about the lost paradise, he realized that he is very similar to Satan because Satan is a fallen angel. Realizing that he is not like one of the characters in Paradise Lost, lead him to conclude that he is a monster. This was when he decided to take revenge on Victor Frankenstein and kill everyone close to him. It is as Chris Baldick (54) says, “The condition of solitude cannot be cured, only sharpened, by knowledge.”

Both of these characters are victims of their own culture. The time setting of the story in Macbeth is in medieval times. During that time, status was the most important thing. Macbeth’s culture contributed to his desire for power and advancement through the ranks. Lady Macbeth urged Macbeth to kill Duncan and become a king because, at that time, people would do anything to rise in status and create a better future for themselves and their heirs.

Frankenstein’s creature is a victim of his culture, too. It is society that rejected him so he is, then, only a metaphor of a monster. Frankenstein’s creature is not really a monster. It is just that people see him as one. Frankenstein’s creature is actually a caring and loving person. He just needs to be accepted and not judged by his appearance.

The aspect of the supernatural is common to both characters. Macbeth caused supernatural occurrences when he killed Duncan. The play, as a whole, deals with the supernatural to a great extent.

The weird sisters cast spells, hover through the fog of filthy air, and even set a prophecy. Once Macbeth killed Duncan, everything just started to become supernatural. An example of this is when an owl killed a falcon, “A falcon, towering in her pride of place, was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed” (Shakespeare 2.4) and when horses started eating each other.

Another supernatural occurrence is when Macbeth is haunted by Banquo’s ghost and the scene when Macbeth sees the future kings. Frankenstein’s creature is, in a way, supernatural too because it is very disputable whether humans will ever become so knowledgeable as to create life. The creation of Frankenstein’s creature defies God and life. The creature is supernatural because he is made out of other people’s body parts.

Macbeth and Frankenstein’s monster are quite different, as well. Macbeth is more vicious and proud. Macbeth cold-bloodedly “cut [Duncan] from the nave to th’ chops, and fixed his head upon the battlement (Shakespeare 1.2.21)” Macbeth had no emotion. When Lady Macbeth died, he did not care and only said that she would have died anyway. Even though Macbeth knew he was going to die, he still fought till his death, “at least we will die with the harness on our back (Shakespeare 5.6.50).”

He knew his death is inevitable because the forest began to move, and he met someone that was not born of a woman – Macduff. Macbeth never regretted what he had done, but Frankenstein’s creature did. The creature is ashamed of the fact that he became a murderer. Unlike Macbeth, when Frankenstein’s creature noticed that Victor died, he was miserable and could not come to terms with what he had done. Victor Frankenstein was the only person that the creature could talk to and his only chance for acceptance.

Finally, there is one crucial difference that has to be mentioned, and that is the fact that Macbeth had a lot more control over his destiny and should, therefore, be thought of as responsible for his downfall much more than Frankenstein’s creature. In the case of Frankenstein’s creature, we can clearly identify several points at which other people determined his destiny.

The first point was when Victor created him without much consideration about the consequences. The second major point was when the family with which he spent time also rejected him for fear of being themselves rejected by the community. It is only after these two events took place that we could say that the creature should not have exerted such an act of terrible revenge upon his creator.

On the other hand, in the case of Macbeth, we did identify two external contributors to his downfall (his wife and the cultural setting), but it is clear that he was in a much better position than Frankenstein’s monster. What he simply needed to do was to reject any ideas of committing immoral acts for the sake of gaining power. Therefore, it is natural to conclude that more blame should be placed on Macbeth because he clearly had more of choice.

In conclusion, although it might appear that there is no basis for comparing Frankenstein’s creature and Macbeth, it seems that they are fundamentally similar in a number of ways, but they also have quite a few differences. I have pointed out that neither of them was corrupted from the start, and that corruption was rather something that happened to them.

In addition, it might be argued that the cause of their downfall was at least to an extent external to them, although this claim is much stronger in the case of Frankenstein’s monster. Furthermore, the search for knowledge and power also played an important role in the downfalls of both of them, the only difference being that in the case of the monster, the terrible consequences came as a result of somebody else’s search for knowledge.

