In my essay I will identify three main points of comparison between the two pieces of literature: ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’, principally vis-à-vis the writer’s presentation of power and status. The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare. The play’s plotline focusses around the political ambitions of the two main characters, Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth. The play magnifies the damaging physical and psychological effects of such ambitions on those who seek said power for their own personal gain. Of Mice and Men is a novella written by John Steinbeck; the book follows George Milton and Lennie Small as they move from place to place looking for work during The Great Depression in the United States. Eventually settling on a ranch, the men meet a wide variety of characters and experience the social issues of the time first hand. The title is taken from a Robert Burns poem: “The best laid schemes ‘o mice an’ men / Gang aft agley (often go awry).” The title serves as a foreshadowing of the path that the men’s dream follows, as it never materialises for the reader to see. …show more content…
Both Lady Macbeth and Curley’s Wife have a desire to exert power over those they have the ability to; Lady Macbeth’s desire for power via Macbeth becoming King is amplified by the suppression of her will because of her being a female. Comparatively Curley’s Wife is also oppressed because of her gender, however she seems more accepting of this and seeks to exert power over only those she has the right to. It could be inferred that it is this lack of autonomy and carte blanche that fuels Curley’s Wife’s yearning to exert power over those she has the authority