Evil in Macbeth & Lord of the Flies

It is indubitably valid to say that, “in literature, evil often triumphs but never conquers.” While evil often emerges victorious from the events of a plot and devastates any hopes of victory that its opponents hold, evil will eventually succumb to the good. This cliche is demonstrated by the rise and death of Macbeth from William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, as well as the rise into leadership of Jack Merridew from William Golding’s allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies. Both characters represent evil triumphing and rising to power but, in the end, failing to conquer.

Though Macbeth was once the loyal thane of Glamis and later the thane of Cawdor, his loyalty is sinisterly corrupted by the Three Witches upon being told that he will one day become the king of Scotland, a position held by King Duncan whom Macbeth held loyalty to. This is the impetus that purges Macbeth of his good and provides him with the role as the evil.

As he is allured to the throne, Macbeth is overcome with greed and lust for power. Macbeth and his evil triumphs once he manages to abandon his hesitance to kill the king and successfully murders King Duncan without getting caught in the act. With the king dead and the princes Donalbain and Malcolm fleeing to Ireland and England, respectively, in fear that they will be murdered next, Macbeth is consequently crowned the king of Scotland. Macbeth’s sins continue to grow as he orders the assassination of Banquo as well as Macduff’s family.

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With evil in the position of power and the prophecies that foresight Macbeth’s demise from the three apparitions seemingly impossible, it can be conceived that evil has become the victor. However, this is not the case as good soon comes into conflict with evil; Macduff and Malcolm ally themselves with England’s army and Siward so that they could wage war against Macbeth in order to reclaim the throne under Malcolm, the rightful heir. As the prophecies come true and Macduff decapitates Macbeth, good manages to conquer evil, demonstrating that, though evil may triumph, it cannot succeed to conquer.

Whereas Ralph embodies good, civilized behavior and reason, Jack Merridew juxtaposes his peer by being the embodiment of evil, savagery and primal instincts. Jack’s evil is demonstrated through his lust for meat and power, an instinct which he follows as he abandons the fire, which served as their only hope for contacting society, in order to lead the other boys as chief to go hunt for food. By painting his face, Jack adopts a new identity free from reason and civilized conduct shortly before killing the pig and, allegorically, viciously raping the animal. Jack and his evil triumphs when he declares himself the leader of the boys by promising them food, play and no rules, all of which appeals to the irrational desires of the boys and successfully undermines Ralph of his elected, rational authority. This evil continues to triumph over good as Jack and the other boys worship the pig head, or the Lord of the Flies Beelzebub, and kills Simon, the Jesus figure. However, Jack’s evil fails to conquer as it comes into conflict with the good of society. His attempt to lead the boys to kill Ralph is thwarted when they are approached by a naval officer whose good conquers the evil in Jack and the boys, once again demonstrating that, though evil may triumph, it cannot succeed to conquer. Macbeth’s rise into power as king of Scotland and Jack’s rise into power as chief of the boys are both short-lived occasions in which evil triumphed into the position of power but were soon defeated by the good.

Therefore, both Macbeth and Jack Merridew demonstrate that, in literature, evil can triumph and rise into power, but it can never succeed to conquer, even if the evil is the protagonist like Macbeth or the antagonist like Jack, thereby confirming the validity of that statement that “in literature, evil often triumphs but never conquers.”