Appearance vs. Reality in Great Expectations and Macbeth

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair”; depicts that good is bad and bad is good. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth displays an interesting use of various themes. A theme that is used throughout the play is the contrast between appearance and reality. Similarly in the novel Great Expectations, Charles Dickens conveys the idea of deception as well. The authors demonstrate the idea of appearance vs. reality through crime, characters and through character’s ambitions.
The contrast between appearance and reality is expressed through crime in both novels, Great Expectations and Macbeth. At the beginning of the novel Magwitch is portrayed as a convict who frightens Pip. Pip feels guilty of helping Magwitch because he is afraid of the police. However at the end of the book, Pip understands Magwitch’s inner virtue and he is able to ignore his status as a criminal and help him to escape from the law and the police. The criminal status that Magwitch has, concealed Pip’s eyes from seeing Magwitch’s true personality (reality). In Macbeth, The crime that portrays appears vs. reality is the death of Duncan. Before Macbeth kills Duncan, he is worried and almost aborts the crime; this expresses his true morality. He does not want to kill Duncan but his desire for wanting to become a King makes him kill Duncan. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on the other”. We understand that Macbeth appears to want to kill Duncan but beneath the mask he just wants to kill him to obtain the power as a king.

Pip, Estella, Miss.Havisham, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and, the three witches are examples of characters that portray appearance vs. reality in both novels. For example, Pip believes Estella is me...

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...also about having good morals and honor. Macbeth believes that he is meant to be the king because the witched stated so but, in reality witches are only bringing him trouble which means that he is digging his own grave. “That but this blow might be the be-all and the end-all—here, but here, upon this bank and shoal of time, we'ld jump the life to come”.
In conclusion, the authors, Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare convey the idea of appearance vs. reality in the novel Great Expectations and Macbeth. The contrast between appearance and reality is expressed through crime. Pip, Estella, Miss.Havisham, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and, the three witches are examples of characters that portray appearance vs. reality. Finally, both novels demonstrate appearance verse reality through ambition as well. Therefore, both novels demonstrate that “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”.