Evil Shown in Macbeth, Night, and Schindlers List

Albert Einstein once said “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it” (brainyquote.com). Albert Einstein knew the truth of evil in humans. Macbeth, Night, and Schindler’s List all display evil in their works. In Macbeth, a Scottish thane and his wife kill to become the King and Queen of Scotland. In Elie Wiesel’s, Night, the Nazis show evil through their actions during World War II. Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List also exemplifies the evil actions of the Nazi during World War II. Macbeth, Night and Schindler’s List portray evil though murder, manipulativeness, and cruelty.

Macbeth, Night and Schindler’s List show the murderousness of people. In Macbeth, Macbeth shows his murderousness when he hires three murderers to kill Banquo. The first murderer tells Macbeth of his success in killing Banquo: “…/ with twenty trenched gashes on his head, / the last a death to nature” (3. 4. 29-30). Macbeth has three murderers carry out his murderous acts. In Elie Wiesel’s Night, The German Nazis actions were so horrible they murdered Elie Wiesel’s faith in God. Wiesel reveals this when he writes, “Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never” (32). Schindler’s List also shows the murderousness of the Nazis. Amon Goeth shot a boy who could not get the stains out of his bath tub simply because he saw it as fun. In the movie Amon Goeth would sit on his balcony and look for any reason to shoot a Jew. These stories show the murderous qualities in each character throughout the works. Macbeth, Night and Schindler’s List all shared another characteristic of evil, manipulativeness.

In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into murdering Duncan. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that she will be furious if he does not kill Duncan for her when she says, “And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you/ have done to this” (1. 7. 58-59). Lady Macbeth brainwashes Macbeth into killing people so they can become the King and Queen of Scotland. In Night, the Nazis manipulated the Jews during WWII. The Nazis set out a cauldron of soup unattended. “A man appeared, crawling snakelike in the direction of the cauldrons” (59). The Nazis had manipulated the man into eating the soup and only setting him up for his murder. In Schindler’s List, the Nazis manipulated the Jews when they raided their homes and telling them to bring all of their nice things. The Jews thought that they were bringing their belongings with them to keep them safe. In reality, the Nazis were going to take them away from the Jews. Each story resembles the evil that comes with being manipulative. The characters in these works show cruelty through their actions.

In Macbeth, Macbeth shows cruelty when he hires another murderer to kill Macduff’s wife and children. While talking to Lennox, Macbeth says, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, / Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ th’ sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool;” (4, 1. 165-68). In the Holocaust the German Nazis were cruel to the Jewish people. The Nazis hanged prisoners in front of the entire camp. Wiesel writes, “To hang a young boy in front of thousands of spectators was no light matter. The head of the camp read the verdict. All eyes were on the child. He was lividly pale, almost calm, biting his lips. The gallows threw its shadow over him” (61). The Nazis were also cruel in Schindler’s List. When the Holocaust first began, the German Army invaded everyone’s household and forced them to evacuate their homes and go to the work camps. Once they arrived at the camps, the Nazis would separate families forever. The Nazis and Macbeth’s cruelty show just how cruel and evil that world can be. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Elie Wiesel’s Night, and Schindler’s List have three aspects of evil which are murderous, manipulativeness, and cruelty. All of these works show how evil can be portrayed in all different ways.