Analysis of Violence and Power in Shakespeares Macbeth and the life of Pol Pot By: Misha Khorramshahi Abosulte

rulers are defined as people who exercise total power over a state or nation. They can be deceiving and manipulative and they are not always fit to take on the responsibilities of such prestigious positions. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare and the life of Pol Pot both show how dictators take advantage of their supreme powers and use violence to get and stay in control. The former is about a man named Macbeth who was destined to become the king of Scotland after the witches made a prophecy indicating his future. Macbeth was determined to take control, which led him to murder the previous king. The latter was a political leader who had communist values and believed in a primitive life for all. He took over Cambodia, applied his ideology and turned it into a society consisting of collective farming, harsh labour and other torturous tactics. Macbeth and Pol Pot both demonstrated a desire for power and used violent and corrupt methods to keep their ruling positions. However, Macbeth approached his downfall more courageously than Pol Pots cowardly escape from death.

The severe desire for power was present in both Macbeth and Pol Pots rising actions, and this led them to overthrow the previous leaders in power. First, Macbeth was intrigued by the prophecies made by the witches, indicating that he would become the king. He contemplated on this matter, realizing that Malcom being the Prince of Cumberland would be in the way of his ultimate goal: The prince of Cumberland! That is a step / On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, / For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires (1.4.56-62). This quotation indicated Macbeths aspiration to become the king, and the reader realizes Macbeth will

do anything to get what he wants. It shows that he has the ability to get rid of anyone who is in his way, and will do so by using violent strategies. He described his ambition as being black with deep desires, which symbolizes his greed for power as well as his evil desire to kill even more people in order to gain the upper hand. Similarly, Pol Pot also had a passion for power and used rebels and propaganda to achieve it. He gained supporters for his political group called the Khmer Rouge by appealing to the innocent civilians who were affected by the U.S bombing raids that occurred under Lon Nols rule (Khmer Rouge). Eventually, Pol Pot and his command attacked the capital city of Phnom Penh, overthrew Lon Nol and took over the government (Pol Pot). Pol Pots desire for power is evident through his violent actions against Lon Nols government. His continuous attempts in convincing civilians to support his regime clearly showed his determination. Pol Pot successfully obtained followers by manipulation as he rebelled against the government with an invasion, which earned his spot as the ruler of Cambodia. Macbeth also gained hierarchy by the violent act of murdering King Duncan, thus becoming king himself. Therefore, by comparing Macbeths rise to power with that of Pol Pot, it is evident that both dictators are driven to ultimately achieve total power under any circumstances.

Once in control, Macbeth and Pol Pot continued to use violence to keep their prestigious positions. Firstly, Macbeth had killed Banquo and planned to kill his family in order to prevent the prophecy that promised Banquos children the crown to the thrown. He reflected upon his unlawful acts and stated, I am in blood / Stepped in so far that,

should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go oer (3.4.135137). Macbeth realized that he had walked so far into this mess of murderous acts that it would be too difficult to turn his life around and try to become a decent king. At that point, he had put himself before all else, and was willing to kill even more people to sustain his life as the king. His ambitious personality was revealed in this quotation, and one realizes that Macbeth has developed into a corrupt and violent character. Much like Macbeth, Pol Pots command quickly became corrupted and violent once the Khmer Rouge came into power in Phnom Penh. His initial reaction was to turn the city into a collective farming nation, which was later titled as the killing fields where thousands died of starvation and disease. (Pol Pot (1925-1998)). Adding on to his increased corruption, The Khmer Rouge also executed many civilians directly through the S-21 torture camps, where innocent people were abused and forced to work in horrific conditions (Butwell). Pol Pot evidently used corrupt communist ideas and combined it with violence to turn Cambodia into his ideal nation, which he called Democratic Kampuchea (Pol Pot (1925-1998)). Pol Pot has demonstrated his violent actions through his corrupted methods on how a government should be run. The civilians of Cambodia had suffered greatly and approximately 2 million people died as a result of Pol Pots radical tactics. (Khmer Rouge). Although Macbeth did not kill as many people as Pol Pot did, it does not make his actions any less significant. Therefore, one can conclude that both dictators demonstrated violence during their reign due to their corrupt minds, and as a result, innocent people were harmed.

