Similarities Between Macbeth And 1984

Question 3: Responsibility, justification of violence and social price.

Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” and George Orwell’s book “1984” compare well when it comes to violence. In both stories violence plays an important part in keeping everything together. Looking at the responsibility, justification and social price, both stories are reasonably similar. When it comes to the responsibility of violence in “Macbeth” it falls upon Macbeth or his assassins, similarly in “1984” the responsibility is given to the inner party or the thought police. The justification of their violence is also related as they are both trying to sustain their positions high in their ranks. Social price is diverse in these stories, because Macbeth is having people killed

out of paranoia however; the thought police vaporize people for the sake of stopping any chances of revolution and keeping people in their place so that they do not become overthrown.

Responsibility of the violence in George Orwell’s book “1984” and Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” falls upon people in the higher powers.

In the beginning of Macbeth he is not the highest power yet but still sits at a high stature being a thane. A similar circumstance in “1984” are the thought police. They are not the top of the rank but are high in the hierarchy compared to the outer party and the proles. Both Macbeth and the thought police are expected to handle the murder and violence of their region. After Macbeth murders king Duncan and he is placed as king he no longer seeks to murder people himself and sends assassins to do his dirty work. In this way Macbeth relates to the inner party or Big Brother controlling the thought police kill people for them. Both Macbeth and Big Brother have people killed for almost the same reasons, to stop revolution rising and to prevent themselves from being

overthrown.

In “1984” violence is justified as it is necessary to keep the order in which Oceania is run. Closely, violence is justified in “Macbeth” because Macbeth sees it as keeping his place as king. Macbeth is paranoid whereas Oceania’s violence is for thought out reason. Though both Macbeth and “the party” are trying to save their reign from rebellion, they justify the violence they use in different ways. Before either Macbeth or Big Brother had become the head of their region both of them had killed to move up. Macbeth justified his murder of Duncan by believing that the witches predicted it as his future, while Big Brother justified his murder or banishment of the other resolutioners by saying they had turned against him.

The Societies in each story are made to pay a price for these actions of violence.

In Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth”, the king is killed so that Macbeth could become king himself. In “Macbeth” Society had to pay a price because of Duncan’s murder. Duncan was a better king than Macbeth and was king by right, but once Macbeth took over there were supernatural happenings because he had unrightfully taken that place. Relating to this is how Big brother is said to have killed off the other leaders of the revolution taking their rightful placed for which they had fought hard and fair; this would make Big Brother the highest ranked person leading Oceania. The assumption could be made that Big brother killed these others with the purpose of becoming the super power that he is. Societies price in “1984” was not to do with the supernatural. Instead the society of Oceania was made totalitarian and lived under a forceful, lying government

system.

To summarise the topics of responsibility, justification and social price in “Macbeth” and “1984”, both the highest powers in each story holds the responsibility for the violence or control who is responsible. They both try to justify their violence in similar ways, to either get them to the top or to stop others from taking their place. The difference being Macbeth is having people killed out of paranoia and insanity while people are vaporized in “1984” for a thought out and planed reason. To compare the societies in both stories they each pay a different price. In “Macbeth” the lands suffer supernatural happenings but in “1984” the totalitarian society of Oceania are paying the price of their freedom.