What Are The Similarities Between Lord Of The Flies And Macbeth

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Sir John Dalberg-Acton once noted that, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men”. Jack Merridew, arguably the main antagonist in the 1954 dystopian novel, Lord of the Flies, and Macbeth, the main character of William Shakespeare’s darkest tragedy, The Tragedy of Macbeth, are prime examples of Sir Acton’s remark. Both share hugely ambitious (and perhaps misguided) goals of total power and control, leading them into conflicts with people who pose a threat to their quest for status. The two characters also make many mistakes along the way, leading to the eventual demise of their position of power, or of themselves. Jack and Macbeth demonstrate what

happens when human goodness or innocence is corrupted.

People who commit a brutal act to further themselves, tend to feel the need to keep committing brutal acts, either to continue furthering themselves, or to simply fulfil the human darkness that has made itself known.

To begin, Jack and Macbeth share a desperate and seemingly insatiable thirst for power. They both aspire to gain as much power and control as possible. Jack wants desperately to be chief of all the boys, like he is with the choir boys, and Macbeth agrees to killing the King to gain more power than the titles of Thane of Cawdor and Glamis already present him with. Jack makes his goal known by declaring, “‘I ought to be chief [...] because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.’” (Golding 28). Macbeth, however, must keep his aspirations quiet, and so, after agreeing with his wife, says: I am settled, and bend up. Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. Away, and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth know. (1.7.79-82) . Jack, while sharing the same ambitions as Macbeth, is able to be much more vocal about it. He decides that he simply must be in charge

of all the boys stuck on the island, since he is already in charge of the choir boys. However, later on when the vote takes place, Jack is humiliated to learn the majority of the castaway children want Ralph to lead them instead. This is where we see the power struggle begin between Ralph and Jack. Macbeth, on the other hand, requires a little convincing from his wife, Lady Macbeth, before he quietly commits to killing the King and claiming the throne. When he eventually does, he displays motivation and determination to go through with it. Both characters think of themselves as good people who are doing the right thing, even if it is only the right thing for themselves. This is especially evident in Jack, who wants to be in charge to create rules and keep the boys in line. Macbeth, however, tries to change his mind at first because he wants to stay a ‘good’ person. Jack declares the boys must “have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English and the English are the best at everything” (40). Macbeth, after realising how esteemed he already is to others, tries to tell his wife: We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honored me of late, and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon. (1.7.31-35). Although they both start out as supposedly good and well-meaning people, their dreams of complete power eventually lead them to do some horrible things. Macbeth eventually allows his wife to persuade him and agrees to kill the King, and Jack gradually acts more and more cruel towards the boys that do not obey him, believing that he knows all, and he knows best. This desperate dream of complete power leads them both to do things they probably would not even think about doing under normal circumstances. Their quests to fulfil their similar goals end up in equally similar conflicts.
As The Tragedy of Macbeth and the Lord of the Flies progress, Macbeth and Jack’s shared goals lead to conflicts as they struggle for power and become paranoid about those around them.The thirst for
complete control lands them in sticky situations with those around them, creating suspicion and animosity from friends and potential allies.

Macbeth’s closest friend, Banquo, begins to have suspicions. He does not think Macbeth’s luck in fulfilling the destiny foretold by the witches so quickly is merely fate, and muses to himself, “Thou hast it now: King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, / As the weird women promised, and I fear / thou play’dst most foully for’t” (3.1.1-3). Ralph and Piggy, who could have been great allies to Jack, feel alienated and begin to become scared of him. Piggy demonstrates this first by saying, “‘I dunno, Ralph. I expect it’s him.’ ‘Jack?’ ‘Jack.’ A taboo was evolving around that word too” (201). After Macbeth is successful in murdering the King and claiming the title for himself, Banquo begins to become suspicious of his friend. He wonders if it was Macbeth who committed the horrible crime, and not the guards as it was made out to be. We later learn that Macbeth, aware of Banquo’s suspicions, becomes intensely paranoid and uneasy with his presence. Jack has begun earning a reputation for himself as someone who is unstable and savage. As shown in the above quote, Piggy appears to be slightly afraid of the other boy, while Ralph doesn’t seem to pay too much mind to him. This threatens Jack, who, at this point, is starting his own tribe so that he can be in complete control of it. As Jack and Macbeth become more paranoid, they try to eliminate any and all

