Just Lather That's All Moral

Many individuals take the opportunities presented to them for granted, resulting in not thoroughly and cautiously thinking about how their actions will affect not only themselves, but possibly the people around them. Morality is a huge factor that affects the positive or negative outcomes of one’s actions. Novels, stories, plays and other forms of writing help display this concept by showing how characters are only self satisfied when negative consequences are not faced. In William Shakespeare's play, Macbeth and Hernando Tellez’s short story, “Just Lather, That’s All”, the main characters, Macbeth and the Barber show whether self satisfaction is attainable if one follows their morals.
To begin with, Macbeth and the Barber are presented with

This is due to Duncan’s vulnerability in his castle as he mentions the environment of the Macbeth castle being warming and pleasant (Shakespeare 1.6.1-3). Duncan is oblivious to Macbeth’s plan of committing regicide against him. His unawareness of Macbeth’s desire of wanting to become king makes him a vulnerable target. Due to the trust and reliability Duncan has for Macbeth, he lets his guard down. Then at night, when Duncan is asleep and is at his most defenseless state, creates a facile opportunity for Macbeth to take advantage. This gives Macbeth the option to decide if his desires are worth killing Duncan. Likewise, to the Barber’s convenience in “Just Lather, That’s All”, Captain Torres enters his shop. Disarming himself, the Captain settles down for just a simple shave and thinks to himself, “The man could not possibly realize it, and this was in my favour. But I would have preferred that he hadn't come” (Tellez 1). Although Captain Torres is aware of the Barber's desire of killing him, he

Given that both victims are in a vulnerable position, Macbeth and the Barber make a decision that vary from each other. In the play, Macbeth contemplates whether to dethrone Duncan for his own benefit. This is illustrated in his soliloquy (Shakespeare 1.7.13-28) when he alternates between what is morally acceptable. Macbeth notes his importance as a kinsmen to Duncan and how killing someone that is predominant would affect his reputation. However, Macbeth overrules his previous thoughts with the deception that killing Duncan will please Lady Macbeth. He strongly believes his decision is reasonable because of his intent to satisfy his wife. This is what ultimately becomes the deciding factor of neglecting his morals. On the contrary, in Tellez’s short story, the Barber cautiously thinks about the outcomes of murdering Captain Torres and what will become of his reputation. Questioning himself, he states “Murderer or hero?... You came to me for a shave… I don’t want blood on my hands” (Tellez 2). Although the Barber knows it would be quite simple and effortless to kill the Captain, he lets his morals become a deciding factor, ultimately deciding to spare the Captain. He realizes how much he values his profession and would rather not let one person who he despises ruin it. When comparing the two stories, morals become the deciding aspect