Similarities Between Macbeth And Joseph Stalin

Since humans were able to get a grasp of dominance against one another, there exist the undeniable hunger for power. When a ruthless person is given an unlimited source of power, it is only natural for them to fall into the hand of temptation and abuse their power--these leaders are known as dictators. Through the history of the world, some dictators that were infamous for their inhumane acts toward humanity are Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. However, dictators can be found in not just history but also in literatures such as Shakespeare’s notorious play Macbeth, as well as Geroge Orwell’s novella Animal Farm. Throughout History and English dictators are depicted as being manipulative, as well as greedy, which ultimately generates a notion

that they are superior than others. In order to safeguard their dominance they resort to violence as a means to maintain their power.

Dictators similar to Joseph Stalin portrays traits of being manipulative, and greedy through both History and English. As seen in the novella Animal Farm by George Orwell, Stalin’s satire character, Napoleon, is illustrates as a greedy and manipulative character-- he is willing to go to great length to get what he wants. For example he manipulated the animals into working for him hours after hours without any rewards, he did this in order to gain more benefits for himself,"I will give you the same toast as before, but in a different form. Fill your glasses to the brim. Gentlemen, here is my toast: To the prosperity of The Manor Farm!"(Orwell123). After Napoleon manipulate the animals to blindly follow and work under his unrealistic laws he betrayed them by taking all of the wealth made by the farm. He’s greedy in the sense that he never gives back to the animals for the efforts and hard works they put in to help him thrive social and economic wise. George Orwell did a fantastic job in depicting Stalin’s traits of being manipulative and selfish. In history there were statements and actions made by Stalin that showcase the horrendous truth about him,“In 1934, Stalin turned against members of the Communist Party. In 1937, he launched the Great Purge, a campaign of terror directed at eliminating anyone who threatened his power. ”(Beck, Roger B.; Black Linda; Krieger Larry S.; Naylor, Phillip C.; Sjabala. Dahia Ibo 441). He manipulated people into following his ideology and join his party in order to gain control in the Russia’s government; however, as the quotes stated he turned against his own members due to his greediness of wanting to control all of Russia. He strongly believed that he deserved to be the head of the government--hence, he feels a sense of superiority over others.

A character in this collection that displays the belief of being superior to other is none other than, Macbeth, from Shakespeare’s famous play Macbeth. Throughout the play Macbeth repeatedly voiced out his belief of his superiority compared to other people, his attitudes can be seen when he exclaim,“Thou losest labor. /As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air/ With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed./ Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests;/I bear a charmed life, which must not yield/To one of woman born.”(v. viii. 8-13). Macbeth strongly believes that no one of a woman born can kill him which gives a sense of superiority over everyone around him, he feels invisible as well as godlike. Furthermore, a famous dictator from History that went to the extreme due to his belief of being superior to others is Adolf Hitler. He executed more than six millions jews because he believed that jews were inferior to his “kind”. Hitler did not only voiced out his strong hatred towards the Jews through actions, but he also made hateful statements towards them that shows his belief,”Hitler asserted that the Germans, whom he incorrectly called “Aryans,” were a “master race.” He declared that non-Aryan “races,” such as Jews, Slavs, and Gypsies, were inferior. “(Beck 478). Hitler saw the Jews as the undesirable class of society; therefore, when he was given power over Germany he saw himself as the savor of Germany, and executed more than millions of Jews to get rid of the non “master race”. Macbeth and Hitler both showcased belief of superiority which to them justify their violent actions.

Due to dictators’ characteristics and beliefs-- they often resort to violence as the way to control their positions in the government.

Throughout Macbeth, the main character Macbeth lived in a constant state of fear that others are trying to be superior to him, and besides the fact that he’s greedy and manipulate people to get what wants--he felt that violence was the answer to his fear as stated when he exclaims,”I did so, and went further, which is now/ Our point of second meeting. Do you find/ Your patience so predominant in your nature/ That you can let this go?/Are you so gospeled/ To pray for this good man and for his issue,/ Whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave/ And beggared yours forever?”(III.i.87-93). Macbeth uses his manipulation skill to provokes the violence and hatred inside the murders so that he could eliminate Banquo and his son to secure his thorn of power. Much like Macbeth. Adolf Hitler was notorious for his extreme use of violence to gets what he wants. For example according to the Modern History Textbook in 1934, the SS arrested and murdered hundreds of Hitler’s enemies. This brutal action and the terror applied by the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police, shocked most Germans into total obedience. Similar to Macbeth, Hitler did not want soak his hands in blood, he uses his power in the government and manipulation skill to get the police force to do the dirty work for him. He saw violence as the way to keep the oppressors to stay quiet and less of a

threat.

Manipulation, greedy, superiority, and a distasteful love for violence are all peculiar traits of a dictator. Through this collections the readers were able to encounter four dictators: Napoleon, Macbeth, Adolf Hitler, and Joseph Stalin, these famous figures met all the qualifications of a vicious fascist. They displayed actions that went against human moral due to their greed for power, and in order to maintain their power they utilize their traits of manipulation to gain superiority against others who are brainwashed into believing their flaws ideology. When these vicious dictators are forced to face people who are against or have a different opinions then their owns, they resort to violence as mean to avoid consequences of losing control. The temptation of power over all humanity is something that people all over the globe had once touch upon, but there are only a few that becomes the puppet of the devil and play dirty to get themselves to the top. These dictators are often the flaws of society, till this day their ideology are still being spread, creating more dictators like mindset all over the world, and once again history will repeats itself.