Courage and nobility was evidently present in Macbeth but lacked in Pol pots cowardly actions when approaching their downfalls. Firstly, Macbeth felt secure under the Witches prophecies and was fearless regardless of the rebellions performed by the Scottish nobles against him. However, he soon realized that Macduff had the ability to kill him because he was not born naturally, rather cut open from his mothers stomach, but he continued to fight despite having the opportunity to surrender: I will not yield, /To kiss the ground before young Malcolms feet (5.8.32-33). Macbeth realized that he had no chance against fighting Macduff, but he implied that he would rather die than see the day that Malcolm would become King. It takes a lot of courage for anyone to walk into a fight knowing that they will certainly die. Macbeth was aware of his circumstances, realizing that hed rather fight than be ridiculed by commoners for his actions: And to be baited with the rabbles curse [] And thou opposed, being of no woman born, /Yet I will try the last (5.8.34-39). This quotation is a great representation of Macbeths bravery and because he did not give up or back out of the battle, even when he had knowledge of his actual fate, it showed that he died a honourable death. Also, Macbeth would not have wanted to live a regretful life knowing that he did not fight to the end and if he cowardly surrendered in front of all the nobles he would forever be known as a chicken. Contrarily, Pol Pot did not die as nobly as Macbeth; rather he died as a coward. In 1978, Pol Pot declared an attack on Vietnam but they promptly fought back even stronger and immediately took over Cambodia, which pushed Pol Pot and the Khmer rouge to escape into the jungles (Pol Pot (1925-1998)). Soon enough they advanced and reserved themselves on the border of Thailand. He hid there until he was captured by

the Cambodian government and shortly died before he had to face any tribunals for his crimes against humanity (Pol Pot). It is apparent that Pol Pot got away with crimes against humanity and he also didnt face the appropriate consequences for his actions. Although he was blamed for the tragic events that occurred in Cambodia, he didnt get to experience how it felt to take responsibility and fault. What truly made him a coward is when he attempted to attack Vietnam but resigned and hid away once he realized he had no chance against the Vietnamese forces. He fearfully stood behind his army and had them do the dirty work for him, which clearly shows his lack of courage and responsibility that was present in Macbeths character. Therefore, it is clear that Macbeth proved his bravery and nobility by fighting until his honourable death, where as Pol Pot fearfully hid from taking any responsibility for his actions and cowardly stood clear of fighting, especially if it meant his life would be in jeopardy.

The dictators Macbeth and Pol Pot were both eager for power and resorted to violence and other corrupt methods to maintain their ruling positions. However, Macbeth demostrated bravery and dignity in his downfall, where as Pol Pot showed fear and cowardice. Macbeth showed his dark desire to become King once he heard about the witches prophecies and killed the previous king in order to obtain the thrown. Once in power he became even more violent and killed anyone suspicious as a result of his paranoia and corrupt mind. Shortly, he was overthrown by the nobles and died after giving it his all in his final battle against Macduff. Pol Pot also had a passion for power and used violent and deceiving methods to become the ruler of Cambodia. Once he gained authority he continued to use violent and inhumane tactics to rule his government.

He was soon overthrown by the Vietnamese and died as a coward after hiding and not taking any responisibilty or actions. Currupted governments are present in todays society and have existed in the past. What is most common about these governments are their rulers and their selfish methods of controlling their nations. A true leader should put their people before all else and continue to govern their nation with good intentions. As a productive member of society, intervention must be made when the slightest immoral action occurs as a result of a decision made by the government. If civilians fail to do so, our rulers can get out of hand and potentially create a corrupt society.

Work Cited

Butwell, Richard. "Cambodia." Lands and Peoples. Grolier Online, 2013. Web. 4 May. 2013. "Khmer Rouge." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 4 May 2013.

Pol Pot." Compton's by Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 4 May 2013. "Pol Pot (19251998)." Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2013. Web. 4 May. 2013. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth, with Related Readings. Ed. Dom Saliani, Chris Ferguson. And Timothy De Jongh. Scott. Albany, NY: International Thomson Pub., 1997. Print.