Similarities Between 1984 And Macbeth

No matter what time period, power, in a human perspective, has always been the road to happiness. Humanity has never accepted the present, and has always strived for more. Humans are greedy, and that will never change. In Orwells 1984 and Shakespeare's Macbeth, each story conveys a standard: power may equal happiness, but ignorance does equal happiness. In each plot, there is a common factor. In Macbeth, the main characters are Macbeth, a noble, and his wife Lady Macbeth. Macbeth encounters three witches, which tell him his three prophecies, one of which is that he will be King of Scotland. In order to maintain his to-be positon as king, he thinks about murdering the current king, King Duncan. Lady Macbeth brings his ideas to fruition

Betraying Winston means giving in to Big Brother and loving Big Brother more than Winston. Julia admits that she genuinely wanted the pain to be for Winston, so that it would stop for her. Her soul is nonexistent after being released from the prison, and she feels no emotion or love for Winston, only love for Big Brother. This crumpled her soul, and forced a Pro-Party mentality into an unwilling body. After making certain decisions against her society, she falls, and so does Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is the sole motivation for killing Duncan. "It is an accustomed action with her to seem thus/ washing her hands. I have known her to continue in/ this quarter of an hour." (5.1.20-23).

Before visiting Macbeth's castle, Duncan states how there is no way to see that the Thane of Cawdor is a traitor. "There's no art/To find the mind's construction in the face" (1.4.12-13), and "This castle hath a pleasant seat. The air/Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself/Unto our gentle senses". Duncan is ignorant that he will be betrayed again by Macbeth, which is dramatic irony. Upon arrival, he also states that the castle has a pleasant atmosphere and the weather is near perfect. This reflects Duncan's positive mind and overeager trusting of people. He is happy knowing that they killed the Thane of Cawdor, but is unaware of Macbeth's plan. The pathetic fallacy reflects Duncan's mentality, and also shows his gullibility to towards the people around him. He seems much happier not knowing what will happen to him. After he is killed, the sun does not come up and it is dark for two days, the world is mourning the loss of a caring King. The proles in 1984 are perceived as very free, because The Party does not care about them; they are not followers of INGOC. Winston sees a female prole working and singing, she lives Winston's dream. "If there was hope, it lay in the proles! … The future belonged to the proles." (Orwell 229). This fuels a deep reverence and respect for the lady, because she is free than Winston will ever be. The prole gives hope