Macbeth vs. LOTF
1 “Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.” This powerful quote by Baltasar Gracian elaborates on the fact that evil acts as an external force, when one evil deed is committed more powerful evils will come to follow. The most compelling examples of evil being created through external forces are present in the books Macbeth (Shakespeare), and Lord of The Flies (William Golding). Throughout these two books, innocent men begin to develop into thoughtless killers, not only is it their own choices; but rather the circumstances around them causing evil to be developed. Although the first spilling of blood uncovers a new found motivation to shed more and more. These unique books contain crucial similarities in character development, plot elements, the blood motifs that display evil acting as an external force to cause the desire to kill. To begin, throughout both Macbeth, and Lord of The Flies evil begins to overwhelm two key characters, these men were not evil to begin with; but the circumstances they faced throughout their endeavours turned them into ruthless killers. In Macbeth, after an encounter with three witches; a series of events is initiated which eventually causes Macbeth to turn against his own morals in the pursuit of more power, these external forces are what cause the evil to evolve in Macbeth. Macbeth freely converses with the sinister witches throughout the story, Banquo calls the weird sisters "instruments of darkness," (Shakespeare I. IV. 124) but Macbeth still decides to take their advice. One point often overlooked in the book is how other characters are realizing evil 's effect on Macbeth; when he first becomes king, Banquo reflects on his rise to power and says “Thou hast it now... As the weird women promised/and I fear Thou play 'dst most foully for 't.” (Shakespeare III. I. 1-3) These statements by Banquo verify the theme of external evil by first acknowledging the witches will cause
Cited: Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 1954. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Washington Press, 1992