Dark Window On The Soul

“Literature opens a dark window on the soul, revealing more about what is bad in human nature than what is good.” This quote means that literature will show all sides to a person not just their good side. It will show how evil a person maybe even though they may seem nice. I would have to agree with this quote because in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Macbeth was once a noble man but the powers of greed made his true side come out. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willie the main character may look like a nice guy but deep down inside he is a very troubled man.

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare the setting is taking place at a military camp when it is thundering and lighting out. Which you can automatically assume something bad is going to happen. Three witches come out of nowhere and greet Macbeth with three prophecies, which Macbeth then becomes very interested in. One of the prophecies that catches Macbeth attention quick is the one where he shall be king hereafter. That’s when the part of the play really brings out Macbeth’s evil side. He is thinking that he can become king and he goes and kills the king but during the whole thing his wife Lady Macbeth is asking him is he a man or is he a mouse because he would not kill the king at first. Which is ironic because after she herself cannot do it. Because in act 2 scene 1 line 84 -85 she says “Had he not resembled my father as he slept I had done’t” Which therefore proves the quote to be right even though a person may look nice they always have a bad side to them.

The second piece of literature I chose to use to support my opinion is the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. The conflict is considered as man vs. himself. Willie the main character is always at a constant conflict with himself he must try to make himself known to other people but he cannot because he is an insecure, self-deluded traveling salesman who is facing insanity he can longer work up to his full potential because nobody wants to put him on a job so that brings himself to try to commit suicide which he tries to do in the end but he even fails at that. He is a good man but wanting to be known is what brings out the bad side in him. One minute he is a kind old man but the next he is yelling at his wife and telling her to shut up and disrespecting his sons which is ironic because he is trying to the best for them but in the mean time he is calling them all sorts of cruel names. Which proves that he is not all that good deep down inside.

So in conclusion Literature does open a dark window to a person’s soul. It does show the person ‘s good and bad side which will undoubtedly come in conflict with the way a person will react to different situations. In time the window will shut because the person will have done so much evil that it will catch up to them and wind up killing them in the end.