threats to their newfound positions of power. In an effort to show Ralph in a bad light and try to sway the boys to join his tribe, Jack grabs the conch to make an announcement, telling the boys that, “‘...Ralph said my hunters are no good.’ ‘I never said that!’ ‘I’ve got the conch. Ralph thinks you’re cowards, running away from the boar and the beast’ (187). Macbeth takes a more sinister route to ensure he stays in power.
MACBETH. Both of you
Know Banquo was your enemy.
BOTH MURDERERS. True, my lord.
MACBETH. So is he mine, and in such bloody distance
That every minute of his being thrusts
Against my near’st of life: (3.1.116-21)
Macbeth decides to take brutal action, hiring murderers to kill Banquo. Macbeth does this because he knows about Banquo’s suspicions, however, he does not know how much Banquo suspects, which in reality is probably not that much. Regardless of the lack of facts, the paranoid Macbeth comes to the conclusion that to eliminate the chance of Banquo taking away his new power and control, he must kill his friend. Jack, although taking a less fatal path, has the same aim as Macbeth. Eliminate any possible threats to power. He tries to turn the boys against Ralph by using the conch to tell them lies about how Ralph thinks the hunters are cowards. When Ralph tries to object, Jack simply reminds him that he has the conch. Jack does this because he wants to strip Ralph of his remaining power by painting him as a bad person, so that the rest of the boys will abandon Ralph and join Jack’s new tribe. The conflicts in The Tragedy of Macbeth and the Lord of the Flies all seem to stem from the growing paranoia and anxiety that both Jack and Macbeth are experiencing. The become terrified of losing their control, and so act hostile towards anything that threatens it.
Furthermore, both Macbeth and Jack make mistakes at the beginning of their power trips that lead to their eventual downfall. It is clear to see that both characters begin their descent into brutality with the preconceived notion that they are destined for greatness, as well as knowing better than anyone else. Macbeth foolishly buys into the words of the weird sisters, even though Banquo tries to advise him not to trust them so fully.
MACBETH. [Aside] Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor:
The greatest is behind. [...]
BANQUO. [Aside to Macbeth] That, trusted home,
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,
Besides the Thane of Cawdor. But ‘tis strange:
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s
In deepest consequence. (1.3.117-26)
Macbeth allowed his ambition to completely blot out his conscience, and allows himself to hold a blind faith in the weird sisters that foretold his future. Near end of the play he realises they tricked him, and that had he not invested so much of his trust in them, he would not have committed such acts of brutality against those who had already held him in an esteemed view. Jack, thinking he knows better than anyone on the island, frightens and upsets many of the boys at first. This first impression stays with some of them, who certainly take some convincing to join his tribe in the end, if they do at all. Instead of comforting the younger children, Jack simply states the facts, and then calls them a name just for good measure: “Fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream. There aren’t any beasts to be afraid of on this island. [...] Serves you right if something did get you, you useless lot of cry-babies!” (75). Jack’s first mistake is believing he knows all, and he knows best. This lead to a toxic superiority complex, and Jack’s second mistake, letting himself lose all touch and become a savage in his quest for control and power. This caused, unfortunately, the deaths of Simon, Piggy, and almost Ralph, had the ‘grown ups’ not arrived at the very last second. When Macbeth and Jack allowed themselves to put their all into their fight for ultimate power, it took away their humanity and made them lose touch with things, reducing them to savagery and paranoia.
In conclusion, I believe Jack and Macbeth to be the perfect examples of what happens when innocence is corrupted because of their inability to stop fighting for and wanting more power and control after getting a small taste of it. For Jack, it was his previous control over the choir boys, and for Macbeth, it was being Thane of Cawdor and Glamis. When presented with the opportunity to amass more power, both threw their all into it, forgetting their humanity and reverting to savagery and brutality in the process. I believe that once an act of brutality is committed, people feel the need to continue acting in such a way to fulfill that human darkness or evil that has been displayed. Perhaps they are trying to justify their actions to themselves by making it seem like they cannot help it, and simply do these things because it is in their nature. Perhaps it is, but as with Macbeth and Jack, it probably is not. Absolute power, or even the mere chance for absolute power, will corrupt any innocence it finds, absolutely.