The basic difference, which I would point out, is that it seems that Macbeth had more control over his destiny and thus had more responsibility for his downfall, while Frankenstein’s monster was, in fact, a result of a series of unfortunate events, and other people’s errors.

Baldick, Chris. In Frankenstein’s shadow: myth, monstrosity, and nineteenth-century writing. Oxford [Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press ; 1987. Print.

Bissonette, Melissa. “Teaching the Monster: Frankenstein and Critical Thinking.” College Literature 37 (2010): 106-120. Print.

Ellis, Kate. “Monsters in the Garden.” Frankenstein: The Pennsylvania Electronic Edition. N.p., n.d. Web. < http://knarf.english.upenn.edu/Articles/ellis1.html >.

Kliman, Bernice W. Macbeth. Manchester: Manchester University Press ;, 1992. Print.

Lunsford, Lars. “The Devaluing of Life in Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN.” The Explicator 68 (2010): 174-176. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Print.

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein. Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Library, 1996. Print.

Waith, Eugene. “Manhood and Valor in Two Shakespearean Tragedies.” ELH: a Journal of English Literary History 17 (1950): 63-66. Print.

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Compare the ways in which Macbeth and Frankenstein are presented as flawed heroes.

Neither Macbeth or Frankenstein are monsters, in fact at the start of their stories (in a time sense) both show acts of courage and loyalty, this however is destroyed by their vaulting ambitions. Frankenstein is keen to have power over nature, and conquer death by creating life however he creates a monster that should not live, this then destroys his loved ones and eventually Frankenstein. Macbeth also has a huge ambition and moves from a trustworthy valiant warrior to a murderer full of deceit who destroys every threat to become king and remain king. Macbeth by Shakespeare conforms to many of Aristotle’s characteristics of a tragic hero, where the hero starts heroic but has a major flaw which destroys him. Whereas Frankenstein is created on the back of fears to Galvanism in the 19 th  century and the main character is the representative of the scientists.

The structure of Frankenstein makes it evident that his tale will be a cautionary one as he retells the story of his misguided mission. Frankenstein can be viewed as a flawed character from the start as he is seen through Walton’s eyes as a destroyed being which is emphasized when compared to the monster. Walton describes Frankenstein on “the brink of destruction”, and describes how he “never saw a man in so wretched a condition.” This in comparison to the monster who Frankenstein is meant to be chasing is shocking, “gigantic structure” who was making “rapid progress”. From the start of the book we know that the hero Frankenstein will slowly be destroyed by his own creation, while the monster will stay strong. However although Walton sees him shattered in both body and mind he views Frankenstein as “a noble creature” much like Macbeth at the start of the book is seen as a “worthy gentlemen” and “noble Macbeth”. However the contrast between the two figures at the start is huge while Macbeth was in his prime Frankenstein had seen “better days”. Shakespeare has delayed Macbeth’s entrance to establish him through other people’s eyes as a military hero who seems entirely trust worthy and a military hero. Duncan describes Macbeth as a “valiant cousin” and gave Macbeth a “smack of honour” and tributes him by giving him the title of “Thane of Cawdor”. This makes Macbeth seem completely loyal to the king and makes his betrayal seem worse as the King had honoured Macbeth and trusted him.

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Both Frankenstein and Macbeth have idealistic ambitions which although they succeeded in lead to their downfall. Frankenstein has an ambition to have power over nature, over life and death, to create a living being from lifeless material, a super hero of the humans, who is not only bigger and stronger than the rest but also the most beautiful. Frankenstein had “selected his features as beautiful” with “luxurious black hair” and “pearly white teeth”, however this made the monster seem all the worse “a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes”. The eyes are meant to be the soul of a person, so Mary Shelley might have made the monster soulless to show that Frankenstein had not really created life just something that can move and think. Both Macbeth and Frankenstein’s flaws become evident very quickly Frankenstein has an obsessive nature right from the start to learn knowledge pouring over the books of “Cornelius Agrippa” and other ancient scientists, even as a boy he had a “fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature”. Shakespeare was also very quick to identify Macbeth’s flaw as he immediately realises after the witches prophecy that murdering Duncan is the fastest way to the throne within the same scene “murder yet is but fantastical”. Although the murder to Macbeth seems “fantastical” at the start within another 67 lines he is actively plotting the murder.

