Comparing Macbeth And Lord Of The Flies

Out of Free Will
By: Caroline Smith

The books Macbeth written by Shakespeare and Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, are completely different novels yet they have very similar circumstances. Although the two stories were written in different time periods and during different events, they proclaim very relevant and corresponding messages. These stories show how strong and intelligent characters can lose all sanity from several free will decisions. The characters in these books, Macbeth and Jack Merridew, make three significant choices that completely transform their lives. One begins as a strong warrior, and the other an innocent school boy, yet they end up suffering with the same downfall. Through making the decision to listen,
For Macbeth, he chooses to listen to two scheming women; the witches and his wife. To start, the three witches are the ones to spur on his devious ways. They exclaim, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King here after!” (1.3.54) This prophesy didn’t necessarily mean that it was true, and would happen without Macbeth’s help. Macbeth had a choice to either let this event happen naturally, or take it on himself to make it definite. He took the second option, took matters into his own hands, and murdered an innocent and just King. In addition, Macbeth listened to his selfish and manipulating wife that he loved so dearly. Lady Macbeth dared her husband to kill when saying, “When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man.”
There was much unnecessary violence in both of these novels. Firstly, Macbeth killed an innocent mother and her children just to intimidate a man who was a threat to his power. Macbeth instructs to, “Seize upon Fife, give to the edge o’ the sword [Macduff’s] wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line.” (4.1.171) This particular murder Macbeth organized was a major part of his downfall. This aggravated a strong warrior, who had just lost his entire family. This enticed him to put Macbeth in his place, and overall strip him from his undeserving power. This murder was not out of self defense, not out of force, yet out of free will. In the same manner, Jack Merridew also freely made decisions to kill. He told Ralph, “Rescue? Yes of course! All the same, I’d like to catch a pig first--” (pg 53) The urge to kill was in Jack from the beginning. Starting with a pig and escalating into larger issues. All of these temptations could have been prevented by more civil decisions, but Jack refused those and acted savagely. Finally, Jack led his hunters into a terrible murder of a boy named Piggy. “Jack had backed right against the tribe and they were a solid mass of menace that bristled with spears. The intention of charge was forming among them…High over head, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever.” (pg 180) As