Scotland, PA Compare And Contrast Essay

Written in 1606 by William Shakespeare, the play Macbeth tackled many taboos of the fifteenth century, ranging from the supernatural to regicide. The play’s ability to capture an audience caused it to become an immediate success, and continues to be today. Seeking to apply the same basic principles of the play to modern times, director Billy Morrissette constructed the movie Scotland, PA in which he parallels many of the play’s events within a typical 1970’s suburban town. Despite the notable parallels of Lady Macbeth with Pat McBeth and Macbeth’s war gallantry with Mcbeth’s valiance in ending a food fight, the movie contrasts vastly from the play in both the characterization of Malcolm and the events leading up to Macbeth’s death.

Primarily,

the more prominent parallels between the play and the movie come in the form of both the characterization of Lady Macbeth/Pat Mcbeth and the initial heroicness of Macbeth/Mcbeth.

From the outset, in both productions, Lady Macbeth’s/Pat Mcbeth’s avarice is apparent from the outset as they both encourage their husband to murder Duncan to achieve a superior social/business ranking. They do this with seemingly no remorse, initially; for example, after Duncan’s murder occurs in the play, Lady Macbeth believed that “a little water clears us of this deed [killing Duncan]” (Shakespeare 2.2 66). Similarly, Pat Mcbeth comforts herself and her husband in the movie by stating that the duo were “just underachievers who have to make up for lost time” (Scotland, PA). In both cases, this initial lack of contrition for committing murder eventually unravels itself and the women become completely shackled by guilt. Both Lady Macbeth and Pat Mcbeth become obsessed with washing their hands and

in the end, Lady Macbeth commits suicide while Pat McBeth cuts her hand off; this signifies the importance guilt can play in a person’s quality of life. Additionally, in the beginnings of both the play and the movie, Macbeth/Mcbeth are both seen as valiant individuals. In the play, Macbeth’s valor in battle earns him the respect of his counterparts (who refer to him as “Brave Macbeth”) and the title as Thane of Cawdor; in the movie, Mcbeth courageously puts an end to a food fight, which eventually gains him the title of Assistant Manager (Shakespeare 1.2 16) . In both cases, this initial respect from their peers is erased by the end of the production due to the fact that neither of them was content with the power they earned fairly.
Furthermore, despite the many correlations between Macbeth and Scotland, PA, some significant differences present themselves in the characterization of Malcolm and the events leading up to McBeth’s death.

In Macbeth, Malcolm is depicted mainly as a loyal son and a reputable man; when his father died he elaborated on his “strong sorrow” of his father’s passing and consequently left the country to save his own life (Shakespeare 2.3 125). He later comes back to avenge his father’s death and save his beloved country of Scotland from the menace that was Macbeth. However, in Scotland, PA, Malcolm is portrayed as a bratty teenage son who even states that he “wishes [his father] was dead” (Scotland, PA). Malcolm only leaves town to go on tour with his band, using his deceased father’s money to pay for the trip. He never seems to be torn up about his father’s death, and he does nothing to avenge it, which is the exact opposite of how Malcolm in the play behaved. Another departure from the play’s script in Scotland, PA came at the end of the movie when there was no attempt at war against Macbeth and his disciples. In the play, Macbeth had done such a horrendous job at being the king that there was a large uprising to overthrow him and take back the country; however, in the movie, there was no such uprising and Mcbeth actually did a decent job in his role as the restaurant owner. Despite being single-handedly slain by Macduff in both productions, there was no actual army to back him

up in the movie and they battle their battle alone and without any onlookers.