Macbeth is much more self aware in his wrong doing and evilness while Frankenstein is so absorbed in his creation that he fails to see his flaw. Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 2 scene 1 lines 33-61 show that he is not comfortable in murdering Duncan when he speaks of his “vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself” but cannot resist the attraction of becoming King. Frankenstein on the other hand was completely taken over by his ambition and would go to any length to get it, “Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil” but even more alarming “had lost all soul or sensation for this one pursuit” in a “passing trance”. This makes Frankenstein seem less evil as he seemed to have no choice of what he was doing because of the “frantic impulse that urged” him forward. Frankenstein tries to make up for his mistake by trying to first negotiate with the monster, and finally to try to kill the monster, “I sware… to pursue the daemon until he or I shall perish in mortal conflict.”  Whereas Macbeth after the murder of Duncan consciously chose to keep murdering “I am in blood Stepped in so far… Returning were as tedious as go o’er”. Macbeth did not try to make up for his flaw but just try and rid it by killing so much eventually he would free himself of the horrors he had done.

Shelley uses gothic and almost God-like imagery similarly Shakespeare uses the contrast between light and dark, both to emphasize the unnatural and horrific actions of the heroes. Frankenstein thinks that by creating life he will “pour a torrent of light into our dark world” this God-like imagery enhanced by “A new species would bless me as its creator” shows Frankenstein’s naivety and arrogance. However Frankenstein goes to “unhallowed damps of the grave” and “charnel-houses” in a “solitary chamber... separated from all other apartments”. These idea of “Unhallowed” completely contrast Frankenstein’s idea of being holy and God-like. Shelley uses gothic ideas to increase a sense of wickedness and abnormality to the creation these include isolation Frankenstein living in “solitary” and the monster was created in “a dreary night of November” not in the spring which is usually associated with new life but in the autumn which is associated with death and decay. Frankenstein’s toils have many associations with darkness again a gothic idea in his “midnight labours” with the “candle almost burnt out”. Macbeth is also full off dark images contrasting them with light to show Macbeth slowly becoming more evil. At the start of the play Duncan describes Macbeth “like stars, shall shine” this image of Macbeth and light is responded to by Macbeth a few lines later saying “Let not the light see my black and deep desires”. As the play goes on darkness becomes increasingly attached to Macbeth especially before commiting murder, he calls the “seeling night” to “Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day”. The darkness shows that Macbeth has entered a world of horror and nightmare, and as the darkness increases around Macbeth it shows him slowly becoming more and more evil until finally he is driven insane.

Both Macbeth and Frankenstein are presented as flawed heroes, with both noble at the start however both destroyed by their one major fault. Macbeth especially started off as very noble with his delayed entrance creating a sense of ore before he entered the stage. He was described with associations to light at the start of the play however as the play went on there were more connotations of darkness as he became more immoral. From the start Frankenstein life was always a cautionary tale as the book started off with Frankenstein almost destroyed, so throughout the book his acts of nobleness seemed lesser. Again in Frankenstein there were associations with light and darkness, the light often God-like was Frankenstein’s ambition however the darkness was what actually occurred. Both Frankenstein and Macbeth’s flaws was their ambition, Macbeth however was much more self-aware of his ambition and the effects of it however he could not resist it. A big difference between Frankenstein and Macbeth was the treatment of the lovers, Lady Macbeth was very behind Macbeth’s ambition, whereas Elizabeth was not at all behind Frankenstein. This may explain the difference in response between the two heroes, Frankenstein tried to put make up for his mistake, whereas Macbeth accepted in and continued in his evil ways.  

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English Works

Macbeth as the basis for a comparative essay

Macbeth and waterfront: a study in conscience and power.

