Comparing Shakespeare s Macbeth And The Catcher

Macbeth and The Catcher in the Rye posses similar characteristics from that of the plot to the main characters. Throughout both stories the main characters display mental illnesses that afflict their judgement and situations around them. Shakespeare and J.D. salinger have both created lasting character that continue to relate to youth and adults today, but they do so in different ways. In the course of reading Macbeth and The Catcher in the Rye there were many comparable things, such as the way both characters, Macbeth and Holden, suffer from mental illnesses. Each character seems to suffer from illnesses such as depression, PTSD, and a great sense of guilt. While neither of these characters comes straight out and says â€Å"I have†¦show more content†¦In Macbeth, similar psychotic and mental breakdowns occur. While Macbeth is having all his thanes and kingsmen over for a feast he suffers from a break down due to all the guilt, lying and evil the has been consumed by. During this break down the sees the ghost of his best friend that he had murdered in order to fulfill his prophecies given to him by the weird sisters. At the peak of this break down the yells to the ghost â€Å" Avaunt! and quit my sight! let the earth hide thee!/ Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold; / Thou hast no speculation in those eyes / Which thou dost glare with!† (S hakespeare 3.4.94-97). This is the peak of his break down, the is standing on the table yelling at banquo’s ghost trying to get it to leave. At this point Macbeth is almost at his lowest. His wife tries to comfort him by telling their guests that he is often like this and gets then to leave. By this point in the play Lady Macbeth has started to see the effects these actions have had on her husband Macbeth. For Holden and Macbeth these illnesses affect them deeply. Throughout both novels these characters ability to self regulate, react appropriately, make decisions, and realize their reasons versus their passions, fades. Due to the guilt, and inability to accept the world as it is, both characters use disconnecting as a form of self protection- a largely recurring theme in both books. As each novel progresses, these characters check out or disconnect from reality