ISU Comparative Essay Things can look very different from what they actually are. For example, Jeffrey Dahmer brutally murdered seventeen young men. Dahmer even experimented with cannibalism. Jeffrey Dahmer turned from the innocent looking Midwestern boy into one of the most notorious serial killer in the United States. Dahmer would have gotten away with his horrific crimes with his non-threatening appearance if the police had not searched his apartment. The theme “Appearances vs. Reality” is also shown in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth by the character Macbeth. The character Sir Leigh Teabing from Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code has also represented that things are not always what they seem. Shakespeare’s play Macbeth and Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code have many similarities and they both describe many examples of how people are not always what they seem to be. The characters Macbeth and Sir Leigh Teabing, also known as “the Teacher” seemingly friendly nature are great examples to this theme. Macbeth’s motivation to become King and Pope Clement’s plan for power from The Da Vinci Code are good representatives of power and control. The series of brutal murders Macbeth has committed and Teabing had instigated has given an insight on people’s dark side. In the beginning of Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth was an energized and strategic warrior. King Duncan assumed Macbeth was a “great man” because of how heroic he was in the battlefield. Ultimately, Macbeth was the murderer of King Duncan.
“Bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, your tongue. Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under ’t. He that’s coming