(Dr Jennifer Minter, English Works Study Notes, 2017)

See below for a sample of comparative key ideas between the characters/views and values in both texts

• Macbeth and Terry : their struggle with their conscience. What prompts their moral conflict and how do they resolve it?
• The characters of corruption: the mob and Lady Macbeth : compare their views about life, evil and greed/power.
• The principled characters: Edie and Banquo

Macbeth and his conscience = he commits ever more evil deeds as he compromises his honour and his wellbeing

Macbeth struggles with his conscience. He knows that because of the murderous deed he has “killed Sleep’.   He also knows that he has compromised his honour and set himself up as a target of suspicion. To deal with his guilt, he believes that if he keeps killing he will become desensitized to the guilt and pain. He realizes that “My strange and self abuse/ Is the initiate fear, that wants hard use, We are yet but young in deed.” 125/57  He is particularly alarmed and shamed by  Banquo, because he also witnessed the prophecies. He knows that Banquo takes a principled stance and refuses to compromise his nobility as he has done. He also is angry that he has committed the deed indirectly for Banquo’s sons.  At the end, his life appears futile and meaningless to him because he has sacrificed his nobility and humanity. He has become so desensitized that he no longer feels any compassion and the night shrieks no longer arouse him.

Terry and his guilt and his conscience  = doing good deeds to win Edie’s affection and to satisfy his own need for honour/respect. He shows courage.

Terry is uneasy about his allegiance to the mob and his involvement in Joey’s death. He lured Joey to the top of the tower and the mob “leaned” on him. He is increasingly drawn to Edie and respects her courage and her search for justice. His confession to Edie provides a turning point in his life because it is the first time that he has broken the “deaf and dumb” code to an outsider, which is to endanger his life and he is constantly threatened by Johnny Friendly. Terry tells Edie “you’re the best thing that ever happened to me”.    During the confession scene, Kazan positions Edie and Terry on the hill in the distance. This literally shows Edie’s moral superiority to the longshoremen.  Prior to Terry’s confession, there is a sudden burst of light around the protagonist, which symbolises Terry’s honesty.

The power of the mob = corruption and deceit

The waterfront is dominated by the power of Johnny Friendly’s mob, who seek to enrich themselves through corrupt business tactics.  Kazan depicts Johnny Friendly in and his gang in pseudo-business like attire to draw attention, ironically, to his corrupt and powerful business enterprise on the wharf that dooms the longshoremen to a life of servitude.  They rule the wharf through physical and psychological intimidation. They threaten anyone who breaks the perverted loyalty codes, the “deaf and dumb codes” that turn the longshoremen into victims.  The competitive fight for the tokens on the wharf literally shows the “dog eat dog” environment that belittles and dehumanises the men.   Kazan uses circus-like music to reinforce their animal-like behaviour as they become play-things of the bosses.   Longshoremen such as Joey and Andy, who seek to reveal the truth about the corrupt tactics on the waterfront, are killed.

Responsibility and the choices we make  = good and bad.

Both Shakespeare and Kazan suggest that the individual has the moral responsibility to make choices. Both suggest that individuals should follow their conscience. Shakespeare suggests that Macbeth has the responsibility to choose. He is diminished and morally ruined because of poor choices and his ruthless ambition

Lady Macbeth and responsibility.  Pursuit of evil (Johnny Friendly)

Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a corrupt and evil “witchlike figure” who, “as a partner of greatness” is obsessed with ambition and power. Like the witches before her, she targets Macbeth’s vulnerabilities, such as his desire for power, in order to convince him that he should overcome his fear, unlike the “cat in th’adage” and cease the object of desire.  She deliberately cloaks herself in “direst cruelty” in order to goad Macbeth. For example, she convinces him that he should not break a “promise”; rather he should have the courage to become “what thou art promis’d”. She implies that he is weak and cowardly if he does not ruthlessly pursue his ambitious goals: “when you durst do it then you were a  man ”…

Lady Macbeth sweeps aside her principles and conscience.

She intimidates Macbeth just as the mob intimidate the longshoremen (Johnny friendly intimidates Terry).   Like the corrupt waterfront officials, she overlooks her principles and believes that “water clears us of this deed”.  She convinces Macbeth that it is possible to dismiss one’s conscience by becoming tough and ruthless. She believes that conscience is “child’s play” and should not separate the courageous person from their goal even if it is evil.  She belittles Macbeth’s nobility of character believing that he should show mind over matter and take what he believes is rightfully his. To her, conscience is “brainsickly” and is child’s play. She convinces him that a “little water clears us of this deed” and that only the “infirm of purpose” would dare hesitate as Macbeth does.

