Macbeth and Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym Essay example -- comparison

Similarities between Macbeth, of Shakespeare's Macbeth, and Augustus,  of Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym In literature, when the natural order becomes skewed, a character may die to restore order.   Often, there is a savior who sacrifices his or her life so that other characters might live.   In "Macbeth," after the king is assassinated, the balance is disturbed.   "The night has been unruly: where we lay, Our chimneys were blown down; and, as they say,   Lamentings heard I'th'air; strange screams of death, And, prophesying with accents terrible Of dire combustion, and confus'd events, New hatch'd to th' woeful time, the obscure bird Clamour'd the livelong night: some say, the earth Was feverous, and did shake." (Act II/ Scene III/ lines 53-60).   The king and rightful ruler of England was murdered and replaced by a dishonest, evil man who had no right to the throne.   Because the order in the world was disturbed, nature will continue to wreak havoc until Macbeth dies.   Lady Macduff explains to her son that a traitor is "one that swears and lies.   Every one that does s o is a traitor, and must be hang'd." (Act IV/ Scene II/ lines 46, 48-49).   Because he is a traitor to his country, Macbeth must die.   In The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, Augustus is the savior.   Augustus acts as a savior twice in the story when he sacrifices himself after a mutiny and an act of cannibalism have taken place.   Through his death, Arthur and Dirk Peters will survive a mutiny and the destruction of their ship.    Augustus first saves his friends after a mutiny has occurred on his father's boat.   After hiding his friend, Arthur, on board their boat, Augustus and his father set sail from Nantucket.   The plan was to hide Arthur on the ship for a few da... ...ceptible, and the skin of his cheeks hung so loosely as to prevent his masticating any food, or even swallowing any liquid, without great difficulty†¦. About twelve o'clock he expired in strong convulsions, and without having spoken for several hours."(Poe, 342-343).   Because he was the savior, Augustus gave his own life in order to restore the balance and order of the world.    Like Macbeth, Augustus is the savior in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.   One or more characters have disrupted the schedule and patterns in which nature operates.   The savior is the character or characters who sacrifice their lives in order to return nature to her regular order.    Works Cited Poe, Edgar A. Poe Selected Tales. Ed. Diane Johnson. New York: Literary Classics, 1991. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Kenneth Muir. Ontario: Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd., 1997.