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Similarities Between Macbeth And 1984

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Recommended: Violence in society

The use of physical and psychological violence to rule over society has been explored in literature throughout history. Two examples are Macbeth by William Shakespeare and 1984 by George Orwell. Responsibility for violence depends on context, and the influences on the inflictor. The form of despotism affects this responsibility: an autocracy or oligarchy. Macbeth and the Party justify violence for power, sacrificing important human values and beliefs. Illusion and reality become blurred, producing paranoia. Violence effects the quality of human life.

Violence requires an initiator and inflictor. Macbeth is initiator and inflictor of regicide, murder and tyranny. Winston Smith rebels against the Party to escape daily psychological torture. …show more content…

Macbeth and the Inner Party rule their subjects tyrannically. Threats to Macbeth’s throne are eliminated as are Party members who think against Party dogma. The Inner Party and Macbeth sacrifice human morals, committing assassinations and murder, regardless of pain suffered by others. Macbeth feels guilt and remorse over Banquo’s death, and regrets regicide. The Party sacrifices non-regulated emotion for absolute power, justifying violence to achieve absolute control over the general public.

The Party and Macbeth sacrifice the value of human life, emotions and need for human relationships, which the reader holds dear. Macbeth kills Banquo, rationalising it as a necessary sacrifice to secure his throne. Likewise, the Party forbids relationships in speculation of the control it could lose to human emotional connections. Relationships become moot for Macbeth and the Party in their quest for …show more content…

Supernatural illusions including apparitions and witches influence Macbeth and others to commit violence. 1984’s illusion is propaganda, like the eternal war with a changing enemy and the forever-changing past, used to control the public. Both authors question a world where illusion and reality blurs and the social price. Shakespeare comments on the breakdown of an individual’s psyche. Orwell presents a society where reality is in question, and society’s collective psyche has fractured. Violent realities are impossible to live within. The reader reflects on reality and illusion in their own lives and beliefs they

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