Macbeth and choices and responsibility  – because of his ambition, he makes the wrong choice

To the extent that Macbeth is aware of his fatal flaw, his ambition, Shakespeare suggests that Macbeth has a choice, and that, sadly, he makes the wrong choices. He wields the dagger and does not heed his conscience. Macbeth knows that his uncontrollable ambition is fuelling his evil desires.  Because of his “overleaping” ambition he places too much trust in the witches (he states that they have “earnest of success” and refers to the prophecies as “ perfectest report”) Sensing his ambition, the witches are able to play their “hurly burly” and create moral confusion. Also, before he greets Lady Macbeth, Macbeth reveals his capacity for deception owing to the fact that King Duncan did not appoint him as successor. He states, “let not light see my deep and dark desires.”  As a result, the prophecies set in train the nightmarish sequence of events.  Unfortunately, Macbeth does not have the strength of mind like Banquo to follow his conscience.  He is swayed by Lady Macbeth’s notion of “manly” strength and a promise.

Terry and choices:  loyalty to Charley and loyalty to the “mob”

Terry wants to make his own decisions, and follow his conscience. This involves testifying at the Commission which sets him up in direct conflict with the mob and with Charlie. Terry’s dilemma is that he knows there will be serious consequences if Charlie does not convince him to change his decision.   Terry believes that early in life Charlie set him up for failure when he gave in to the demands of the mob and made Terry lose a key fight. Terry states, “you should have looked after me a little.” Terry expresses his regrets. He states, “I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum. Which is what I am”.

Encouraged by Father Barry, he pursues his principles.  When Terry said that if he “spilled”, his “life ain’t worth a nickel”, Father Barry immediately replied, “And how much is your soul if you don’t”. Father  Barry encourages him to rid himself of the “monkey on his back”, Terry makes the important decision to “rat”.   Charlie pays a high price. Charlie states, “I will tell him (Johnny Friendly) that I couldn’t find you… ten to one he won’t believe me.”

Edie and Banquo

Edie challenges Terry to examine his conscience. Her moral simplicity and courageous pursuit of the truth shame Terry into action. She is pervaded by a sense of injustice and constantly tells Terry that “things are so wrong”. She forces him to think about the ethical consequences of his actions and the interconnectedness of human nature. When asked whose side Terry was with, he naively replied “Me? I’m with me – Terry”, which she dismisses as an impossible narcissistic and selfish position. She impresses upon him that “everyone is a part of everybody else”. Her angelic soul helps Terry reclaim his conscience, as her modesty and truthfulness open up new horizons, but he is troubled by her demands. He tells her to return to the seminary because she is “driving me and you nuts”.

Shakespeare constructs parallel characters such as Banquo and Macbeth who are linked through the witches’ prophecies. Significantly the witches greet both the kinsmen on the heath.  Macbeth appears to become overly engrossed in the witches and interprets their prophecies as a sign of destiny. Contrastingly, Banquo questions the witches; he recognises their tendency towards deception and thereby impugns (call into question/criticise) Macbeth’s response.  (Include quotes). He implies that he is too quick to place his trust in unworthy sources. Shakespeare therefore opens up a space of free will, but also highlights the debilitating impact of Macbeth’s ambition.

The costs; death; Charley’s death : sacrifices for power 

Kazan depicts Charley in a heroic and symbolic way by sacrificing himself for his brother. The director uses Charley’s shady past and upbringing to show that Charley is immoral and took advantage of his brother’s talent as a boxer to ingratiate himself with the mob. Charley realises that his duty to the mob caused him to neglect his responsibility to his brother and he makes the ultimate sacrifice. The butcher’s hook becomes a symbol of the price he has to pay to save Terry. Depicted as a Christ like figure, Kazan shows that redemption, even for the antagonist is possible. Kazan’s use of the critical car scene depicted the passing on of Charley’s remaining life to Terry and his ethical anguish through the passing of the gun. Charley’s brave stance was planned by Kazan to illustrate the moral conflict and how it was overcome by Charley ‘the Gent” Malloy.

