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Safia Hassan

Ms. Figueroa

Senior English

9 March, 2019

How does Macbeth’s theme relate to today’s society?

The universal theme in Macbeth is corruption. Corruption is defined as a dishonest

or fraudulent conduct by those in power typically involving bribery. This is a great

universal theme for Macbeth, because his whole thought process and actions in the play

are corrupt. There are many types of corruption, “The Tragedy of Macbeth” portrays

corruption excellently, that it can be applied to today’s society. Macbeth did everything to

gain power, he even bribed murders to kill his best friend. Macbeth’s universal theme of

corruption is also seen in today’s society through politics, sports, and jobs.

Just like in Macbeth, corruption is mostly noticed in politics. Most politicians

bribe others in power to gain something in return, for example SNC-Lavalin. The article

Canadian Politics aren’t Cute. They’re Corrupt states “in this latest scandal, the

company faces criminal charges for bribing Libya officials including Muammar el-

Quadafi's son with millions of dollars to secure contracts in Libya”(paragraph 5). This

type of corruption relates to Macbeth because he did the same with the murders, he hired

murders to kill Banquo to insure he would stay king. Another way politics can be corrupt

is faking votes. The author of the article “The Scandal in North Carolina Proves Voter

Frauds is real” states “ he employed a crew to go door-to-door urging people to request

absentee ballots, when they did, his team returned to collect the ballots, purportedly to

deliver them to election officials but apparently to hand them over to Dowles first. This
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itself is against the law in North Carolina…it destroys any chain of custody and creates

the opportunity for a bus and corruption”(paragraph 6-7). Dowels faked votes to be

elected. In conclusion, politics is an example of corruption.

When people think about corruption they usually think about politics but it also

can be seen in sports. Someone corrupt in the sports industry is Pete Rose. The article

“Banning of Pete Rose” states “ it is explicitly prohibited for players or anyone employed

by a major league game and especially on a game in which he is playing…it was clear

that Rose had bet on major league games and on games in which the Reds were

playing”(paragraph 3-4). Pete Rose broke a rule just to gain some extra cash and because

he was a coach he used it to his advantage to win the gambles. Another corrupt individual

in the sports industry is John Caripari. The author Ross Lipschultz states “ please note

some of his sleazy track record…ex-Memphis star Derrick Rose was ruled ineligible due

to misconduct on the SAT, ex-Kentucky player Eric Bledsoe was investigated for

academic fraud”(19). Even though he knew what his players were doing and he stilled

tried to cover it up to benefit him. In conclusion, although the sports does not seem

corrupt but like any industry has its bad side.

Corruption can also be seen in jobs. Many companies trick graduates and schools

into doing what they want. The article “ Corruption, Bribe in private sector jobs” states

“say the company has to hire 10 fresh graduates. So they screen many and shortlist 10 but

issue offer letters to only six for the remaining four slots, they do it from the backdoor.

Either the graduate desperate for a job shells it out, or the college trying to keep up it’s

campus placement tally for being value, is the one paying the bribe”(paragraph 5). This is

an example of corruption because companies are lying to get money from desperate
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people. It isn’t only the companies who like it is also the college graduates themselves.

The article also states “so they ask only the referral candidates, those referred by it’s own

staff to get past the door for screening. The rest are sent home. Graduates deploy all kinds

of strategies to wrangle a referral email…when one of their friends in the network gets a

referral email they sometimes cut-paste it in away to show that they too have a referral

email and then get past the screening gate”(paragraph 7-8). The actions of the college

graduates examplify corruption because they like and cheat just like people in power to

get what they want. In conclusion, corruption is present in the job and cronyism is the

reason many have jobs they do not deserve.

Macbeths theme, corruption is seen in today’s society in politics, sports, and jobs.

These examples relate to Macbeth’s theme by showing the lengths people will go to to

get what the feel they deserve and surround themselves with people who will support.

Macbeth after getting power eliminated everyone he thought would go against him and

tried to ensure he will stay king for a very long time. This is seen society all sorts of

industries especially politics, especially with the current president of the United States of

America, it is seen in sports with coaches covering up scandals with their players or them

just so they can win a couple more games even to the point of bribing referees. Overall,

the reader can learn that even though Macbeth is a play and was written hundreds of

years ago, the same events that happened in Macbeth are still happening today, it just the

severity of the events are different.

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Works Cited

“B-R Bullpen.” BR Bullpen, www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Banning_of_Pete_Rose.

“Corruption, Bribe in Private Sector Jobs.” The Economic Times, Economic Times, 12 Aug.

2013, economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/therovingeye/corruption-bribe-in-private-

sector-jobs/.

Lipschultz, Ross. “Top 25 Most Corrupt And Scandalous People And Events In

Sports.” Bleacher Report, Bleacher Report, 3 Oct. 2017,

bleacherreport.com/articles/483026-top-25-most-corrupt-figures-and-scandals-in-sports-

history#slide0.

“Opinion | Canadian Politics Aren't Cute. They're Corrupt.” Google Search, Google,

www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/opinion/canada-scandal-justin-

trudeau.amp.html.

“The Scandal in North Carolina Proves Voter Fraud Is Real.” Google Search, Google,

www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2018/12/06/the-scandal-in-north-carolina-proves-

voter-fraud-is-real/amp/.