A Comparison of Macbeth and Bigger Thomas

Bigger Thomas is the main character of Native Son by Richard Wright, and Macbeth is the main character of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Both Bigger and Macbeth follow the same path, they commit sin, yet Macbeth proves to be more malicious than Bigger. The factors that contrast their malice are their motivations and their reasons to commit these crimes. Ambition, thirst for power, and his wife motivate Macbeth. Bigger, however, simply strives to find a sense of security in a world where he is constantly discriminated. The way other characters treat them also gives one insight on how malicious or evil the character is. As all factors point, Macbeth is much more evil than Bigger.

Both characters commit the same sin: murder. Their reactions and feelings toward these acts prove them both to be evil. When a person commits sin, he can go by one of two paths: either feels remorse and eventually goes insane, or go about his daily life normally, with no feeling of remorse whatsoever. The person who goes mad due to his feelings of guilt and remorse proves to be the much more humane one. It is said, “A human has feelings, a demon does not”. Both Bigger and Macbeth prove to be evil as they go by their daily lives without feeling any guilt, not having any feelings. In contrast, a human person would be like Lady Macbeth who, despite her ambition, suffers and finally feels guilt and remorse that drive her mad. After killing Mary, Bigger does not ever feel remorse, he feels accomplished and secure. As Wright says, "He felt that he had his destiny in his grasp. He was more alive then he could ever remember having been: his attention and mind were pointed, focused toward the goal." (p. 141). Not once does Bigger show any sign of remorse. In contrast to Bigger, Macbeth’s malice progresses, and his remorse descends throughout the play. He repents killing king Duncan, yet continues murdering people. By the end, Macbeth reaches his all time high; he becomes pure evil. He even tells