Compare Charley’s demise with Macbeth’s death: complete futility

After the death of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth reflects upon the futility of life and upon the fact that time will always triumph.  Life is metaphorically referred to as a “brief candle” and as a “walking shadow”.  He states that she “should have died hereafter” referring to the fact that death is inevitable.  Macbeth acknowledges the pain and suffering of life that is just a brief interlude in an endless stretch of eternity. The person is compared to an actor who “struts and frets his hour upon the stage”. The repetition of “tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” highlights the relentlessness of life and the “dusty death” that reduces the individual to insignificance.  Macbeth does not refer to the full consequences of his evil deed, but concentrates on the mockery of life that becomes like a tale “told by an idiot”. He thinks that it signifies “nothing”, which is to annul one’s deeds – extinguished by a mere breath: “out, out  brief candle”.

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Comparative Essay on Macbeth, Mr Hyde and Frankenstein Characters

Introduction.

Three supernatural men display extraordinary human qualities and abilities in this play. The play contains a Man by the name Macbeth who was a former intelligent general of Scotland. There is also this other smooth-faced supernatural man who had two combating personalities by the name Edward Hyde a wicked and dreadful creature and another named Jekyll Henry the compassionate and humorous man. Also, there is this other supernatural being called Frankenstein who had the power and ability to create and bring the dead back to life. The four (more precisely three but one of them being a two in one man) manifested unusual traits that are not common to normal human beings (Shakespeare, William et al, p.87). Despite having supernatural skills varying from good and bad, they both made people see them as heroes of their time through the manifestation of their good side of personality.

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Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Character Analysis

Dr Jekyll's character, a huge well groomed stylish man, had two combatting personalities that made him live a very psychologically complicated life of controlling two powerful conflicting personalities by the names Jekyll Henry and Hyde. He is said to be an extraordinary man who possessed both evil oppressing traits as well as good human characteristics. He unconditionally converted from Jekyll to Hyde, a character created by the same Dr. Jekyll of the darkest part of his soul, a ruthless and unapologetic man who in turn turned against his many friends in the form of Jekyll (Haffner, Sebastian etal, p. 56). Mr Hyde's character overshadowed Jekyll and later transformed into the most violent creature. The evil Hyde lived a life of hiding and sought so as to prevent his evil nature from being revealed in his kind personality. Nevertheless, Hyde tried to terminate Jekyll's life and later changed his clothes with those of Jekyll to design the cause of Jekyll the passionate and compassionate man in himself (Haffner, Sebastian etal, p. 72).

Frankenstein Character Analysis

Frankenstein is the other man who was born and brought up in Naples. As a young boy, he purposely revolved his life around scientific studies, which engaged chemical and physical science. In his creation research, Frankenstein made an ugly evil creature, which later killed one of his close associates by the name William. It continued to cause sorrow to Frankenstein by killing his close friend and his wife after he destroyed a companion that created it. This grief leads to the death of Frankenstein and most of his family members. This circle of problems ended when Frankien revealed his story to a sailor and when his creation committed suicide.

Macbeth Malcolm Character Analysis

What about Macbeth character traits, Macbeth, a Scottish confronted, bold, steadfast, intellectual man, and who was referred as Valor's minion was a very prominent hero who lived in Scotland. He lived a life of battles and raids to fulfill what the Scottish witch had promised her. His struggles for the crown of the kingship of Scotland made him terminate the life of many people as a process of covering his hidden killings. He fought with creation since his theoretical statements showed that he viewed himself to be a superhuman, by not exercising ethical leadership through his hidden ruthless nature. For instance, he once said, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through the flag and filthy air’ (Shakespeare, William, p.10). During Macbeth character development, he was influenced by evil and made himself to be above other human beings. He added Merciful powers Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature gives way to repose (Shakespeare, William etal, p.10).

In conclusion, the three people had exceptionally excellent characteristics. Each one of them demonstrated a unique ability and practice that was purposely to make their anxieties full but ended up causing harm to the people who were under their regime. Furthermore, their ego did more harm than good to the society they lived in.

Works cited

Haffner, Sebastian, and Wilfrid David. Germany: Jekyll and Hyde. , 1941. Print.

Shakespeare, William, and Eugene M. Waith. The Tragedy of Macbeth. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1954. Print.

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Comparative Essay on Macbeth, Mr Hyde and Frankenstein Characters. (2021, Apr 26). Retrieved from https://proessays.net/essays/macbeth-the-play

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